DVD Collectors Online

The Bat, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: The Bat
Year: 1959
Director: Crane Wilbur
Rating: NR
Length: 80 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: N/A

Stars:
Vincent Price as Dr. Malcolm Wells
Agnes Moorehead as Cornelia Van Gorder
Gavin Gordon as Lieutenant Anderson
John Sutton as Warner
Lenita Lane as Lizzia Allen

Star(s) of TV Series:

Star:	Movie Character:	TV Series:	Season(s):	Series Character:
Agnes Moorehead	Cornelia Van Gorder	Bewitched	All	Endora

Plot:Extras:
N/A

My Thoughts:
This is the first time I ever seen this classic Vincent Price movies. It is on double feature disc with House on Haunted Hill. Another Vincent Price movie. This DVD is put out by the Roan Group and is labeled Horror Classics #3: Vincent Price Collection . But the problem with that is I wouldn't call The Bat a horror movie. It is a murder mystery. But it is one I enjoyed. I am glad I have it in my collection. I admit it was a little strange to see Agnes Moorehead in something other then Bewitched... but she did a good job. Thought she was very believable in the role. I enjoyed the storyline... even though I did guess the murderer ahead of time. I wouldn't say it is completely obvious... but I did guess it about half way through the movie.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: TV Stars in the Movies on March 6th, 2010)

Waltz With Bashir, a review by Danae Cassandra

Waltz With Bashir (Vals Im Bashir)
Year of Release: 2008
Directed By: Ari Folman
Starring: Ori Sivan, Ronny Dayag, Shmuel Frenkel
Genre: Documentary

Overview:
Inspired by actual events, Waltz With Bashir chronicles one man's descent into his own half-forgotten past. Filmmaker Ari Folman, an Israeli veteran of the First Lebanon War, encounters an old friend suffering from nightmares of the conflict. Ari begins to wonder why his own memories are full of gaps. In an effort to uncover the truth, he reconnects with old friends and dares to confront the horrors of war. Hailed as innovative and devastating, Waltz with Bashir fuses animation and documentary to create an experience unlike anything you've ever witnessed.

My Thoughts:
What is a man's culpability in the face of the horrific? How does a man stand by while others are slaughtered? And how does a man live with the guilt afterward?

A highly personal film, a recollection of traumatic events and the attempt to reconcile with those events years later, this is one of the best films about the horror of war, for all involved.

If the animation isn't the finest I've ever seen, its lack of fluidity fits the subject matter. It's appropriately realistic, somewhat gritty and ugly. Powerful film, troubling, and illuminated at the same time. Highly recommended, but don't expect a feel-good, happy ending.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall:  4/5

(From March Around the World 2016 on March 10th, 2016)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Someone kills seemingly random Starfleet officers aboard DS9 and he or she uses an old-fashioned gun instead of an energy weapon. The killer seems to be shooting at point-blank range yet there are none of the expected powder burns on the body. Ezri uses an Trill ritual to call forth the memories of Joran Dax, the murderer. She hopes that his insight can help her catch the current killer.

My Opinion: Actually, this was an interesting episode. I liked it how Joran pushed her to solve the case but I also liked how she resisted him in the end. To use a Vulcan as killer was a surprising choice, but because of that it was a good one. It seemed logical () from a script POV not to use one of the usual suspects.

Synopsis: When O'Brien and Odo return from a mission their runabout is followed by some sort of space being. It enters the ship and turns out to be a shapeshifter. But it's not a Founder. He's one of the hundred like Odo that were sent into space to explore and experience. Odo tries to convince him to live on the station, but Laas is older than Odo and he's developed a certain dislike for "monoforms".

My Opinion: While I found the special effects and the idea that a shapeshifter could turn into fire or fog interesting, the rest of the episode was rather boring.

Synopsis: Vic's program contains a hidden Jack-in-the-box component which allows the gangster Frankie Eyes to overtake the hotel and turn it into a casino. Vic is thrown out. But the crew of DS9 can't simply reset and restart the program because that would mean that Vic would lose all his memories about them. They need to find an ingame solution and soon after the senior staff of DS9 is planning a robbery of a 1960s Las Vegas casino.

My Opinion: The last fun and also the last holodeck episode of the show. I enjoyed it very much. It's a bit like Ocean's Eleven (the original one, the one without all the computer stuff). And I liked the general idea that they were unwilling to reset the program and lose Vic as they know him. Basically Vic is to them what fictional characters are to us and I love my fictional characters the way they are.

Synopsis: Shortly before Bashir departs for a conference on Romulus he's contacted by Sloan from Section 31. Sloan gives him an additional job: To evaluate the health condition of certain members of the romulan Continuing Committee. Sisko and Admiral Ross order him to play along to find out what Section 31 is up to. But when it becomes clear that someone is about to kill the chairman of the romulan intelligence service Tal Shiar, Bashir reveals this information to the romulan liason officer, Senator Cretak.

My Opinion: "Inter arma enim silent leges." - "In times of war, the law falls silent." The theme of this episode was similar to the one in In the Pale Moonlight. What is allowed in times of war to win that war? Garak did the dirty work in the former episode and now Section 31 has done it. But this time it happened with the approval of a Starfleet admiral and not just a station captain. When does the price become to high to pay? What good are principles if you lose and become enslaved? But what good are principles if you only life by them when it's an easy choice?

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on March 1st, 2009)