DVD Collectors Online

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les parapluies de Cherbourg)
Year of Release: 1964
Directed By: Jacques Demy
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel, Ellen Farner
Genre: Romance, Drama, Musical

Overview:
An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop owner's delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castelnuovo. When the boy is shipped off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly. Exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors, and told entirely through the lilting songs of the great composer Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time.

My Thoughts:
What is love?  Is it the first blush of romance, the passion of youth and energy of youth, when life is ahead of you and everything is enormous?  I'm sure you remember those days, when everything that went wrong was the end of the world, and your life was over.

Or is love something you build with people who stand by you?  Is it something you have to work for, something that only comes when the flush of youth has passed and one becomes an adult?  

My vote is for the latter, but you can work it out for yourself.

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 4.5/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 12th, 2016)

The Banquet, a review by dfmorgan

The Banquet

Year: 2006
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Cast: Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, Daniel Wu
Overview: A spectacular, dazzling and bloody re-imagining of Shakespeare's legendary Hamlet, 'The Baquet' is an epic tale of revenge, violence and betrayal.

Locked in a loveless marriage Empress Wan (International superstar Zhang Ziyi) is desperate to keep her forbidden love for Prince Wu Luan (Daniel Wu), from a family divided by cruelty and oppression. When the Emperor suddenly dies, his conniving younger brother Li takes up the throne forcing Wan to marry him. Convinced that this is the only way to protect all she loves from being destroyed by this new power hungry tyrant, Wan agrees.

But Wu Luan refuses to see his love snatched away through such evil, greed and deception. After repeated attempts on his life amid furious confrontations with the new Emperor's imperial assassins, Wu Luan resolves to return to the palace and take revenge for himself, his beloved and a nation in the grip of a murderous madman.

Featuring astonishing, career-topping action from the infamous Yuen Wo Ping ('Kill Bill', 'The Matrix' and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon') and a cast featuring some of Asia's most acclaimed cinema icons, 'The Banquet' is like no other epic you have ever witnessed.

Watched: 30th. Jul 2010
My Thoughts: As a martial arts film this was wordy, probably due to it being based on Shakespeare's Hamlet, rather than loads of action but I thought it was quite well done though. The action choreography seemed to be more balletic (is that a word) with many spins, pirouettes, leaps and bounds as well as the obligatory cut and thrust. I don't know if there is a longer director's cut, I couldn't find any reference to one, but this film ends with an unresolved murder.

My Rating: I did enjoy it so a 3

Dave

ETA missing word than after rather and before loads - which now kinda changes the meaning of what I wrote 

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on July 30th, 2010)

Smallville Marathon #2, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Clark dreams about putting the key into the lock in the cave wall. He finally decides to take that step and he learns all about the symbols on the wall and understands that language. The very next day he can't control his heat vision and he burns the symbol for "hope" into the barn. When Chloe publishes this he gets a message from a man in New York who claims to know his origins.

My Opinion: It was a really great that they've managed to put Christopher Reeve on the show. One generation meets the next. I also really liked it that they used the original Superman theme in that episode. That reminded me of the way they incorporated the original Battlestar Galactica theme into the Colonial Hymn of the new series. And now we know, Clark is Kal-El from the planet Krypton and Krypton doesn't exist anymore.
I also liked the appeal for funds after the show - if one can use the popularity of the show for a good cause, why not?

Synopsis: A young student claims to come from another planet and he can set things on fire by staring at them and he can heal. Clark takes him under his wings and tries to find out whether he is really an alien or just a boy who needs help.

My Opinion: I liked that episode, one could feel Clark's loneliness and his hope that he might not be alone after all. Funny thing is, his communication tower, the lights and the place deep in the woods, it all reminded me of E.T.'s departure, though I cannot explain why. And I felt sorry for Cyrus when he mentally broke down.

Synopsis: Three student harass Lana in the "Talon" but Clark comes to the rescue. He trows one of them directly on the hood of the new Sheriff. He has to do 40 hours of community service but also get sued by this student. He wants to have one million dollars and the Kents could lose everything. Now its Lana's turn to come to the rescue and she does very well on her own. Meanwhile Dr. Bryce is stalked by a former boyfriend and neither Clark nor Lex trust Sheriff Adams enough and they take matters into their own hands.

My Opinion: For more than one season Lanas wishes to leave her image as "fairy princess" behind but now she finally does something about it. Ok, she did re-open the "Talon" but I still had the impression that everyone around her (Chloe, Clark) were standing more on their own feet than she was.
It was an ok episode.

Synopsis: A few guys have developed a way to inhale refined Kryptonite and become super-strong. One night they try to hijack one of Lionel's secret transports and Clark tries to stop them but they match his strength and they escape. When he tries to expose them they endanger his parents, yet Clark still tries to find a way to stop them. But he has other problems as well: After an argument with Chloe he quits his job at the "Torch" and puts his friendship with her on hold. And then Lionel makes Chloe an offer she can't resist.

My Opinion: Yet another appearance from a member of the Tim Taylor family: Zachery Ty Bryan (Brad in Home Improvement). I hated it to see Clark and Chloe to break up especially because I know what Chloe is going to do. The question that remains is whether the destruction of the "Torch" was staged by Lionel (not sure they will answer that question).

(From Smallville Marathon #2 on May 25th, 2008)