DVD Collectors Online

Chaplin, a review by Antares

Chaplin (1992) 3.5/5 - I'm a big fan of silent films and Charlie Chaplin is one of my favorites, so I was looking with great anticipation back in 1992 when Richard Attenborough made this film. This is my second viewing of this film, and upon finishing it, I realized that I liked it a whole lot more the first time I watched it back in 1992. I have read that Attenborough submitted a director's cut that was close to 16 minutes longer, and he felt that the studios editing ruined the flow of the film. Maybe that is so, but until a director's cut is issued on DVD, we're stuck with this version, and some things that were done don't work. The novelty of the scenes where Attenborough tries to move the story along as if we're watching a silent film, now appear amateurish or hokey. The character played by Anthony Hopkins, whom we find out in the end is fictional, is a weak device to propel the narrative. On the good side, Robert Downey Jr. nails Chaplin's mannerisms and technique and probably should have won the Oscar for his portrayal. Moira Kelly and Diane Lane are both good in their limited roles as two of Chaplin's wives. I think this film should have dealt with more of Chaplin's woes during the late 40's and early 50's, and not just brushed aside their importance. Maybe this is more fleshed out in the director's cut, but for now, we'll never know. All in all, it's an OK biography of one of the great artists of cinema.

(From Antares' Short Summations on January 2nd, 2011)

Trilogy of Terror, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Trilogy of Terror: Special Edition
Year: 1975
Director: Dan Curtis
Rating: NR
Length: 72 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Karen Black
Robert Burton
John Karlen
George Gaynes
James Storm

Plot:
Legendary producer/director Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker) teams up with writers Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, The Twilight Zone) and William F. Nolan (Logan's Run, Burnt Offerings) to present three tales of horrific suspense in this made-for-television anthology that also showcases the tremendous acting talent of Karen Black (House of 1,000 Corpses, Easy Rider), who plays four distinct roles. In "Julie," an aggressive college student seduces and ultimately blackmails his seemingly shy English professor. In "Millicent and Therese," two polar-opposite sisters become increasingly hell-bent on the undoing of one another. And in "Amelia," a woman falls prey to a murderous Zuni fetish doll.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Featurettes

My Thoughts:
This is a TV movie from back in the '70s.  Remembering back to when I was a manager of our local video store... this movie was in great demand. Unfortunately at the time I never got to see it myself as the store's copy disappeared and none of our distributors at the time could locate a new copy for us (this is back in the VHS days). So the first time I got to see this movie was when I first got it on DVD back in 2007. And I must say I enjoyed it very much!

The first story,Julie, Karen Black plays a College Professor who gets seduced and blackmailed (as the cover says).I liked how the student didn't have as much control over things as he thought he did. An enjoyable segment... but not my favorite.

The next story is Millicent and Therese where we have some sibling rivalry.  This one, while I still enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as the first one. So this one has to be my least favorite segment of the movie.

The final story, Amelia, a woman falls prey to a murderous Zuni Fetish Doll. This is my favorite segment of the entire movie. It was very well done... especially for the time. And I just couldn't help but to get a kick out of that Zuni Fetish Doll. And as much as I liked that little guy... I must say the final scene is really what clinched this segment for me.

The DVD itself While good I am a little disappointed. The audio and video is just fine on my 20in standard TV. But I have a bit of a hard time with them calling this a special edition. All there is... is 2 featurettes and a commentary track. That seems to me a little slim to be calling it a special edition. But with that all said... I really enjoyed watching this movie again.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Anything Goes on January 23rd, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Aoi & Mutsuki: A Pair of Queens! (1999/Japan) (United States) Length: 325 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
Aoi was raised as a normal boy on Earth. Little did he know he was the heir apparent to Mito, the Queen turned Space Pirate of an alien race that chooses their sex at puberty. Aoi fell in love with Mutsuki, the policewoman who was chasing Mito, and the three of them saved the Universe. The only side effect was that Aoi had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Now a malevolent entity calling herself the true Queen of the Universe appears with enough power to destroy entire planets. Aoi must defend her new throne, but she needs Mutsuki's help. Mutsuki must come to terms with her own feelings for Aoi so they can defend Earth together and become the galaxy's first royal pair of queens.

Mito no Daiboken: Futari no Jou-sama
1.01 The Queen Has Risen!
Writer: Fumihiko Shimo (Screenwriter)
Director: Takashi Watanabe
Cast: Tomoko Kawakami (Mito (voice)), Soichiro Hoshi (Aoi Mitsukuni (voice)), Kyoko Tsuruno (Mutsuki Nenga (voice)), Yumiko Kobayashi (Masatsuki Nenga (voice)), Sakiko Tamagawa (Sobo (voice)), Motoko Kumai (Sabu (voice)), Yuu Asakawa (Shin (voice)), Omi Minami (Kafuko (voice)), Machiko Toyoshima (Miyako Okubo (voice)), Takayuki Okada (Tendo (voice)), Masashi Yabe (Sega (voice)), Chiemi Chiba (Konami (voice)), Sayaka Ohara (Hiroko (voice)), Mikako Takahashi (Azuki (voice)), Saori Higashi (Ota (voice)), Ayako Kurasaki (Shizumi (voice)), Takayasu Usui (Nandabu (voice)), Taro Masuoka (Nibaul (voice)), Hidenari Ugaki (Kishu (voice)), Takuma Suzuki (Owari (voice)), Hideyuki Hori (Lanvan (voice)), Kazuhiko Inoue (Kagero Mitsukuni (voice))

This series is a sequel to another series, which I haven't seen. At the end of that series, one of the characters is transformed into a girl. This series now is about that character and also his relationship with a girl, which I think was his love interest in the first series. So the premise sound interesting. But the series itself is boring, as it is mostly about some crazy and ridiculous stuff going on and not so much about the relationship.
The best thing about it is the opening theme.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 26th, 2011)