DVD Collectors Online

Cloverfield, a review by Jon

Cloverfield
5 out of 5

This is supposedly a tape found in what was "formerly Central Park" and details the attempts of a small group of people to rescue their friend after a mysterious and sustained attack on New York by a mysterious something. Or you could just say Monster Movie. Like every other monster movie you can think of. So it could be predictable and boring, but director Matt Reeves has done something incredible for modern cinematic entertainment. He's lifted the bar, just a little. This should be considered a milestone.

It starts off in a party and after ten minutes, I was fed-up of the, yes, predictable and boring soap opera unfolding. But this has to be by design to lull the viewer into a false sense of security because then we get the noise and the panic. From then, much of the film is a pure assault on the senses and one of the most original movies to come from Hollywood for a few years. Every now and again it drifts back to the soap opera, and the basic conceit of the camcorder stretches credibility frequently (conveniently films everything required; one heck of a battery, etc), but it always manages to snap back and make you jump and/or squirm (Statue of Liberty! Night vision!).

Hidden in the chaos is a brilliant piece of direction and editing that harks back to old fashioned movie making. CGI in recent years has become lazy, or perhaps because it's expensive, they insist on showing everything. But Matt Reeves positively refuses to show us much more than a tantalising glimpse here or there, bravely making his creature almost shy. This is the sort of audience manipulation that directors like Hitchcock and Spielberg built careers on. Yes, I think it's good enough to stand that comparison. That said the core story is far to simple and old to withstand such a comparison for long. Maybe there's a subtext if you want to find it, but narrative structure is an impossible dream! A lack of backstory obviously builds tension, but also makes for a simpler script.

Visually though, this film is triumphant and stands as testament to the longevity of cinema as viable entertainment in the face of video games. Phew. A few bits actually reminded me of Half-Life , but video games have a long way to go to look this good. With 3D just around the corner and directors with a vision like this to use it, Hollywood is in good hands.

But then the same could have once been said about The Matrix which also benefited from new ideas with no backstory. So please, no sequel. Unless it's bloody good.

(From Cloverfield on June 13th, 2008)

Hinokio , a review by Tom

Hinokio (2005/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia Asia Video Publishing, Intercontinental Video (Hong Kong) Director: Takahiko Akiyama Writing: Takahiko Akiyama (Screenwriter), Masumi Suetani (Screenwriter), Shoji Yonemura (Screenwriter) Length: 111 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital EX 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), Japanese: DTS ES 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), Cantonese: Dolby Digital EX 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1) Subtitles: Chinese, English

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Stars:Plot:
Satoru, a heartbroken boy who has withdrawn into his room for a year, uses a remote-controlled robot called "Hinokio" to take his first cautious, fearful step into the outside world again. He goes to school and finds fellowship. Then, through an encounter with a girl called Jun, he reconnects with humanity and feels once again the sensation of warm human touch. But Jun deeply desires to meet directly with the real Satoru, instead of meeting him through the robot. Satoru,who also wants to experience the world directly, activates the robot's sensation mode, exposing himself to mortal threat. Jun risks all in an attempt to rescue him...

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Trailers

A very good and touching movie. A hikikomori (shut-in) takes his first steps back into the real world with the help of a remote-controlled robot. They really did a great job with the robot. It doesn't look ridiculous at any time. The title of course is a play on "Pinoccio".

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on February 22nd, 2011)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

JAG



What's the show about?
The JAG ist the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Navy. They are charged with the defense and prosecution of military law as provided in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. We follow the cases of Lt. Harmon Rabb jr., a former fighter pilot and his partner Maj. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie all around the world.

"Pilot"
The CAG of the aircraft carrier USS Seahawk and his female Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) shoot down two MIGs over the Adriatic Sea. In the night after that the RIO is being thrown overboard and killed. Lt Rabb and Lt. jg. Pike take over the investigation of the missing RIO...

My Opinion
This show had its highs and its lows. Being not an US-american the patriotism was sometimes a bit to much for my taste, especially when it came to the Iraq war. Also that "we are the best of the best of the best"-attitude was an overdose at times. But in the big picture I liked the show.

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on January 5th, 2008)