DVD Collectors Online

Death Rage, a review by Jimmy

Title : Death Rage (1976)

Overview
Peter Marciani (Yul Brynner) is a retired hitman who is forced to come out of retirement. His brother has been murdered and Marciani intends to track down the man responsible for his death. Once he begins to investigate his brother's death, he discovers that he's been set up by the mob.

My Impression
Nice italian crime thriller directed by Antonio Margheriti. Yul Brynner is well cast in it as a tough mob killer and Barbara Bouchet as the love interest is certainly a plus too. Pretty good story even if it's a little bit predictable if you've watch many film of this genre. The version in this set is not the complete one since 13 minutes are missing, but honestly I've no idea of what is missing since the nudity is not cut and the violence is present too. Maybe this is a case of speed accelaration between the PAL and NSTC format, but this seams a lot to me... The print quality isn't too bad, but the little details are too blurry and for an italian movie the details are important. Just hope that a real label will get the right of this movie, so we will get it in is original language and in is correct ratio.

Rating :

(From Chilling Classics (50 Movie Pack) - films review on October 18th, 2008)

Chiko, a review by Silence_of_Lambs

Summary:My Thoughts:
This was nearly a blind-buy, never heard of this film until I saw the trailer. I bought it because it was shot in my hometown and the concept looked very promising.
The film is a classical Buddy-Thriller with not too much surprises, it still gives this genre some new perspectives.
What makes this film special is the extremely good and intense acting, which is virtuously supported by a highly ambitioned photography.
A great piece of German cinema, that shows that not all good flicks from here have to be comedies.
An enthralling movie which deserves much more attention.

My Rating: (out of possible 5)



(From Michael's random reviews on November 12th, 2010)

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

Synopsis: Anyanka/Anya wants to have her power center back that was destroyed by Giles in the alternate reality Cordelia accidentally created. She tricks Willow into doing a spell but it doesn't work as expected. Instead they pull Vampire-Willow from there into this reality and she - after a short period of acclimatization - tries to make it as "fun" as her reality was.

My Opinion: "And I think I'm kinda gay." Nice foreshadowing. I really like this episode, it's fun to watch and Alyson is great in all four roles (Old Reliable Willow, Vampire-Willow, Pretend-Vampire-Willow, Pretend-Willow). I also liked Anya in all her scenes, especially when this 1120 year-old ex-demon tried to get a beer in the Bronze.
Too bad Vampire-Willow died in her reality, it would have been cool to have her back at a later time.

Synopsis: A demon tries to sell the "Books of Ascension" to the Slayers. While the gang is discussing how they get their hands onto these books before the mayor does, Faith reports back to him and gets the books for him. They also try to turn Angel into Angelus again. First by seduction then by magic. But not everybody in the Scooby gang is fooled by Faith.

My Opinion: It was a bit too convenient that Giles knew the demon who was supposed to turn Angel but otherwise it was an interesting watch, especially since even the viewer didn't know of Giles's/Buffy's/Angel's plan to con Faith. And Pretend-Angelus was awesome once more, he has such a great malignity.

Synopsis: When Buffy fights against two demons and kills one of them, some of his(?) blood splatters over her hand. At first it just itches but then she begins to hear voices. But she doesn't hallucinate; she can hear the actual thoughts of the people around her. At first this is fun and could be a great advantage in combat but soon she can't shut anything out anymore and on top of that she hears the voice of an unknown person who wants to kill all the students.

My Opinion: One of my favourite episodes, I love these kind of truth-telling episodes because at first it's great fun but it'll ultimately turn for the worse. I especially liked it how they characterized the thoughts of the characters (Cordelia: think = say; Xander: sex; Oz: deep thoughts yet silent) which matched them perfectly. I also really liked Buffy's speech in the tower.
I believe this is the first time Jonathan was featured as a bit more than a "runs through picture" character. I really like that kind of continuity because it makes the show feel more wholesome in contrast to shows where the episode cast is exactly that.

Synopsis: Their time in High School is coming to an end and after that their ways will most likely part. Buffy has been accepted to Northwestern, Willow to every university with a stamp and Xander is going to backpack over the country. But first they have to literally survive graduation day and Mayor Wilkins's ascension. They have to steal the "Box of Gavrok". They don't know what it contains but it seems to be important to him.

My Opinion: Mayor Wilkins is not among the best of the Big Bads but in episodes like this I really appreciate him. His talent to bluntly tell the truth (and let's face it: he was not lying about the chances of Angel's and Buffy's non-existing be-together future) is what makes him a decent Big Bad.
I also loved it that they chose Willow over the box without even arguing (except for Wesley...). It's what I expect from a "band of brothers".
And of course the band won't break up. As usual with these shows (Smallville, Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl) they found a way to keep the gang in town and together.

(From "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Marathon on December 6th, 2009)