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Tremors, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Tremors: Collector's Edition Year: 1990 Director: Ron Underwood Rating: PG-13 Length: 96 Min. Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: Spanish

Stars:
Kevin Bacon
Fred Ward
Finn Carter
Michael Gross
Reba McEntire
Bobby Jacoby

Plot:
Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward star as two country handymen who lead a cast of zany characters to safety in this exciting sci-fi creature comedy.

Just as Val McKee (Bacon) and Earl Basset (Ward) decide to leave Perfection, Nevada, strange rumblings prevent their departure. With the help of a shapely seismology student (Finn Carter), they discover their desolate town is infested with gigantic man-eating creatures that live below the ground.

The race is on to overcome these slimy subterraneans and find a way to higher ground, in this enjoyable thriller co-starring Michael Gross and Reba McEntire.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
This is a movie that for some reason I always enjoyed... ever since I brought it home the very first time... when I rented it on VHS. Wow that was a long time ago. One thing I really liked about this... is you don't have to be a horror fan to enjoy this monster movie. My brother (who hates horror) loves this series of movies. This is what I personally call a "light horror". It is a nice mix of horror and comedy. And even now when I watch it (after watching the entire series of Reba) don't recognize Reba McIntyre when she is on the screen... though her voice with her accent is unmistakable. The DVD release is really good. nice quality and a nice collection of extras! What more can you ask?




Count:
Movie Count: 18
TV Ep. Count: 11
Other Count: 0
Time Started: 5:30pm

(From Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon: 2010 on October 7th, 2010)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962), a review by Antares

The Manchurian Candidate





Year: 1962
Film Studio: United Artists, M.C. Productions
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Length: 126 Min.

Director
John Frankenheimer (1930)

Writing
Richard Condon (1915)...Novel
George Axelrod (1922)...Screenplay

Producer
George Axelrod (1922)
John Frankenheimer (1930)
Howard W. Koch (1916)

Cinematographer
Lionel Lindon (1905)

Music
David Amram (1930)...Composer

Stars
Frank Sinatra (1915) as Maj. Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey (1928) as Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh (1927) as Eugenie Rose Chaney
Angela Lansbury (1925) as Mrs. Iselin
Henry Silva (1928) as Chunjin
James Gregory (1911) as Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
Leslie Parrish (1935) as Jocelyn Jordan
John McGiver (1913) as Sen. Thomas Jordan

Review
       John Frankenheimer had spent his first decade as a director doing live dramas on television, most notably on Playhouse 90. His transition to mainstream film brought him quick acclaim following his success with The Birdman of Alcatraz. The Manchurian Candidate would prove that Frankenheimer would be a force to be reckoned with as a filmmaker and innovator over the next decade of his career. Based on the novel by Richard Condon, the plot revolves around a platoon of G.I.'s captured by the Communists during the Korean War. In a span of just one week they are brainwashed by a Chinese doctor, menacingly portrayed by Khigh Dhiegh, who is best remembered as the sinister Wo Fat from Hawaii 5-O. One of the soldiers (Laurence Harvey) has been programmed to kill on command and the platoon is returned to the front lines, with a pre-planted story to explain their disappearance for the previous week.

       After the war, Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) is having nightmares about the week in captivity, although he has no true memory of the brainwashing. He contacts Sergeant Shaw (Harvey) and learns that another soldier in the platoon has contacted Shaw about similar nightmares. Will Marco unravel the mystery before Shaw is triggered by his Communist handlers to perform the assassination that he has been programmed to complete? You'll have to watch the movie to find the answer.

       One interesting side note; this movie was released just one year before the assassination of President Kennedy, the one time Senator from Massachusetts. In one scene in the film, Shaw (Harvey) as the assassin is in Madison Square Garden prior to a political party convention. As he is walking across the convention floor with his hidden rifle, we can see the placards of the State delegations. It's a tracking shot of Shaw as he makes his way to complete his mission. Just as he passes below the Massachusetts placard and as the other state placards disappear from the shot, the scene changes. Was it prophetic or just coincidence?


Review Criterion4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.

(From The Manchurian Candidate (1962) on July 1st, 2010)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

22. Not Fade Away
Original Air Date: 5/19/2004
The gang prepares to attack the true powers of evil by attempting to take down the Circle of the Black Thorn - a battle none of them expect to survive.

Guest Stars:
Vincent Kartheiser
Christian Kane
Sarah Thompson
Adam Baldwin

My Thoughts:
And this is it... the end of the series. I must admit... I loved the fight between Angel and Hamilton. While it made for a hell of an ending... I so wanted more... so wanted to see what happened next. I always wished for a reunion movie or something to continue the story... but that just wasn't meant to be. But this series definitely ended for a hell of a bang!

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 25th, 2010)