DVD Collectors Online

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, a review by Danae Cassandra

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
Year of Release: 1962
Directed By: Abe Levitow
Starring: Jim Backus, Morey Amsterdam, Jack Cassidy, Royal Dano, Paul Frees
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical, Animation, Television

Overview:
In this seasonal Charles Dickens' tale, the bumbling and lovable Mr. Magoo is Ebeneze Scrooge. Remember the hilarious and heartwarming story of how Mr. Scrooge transforms after a visit from Christmas past, present, and future. This Original Christmas Classic is a must-have for the holidays!

My Thoughts:
Not the worst version of A Christmas Carol that I've seen, but close to it. If Mr. Magoo doesn't make a bad version of Scrooge, the reordering of the ghostly visits, and the elimination of Fan and his nephew sit hard with me. There's also a lot of music for as short as this special is. I love musicals, but there's a need for more story here, and less razzleberry dressing.

Overall, I'd say this is more for fans of Magoo than fans of A Christmas Carol. As far as cartoon versions of the story for kids, Mickey's Christmas Carol is much, much better.

Bechdel Test: Fail
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 2.5/5

(From Christmas 2016 on December 16th, 2016)

Dead Alive, a review by RossRoy

Original Title: Braindead Year: 1992 Country: New Zealand Director: Peter Jackson Rating: NR Length: 97 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital Surround Subtitles: French, Spanish

What they say
Throw out all your preconceptions about the limits of horror! A new standard has been set with Dead Alive - The Mother of All Horror Films.

On a quiet street, in a small town, pure evil has come to stay. Lionel, an innocent young man, is forced to care for his domineering mother and finds the task a whole lot more demanding after she's bitten by the cursed Sumatran rat monkey. Passing the point of death, Lionel's mother sucks friends and family into her gruesome existence among the living dead and Lionel is sent spiraling into a goulish nightmare.

Now a crazed zombie, she soon infects enough people to make it difficult for Lionel, still the faithful son, to keep the neighbors from suspecting that something is terribly wrong.

Dead Alive is dripping with state-of-the-art special effects that feature mutilations, rock 'n roll dismemberments and household appliances, combining into the most bizarre ending ever filmed. 

My Thoughts
Hahaha! I love that film! What's not to like? It's sick, it's gory, it's all fun! So many memorable scenes: the park scene, the priest kick ass, both meal scenes, obviously the final zombie mow down, even the bizarre freudian ending!

There's even one liners: "Party's Over!", "I kick ass for the Lord!", etc.

And if all that is not enough to keep you coming back, there's also the always beautiful Paquita!



So, if you like your comedy horror gory, bloody and zombie filled, this is a must see!



(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on October 20th, 2008)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon, a review by Dragonfire

1. Pilot
No one is ever safe, least of all Sarah Connor and her son, John. Tired of running from the machines, Sarah decides to stand and fight.

My Thoughts

I thought this was a good start to the series.  Certain things were like the first two movies, but I thought that still worked.  It made sense to me that Sarah and John would still basically be living on the run even though they thought they had stopped Skynet and Judgment Day in the second movie.  Sarah was tied to the explosion at Cyberdine and Dyson's death, so it was believable to me that the police and even FBI would be looking for her.  It didn't seem as...believable that Sarah would have gotten in the situation she was at the beginning of the episode though.  And I thought something else just didn't work right either.


Despite the few..issues I had with the episode, I still really enjoyed it.  I loved seeing Summer Glau again.  Some of her expressions did remind me a bit of River, but it was still a different character.

2. Gnothi Seauton
New future, new identity. Cromartie, the battered but relentless Terminator programmed to kill John Connor, resurfaces.

My Thoughts

I enjoyed this episode as well.  It worked well to follow what was set up in the first episode with them getting settled in a different time and everything.
I would have liked if there had been a bit more explanation for a few things though.


I still liked the episode, but the few things I mentioned in the spoiler did bug me..and the more I think about them the more they bug me.  Hopefully those sort of things won't be happening all the time..if they do, I see myself getting really irritated at times.

3. The Turk
He's just a geek with a hobby. But is the computer chess program Andy Goode developed the beginning of the end?

My Thoughts

I did enjoy this episode as well.  It was interesting to see John and Cameron going to school and the explanation they came up with to explain why she was setting off the metal detector.  I also liked how this episode set up a new potential way for Skynet to possible start.  I didn't notice any issues that irked me in this one.

I think the cast is doing well.  I think I like Sarah from the movies a little better..but that doesn't mean this version of the character is bad..just different.   

So far, even though I was irked by a few things, I still really enjoyed these episodes and am ready to watch the next disc.


(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon on January 15th, 2009)