DVD Collectors Online

Barbie: A Perfect Christmas, a review by Danae Cassandra

Barbie: A Perfect Christmas

Year of Release: 2011
Starring: Diana Kaarina, Rachel Harrison, Lauren Lavoie, Ashlyn Drummond
Directed By:  Mark Baldo, Terry Klassen
Genre:  Comedy, Musical

Overview:
Join Barbie and her sisters Skipper, Stacie and Chelsea as their holiday vacation plans turn into a most unexpected adventure and heartwarming lesson. After a snowstorm diverts their plane, the girls find themselves far from their New York destination and their holiday dreams. Now stranded at a remote inn in the tiny town of Tannenbaum, the sisters are welcomed by new friends and magical experiences. In appreciation for the wonderful hospitality they receive, they use their musical talents to put on a performance for the whole town. Barbie and her sisters realize the joy of being together is what really makes A Perfect Christmas!

My Thoughts:
Okay, so this would be much more appropriate if I was about thirty years younger.  However, I still enjoyed it.  It would be really good for small children - it has a really nice message about Christmas being about your family and friends and what you can give rather than about yourself and what you're going to get.  If you've got young kids (especially girls) pick this up.  While the animation is nothing special (it's all CGI and hasn't appreciably changed since they started making these Barbie films in 2001) and the music is catchy but forgettable for an adult, it's a cute Christmas film with some actual Christmas spirit behind it.  Also, all the characters are female and they have a lot of agency here, and in every Barbie film, which is a big reason I like the franchise.  Just try to ignore the rampant consumerism that is Barbie and just enjoy the film for its own merit.

Bechdel Test:  Pass

Overall:  2.5/5

(From Danae's Yuletide Marathon on December 3rd, 2012)

Extremeops, a review by KinkyCyborg

Extremeops




Title:Extremeops
Year: 2002
Director: Christian Duguay
Rating: PG-13
Length: 93 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen :1, Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Devon Sawa
Bridgette Wilson
Rupert Graves
Rufus Sewell
Heino Ferch

Plot:
On a remote Austrian mountain, a filmcrew, three daredevil American snowboarders, and a professional downhill skier have gathered to shoot a spectacular stunt for a TV commercial. The stunt is perilous, but an even greater danger soon appears - known terrorists are hiding near the crew's camp. Now the extreme athletes must use their extraordinary skills for their greatest challenge: to stop a terrorist threat...and escape a treacherous mountain with their lives.

Extras:



Extreme sports nuts decide to outrun an avalanche on snowboards and skis to film a commercial but accidentally happen upon an exiled war criminal in hiding who now wants them all dead.

Fans of extreme sports will probably love this, but I only found it mildly entertaining. Too many of the stunts looked staged and contrived so it's hard to assess how much is believable. Some great scenery though, both from the landscape and one of the female leads, Bridgette Wilson, aka the wife of tennis star Pete Sampras.  Rufus Sewell and Devon Sawa also star.

Definitely produced by fans of this genre of sports as the terrorist plot was quite secondary to all the high speed, dangerous aerials from these adrenaline junkies.

Just ok.

KC


Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on April 25th, 2011)

The Flash Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Guest Stars:
Mike Genovese as Lt. Warren Garfield
Charley Lang as Ted Whitcomb
Lenny von Dohlen as Jason Brassell

My Thoughts:
This one is a good episode. But I must admit it was strange seeing him act child-like for the clone character. But it is a good entertaining episode.

My Rating:

(From The Flash Marathon on April 26th, 2010)