DVD Collectors Online

My Neighbor Totoro, a review by Danae Cassandra

Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro)
Year of Release: 1988
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Lisa Michaelson, Cheryl Chase, Gregory Snegoff, Kenneth Hartman
Genre: Fantasy

Overview:
Enter a whimsical "garden of earthly delights" (The New York Times), in this enchanting fantasy adventure that has become an international favorite of children around the world.

Deep inside a tree trunk, two children discover a fascinating new world inhabited by Totoros - amazing, charming creatures who become their friends. Some are big, some are small, but all of them are furry, lovable and ready to do wondrous, magical things...like fly over mountains and make giant trees grow in the middle of the night! Best of all, Totoros can't be seen by adults, only the children who love them.

With its imaginative characters, heartwarming story and striking animation by the award-winning Hayao Miyazaki, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO is "certain to delight" (Los Angeles Times) again and again.

My Thoughts:
Totoro is a perfect film; charming, magical, nostalgic. Totoro is a movie of simple beauty, of the enchantment of childhood and the magic of nature. It's a film of patience and the unfolding of life around us. It's a film with a simple story and superb animation. It's a film about wonder, about growing up, about responsibility, about children who act like children, and the profound reality of being human. A perfect film. Sit back and enjoy.

Bechdel Test: Pass

Overall: 5/5

(From My Neighbor Totoro on March 24th, 2014)

The Three Stooges Meet Hurcules, a review by addicted2dvd

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1961/United States) Mill Creek Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Edward Bernds Writing: Norman Maurer (Writer), Elwood Ullman (Writer) Length: 89 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles:

---

Stars:
The Three StoogesMoe Howard as Moe
Larry Fine as Larry
Joe DeRita as Curly Joe


Plot:
Comical chaos ensues when the trio flicks the switch of a time-machine that transports them to ancient Greece.

Extras:

• NONE

I enjoyed this one more then I thought I would. I feel they did a good job with the story. This is one I thought I never heard of before... but some of the scenes really seemed familiar to me so I wonder if maybe I seen it as a kid.



(From November Movie Marathon: Classic Comedy Greats on November 18th, 2017)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon, a review by Achim

12. Alpine Fields
Sarah and Cameron work to save a family on the list with a connection to Derek and Jesse in the future.

My comments:
I did not connect with this episode at all. I don't like "constructed" plots and this one seemed to be just that. I mean, we have been following Sarah for quite a while now and suddenly they say "oh, yes, well, 6 months ago this happened", so they create a past event to explain the proceedings of the current episode. The episode also seemed entirely on it's own and I get the feeling that except the scene that was only talked before, when Derek and Jesse met, nothing really relates to the main plot. Another thing that bugged me is that first they to spoil the suspense by giving certain information "accidentally" too early (who is the terminator after...?) just to give us an entire different solution later; it felt cheap.

No John, no Ellison, little of Cameron and Sarah. Mainly Derek just doesn't seem the right thing for this series


(my lowest rating yet)

(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon on February 12th, 2010)