DVD Collectors Online

Yellow Submarine, a review by Danae Cassandra

Yellow Submarine
Year of Release: 1968
Directed By: George Dunning
Starring: Paul Angelis, John Clive, Dick Emery, Geoff Hughes, Lance Percival
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Musical, Animation

Overview:
Join the greatest band of all time for a mind-blowing voyage you won't soon forget.  Heralded as "a cartoon landmark" (San Francisco Examiner), this visually stunning odyssey turned animation upside-down with its irreverent style and innovative techniques.

Once upon a time...or maybe twice, the unearthly paradise of Pepperland was taken over by the evil Blue Meanies.  All looked hopeless...until the Fab Four sailed in to save the day with humor, music and, of course, their yellow submarine.

Now restored with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and featuring classic Beatles tunes including the never-before-seen animated sequence "Hey Bulldog," this visionary masterpiece is "a funny, fascinating, whiz-bang tour de force" (Los Angeles Times)!

My Thoughts:
This is ridiculously fun, despite (or is it because..) being one of the trippiest movies ever made.  Vibrant colors, surreal beasts, and a complete disregard for the laws of physics make this an exploration into psychedelia.  Certainly one of the most unique animated films ever made.  I didn't remember The Beatles being quite as catty as they get at some points (calling the monster that gets in the sub 'ugly,' making fun of Ringo, and the "Nowhere Man" sequence come to mind here).  Still highly recommended if you like The Beatles, the 60's, or surrealism/psychedelia. 

Bechdel Test: Fail
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 4/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 9th, 2016)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a review by Dragonfire

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street



Johnny Depp and Tim Burton join forces again in a big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical thiller.

My Thoughts

I love this movie.  I saw it in the theater, have the soundtrack, and a book about the making fo the movie.  I decided last year to watch it along with Sleep Hollow every year around Halloween.  I know some people will dismiss the movie because it is a musical, but it truly works as a horror movie.   A man wants revenge and starts killing people.  The bodies are then put in meat pies and sold to the public.  Many of the murders committed by Sweeney are shown.  Blood is everywhere, gushing and spraying all over the place in a very exaggerated way.  The movie is very twisted, which is a bit part of what I like about it.  The movie will be too violent and twisted for some people.  The characters are interesting and conflicted and the cast is wonderful.  Johnny Depp does wonderful in the part, conveying a lot through his expressions.  He and the rest of the cast do well with the singing too.  Alan Rickman is wonderful as yet another villain.  He is so good at playing nasty, evil characters. 



I did get a review posted on Epinions after I saw it in the theater.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

(From Dragonfire's Halloween/Horror Marathon 2009 on November 1st, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Monk: Season One (2002/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Studios Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 561 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Plot:TONY SHALHOUB is a riot" (TV Guide) in Monk, the show that critics are praising as "fresh, exciting and utterly original." (Chicago Tribune)

Monk's hilarious, offbeat antics have made him unfit for duty but he's back as a police consultant to help out on their most baffling cases. The brilliant but neurotic Monk is now fighting crime as well as his abnormal fears of germs, cars heights, crowds and virtually everything else known to man in "the best detective show to come along in decades." (New York Post)

"Nothing on TV generated more fun than this" (Los Angeles Times) and now you can enjoy the entire first season of Monk on DVD.

*Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2002)
**Best Performance by an American Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy (2002)


Monk
1.01 Mr. Monk and the Candidate
Writer: Andy Breckman (Writer)
Director: Dean Parisot
Cast: Tony Shalhoub (Adrian Monk), Bitty Schram (Sharona Fleming), Ted Levine (Captain Stottlemeyer), Stanley Kamel (Dr Kroger), Gail O'Grady (Miranda St. Claire), Michael Hogan (Warren St. Claire), Ben Bass (Gavin Lloyd), Jason Gray-Stanford (Lt. Deacon), Kane Richotte (Benjy), Rob Labelle (Sheldon Burger), Vincent Gale (Jesse Goodman), Fred Ewanuick (Jake), Shawn Reis (Ian Sykes), Dion Johnstone (Lieutenant Gitomer), Chris Shyer (Carl), Edmond Wong (Cop at Kindergarten), Alexis (Elevator Gal), J.B. Bivens (First Cop), Dax Belanger (Second Cop), Esme Lambert (Angry Old Lady), Stellina Rusich (Trudy), Carmen Aguirre (Uniform Cop), Ray Galletti (Cop at Rally), Doris Chillcott (Jason's Mother), Michelle Addison (Nicole Vasques), Dean Marshall (Cop in Lobby), John Sampson (Jason Rondstadt), Guyle Fraizer (Detective)

Monk is a series I enjoyed watching, but I thought it stayed on air too long. The series got a little tired later on.
Nice surprise: There is an actor I revcognized here which I didn't know the first time around. Fred Ewanuick, who plays Hank on "Corner Gas".

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 9th, 2012)