DVD Collectors Online

Groundhog Day, a review by Tom

Groundhog Day (1993/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (Germany) Director: Harold Ramis Writing: Danny Rubin (Original Material By), Danny Rubin (Screenwriter), Harold Ramis (Screenwriter) Length: 97 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

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Stars:
Bill Murray as Phil
Andie MacDowell as Rita
Chris Elliott as Larry
Stephen Tobolowsky as Ned
Brian Doyle-Murray as Buster

Plot:
A weather man is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting "rat" (as he calls it). This is his fourth year on the story, and he makes no effort to hide his frustration. On awaking the 'following' day he discovers that it's Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. First he uses this to his advantage, then comes the realisation that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing EVERY day.

Awards:
Won:

AFI (1993)		100 Years... 100 Laughs (2000)
BAFTA (1993)		Original Screenplay (Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis)
BMI Film & TV Music Awards (1994)		BMI Film Music Award (George Fenton)
Saturn (1993)		Best Actress (Andie MacDowell)

Nominated:

AFI (1993)		100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
Hugo Award (1994)		Dramatic Presentation
MTV Movie Awards (1993)		Best Comedic Performance (Bill Murray)
Saturn (1993)		Best Actor (Bill Murray)
Saturn (1993)		Best Costumes (Jennifer Butler)
Saturn (1993)		Best Director (Harold Ramis)
Saturn (1993)		Best Fantasy Film
Saturn (1993)		Best Writing (Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis)

Extras:

• Production Notes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

One of my all-time favorite movies! And it was a good call that the writers did not try to invent a reason why Phil relives the day.

Rating:

(From Tom's Time-Travel Movie Reviews on January 7th, 2008)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a review by RossRoy

WHAT THEY SAY

As Harry Potter readies himself for his third year at Hogwarts, an incident in which he is unable to control his anger forces him on the lam. At the same time, a dangerous man named Sirius Black escapes from the Azkaban prison with one thought on his mind: to track down and kill Harry Potter. The third year at Hogwarts is full of excitement and danger for Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

MY THOUGHTS

This movie (and the book that inspired it) to me, marks the beginning of when Harry Potter's story stepped from being a good book/movie series, to a great book/movie series. As Harry Potter ages and matures, so does the storytelling. We start seeing layers upon layers upon layers in the stories. Dumbledore's army is slowly taking shape, The Order of the Phoenix is slowly revealed. Important figures are starting to appear. The backstory of James and Lilly Potter is slowly being revealed. Harry's place in all of this is taking shape. The tension is rising between the different camps. You can see the pawns being placed and nuggets of information being fed to the audience, all moving the story forward, and leading a great things yet to happen. I like the darker look Alfonso Cuaron gave the movie. This installment also sports my favourite Potter soundtrack by John Williams. Azkaban, to me, really marks when Harry Potter (as a story) became a great story and great storytelling. And it just keeps getting better from now on.

RATING

(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on July 5th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Clarissa Explains It All: Season One (1991/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Paramount Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 328 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
Clarissa brought clarity to murky teenage waters for five seasons on Nick. Now enjoy all 13 episodes from the first season, featuring Clarissa, her annoying little brother Ferguson, health-nut mom Janet, architect dad Marshall, and welcome next-door neighbor, Sam.

Clarissa Explains It All
1.01 Clarissa's Revenge
Director: Kenneth Frankel
Cast: Melissa Joan Hart (Clarissa Marie Darling), Jason Zimbler (Ferguson Darling), Elizabeth Hess (Janet Darling), Joe O'Connor (Marshall Darling), Sean O'Neal (Sam Anders)

A teen series which surprisingly is still fun to watch. It stars Melissa Joan Hart before she went on to play Sabrine the Teenage Witch. Mostly because of her constantly breaking the fourth wall, I enjoy watching it. The pilot introduces the characters perfectly.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 31st, 2011)