DVD Collectors Online

9, a review by dfmorgan

9

Year: 2009
Director: Shane Acker
Cast: Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Overview: 9 is an action-packed animated fantasy adventure, set in the near future. The world's machines have turned on mankind and sparked social unrest - decimating the human population. But as our world falls to pieces, a mission begins to salvage the legacy of civilization and a small group of "stitchpunk" creations is given the spark of life by a scientist - and they successfully survive the apocalypse!
With their group being so small, these creatures must summon individual strengths well beyond their proportions in order to outwit and fight the still-functioning monster machines.
9 dynamically explores the will to live, the power of community, and how one soul can change the world.

Watched: 27th Feb 2010
My Thoughts: Wow really enjoyed this. Although the themes employed of man being man's worst enemy and that one person's sacrifice can save the world have been used many times, and in many different ways, this film still added a slightly fresh spin to them. This film has very dark and gritty imagery, probably due to its dystopian theme, but that didn't stop it being well drawn with plenty of details. The voice acting didn't grate and came over well. Although one could probably identify other films within this and its themes one scene in particular caught my fancy and that is when we meet the twins, 3 and 4, I was reminded of the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation with the Binars.

My Rating: An excellent film so 5

Dave

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on February 27th, 2010)

Black X-Mas, a review by addicted2dvd

Black X-Mas
THE HORROR CLASSIC 'BLACK CHRISTMAS', which spawned a wave of hit slasher films, is re-imagined for a new generation of fans in this terrifying remake. A group of sorority sisters, snowed in over the holiday break, tried desperately to survive the night as a relentless killer terrorizes and murders them, one by one. Featuring an old-school slasher story, the modern horror touch of director Glen Morgan (writer/producer, 'Final Destination') and a cast of today's hottest stars, including Michelle Trachtenberg ('Eurotrip'), Lacey Chabert ('Mean Girls'), Katie Cassidy ('When a Stranger Calls'), and Mary Elizabeth Winstead ('Grindhouse'), 'Black Christmas' is a thrilling, blood-soaked screamfest.

My Thoughts:
Ahhh... now this is better... what Christmas is all about... Family. Slight Spoiler: Now you had to know there was no way I was going to miss out on watching some Christmas horror movies! Though I don't have many at the moment... I still need to see the original Black Christmas... which I hear is awesome. I did enjoy this remake.. though it is impossible for me to compare with the original. That might be a good thing. There is a nice amount of gore in this movie... some of which is realistic enough... other which looks very fake.  I did feel this movie went on longer then it had to... I don't know it just felt like it slowed down towards the end. This movie does have 1 (that I noticed) familiar face in it... Michelle Trachtenberg  (Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) which was pretty cool to see.

(From My 25 Days of Christmas Marathon on December 10th, 2007)

Smallville Marathon #2, a review by DJ Doena

Smallville Marathon #1

I've never read a DC comic (or Marvel for that matter) and I've only watched the four "Reeve" Supermans and Superman Returns. Thus I have no idea what does or doesn't contradict Superman mythology when I watch Smallville, which is an advantage I think.





Synopsis: A meteor shower hits a small town in Kansas: Smallville. But with that shower a spaceship arrives and it contains a small boy that is adopted by the Kents. 12 years later. Clark Kent, Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross are freshemens on the Smallville Highschool. And Lex Luthor, son of Lionel Luthor takes over the management of the Smallville fertilizer plant. But then an accident happens where Lex nearly gets killed - if it weren't for Clark. And a man awakes from a coma in which he had laid for twelve years.

My Opinion: I really liked the homage to the first Superman movie, when Clark missed his school bus and ran across the fields again. I also liked most of the cast from the start. I also thought it to be interesting that Clark didn't already possess all of his abilities. But the pilot plot also introduces the scheme of the show for at least the first season: Freak-of-the-Week. But they also have some minor arcs from the beginning.

Synopsis: The story continues on the day after the Homecoming. Lex still possesses Lana's meteor rock necklace and intends to help Clark with it. But not only Clark and Whitney are interested in Lana but also Greg. He's stalking her until he's stung by a swarm of meteor-infected bugs. Then he becomes dangerous and only Clark is strong enough to stop him.

My Opinion: An ordinary FotW episode. But also the first where Clark has to accept his fate: He may be the rescuer but often he won't be able to take the credit for it. He has to conceil who he is and that will bring him in as much trouble as facing his opponents will do.

Synopsis: The football coach uses a sauna with meteor rocks which gives him the ability to burn things at will. He is also very ambitious and wants his team to win no matter the costs. And Clark wants to join the team even against the will of his father. Meanwhile Lex's father wants his son to fire 20% of the employees in the fertilizer plant.

My Opinion: A good father-and-son-confrontation episode but both confrontations where totally different of course. If I were to imagine Jonathan Kent's early years I can't help but to think of a certain Bo Duke (The Dukes of Hazzard). To watch Lex over the course of the years is also interesting bceause they choose to portray him as "not so bad" guy in the beginning. If he were bad from the start I don't think it would have been that interesting. There's one problem though: Lex is supposed to be 6 or 7 years older than the others (IIRC he was 10 when the meteors hit Smallville) and although Michael Rosenbaum (29 in 2001) is actually 5 years older than Tom Welling (24 in 2001) it doesn't feel that way. When they both face each other they both seem very adult, but Clark is only a 16-year-old Highschool student.

Synopsis: After sudden flashes of headaches, Clark is able to see through things though he can't really control it. But this new ability helps him to uncover a plot to blame Lex for a bank robbery he didn't commit. A girl who has become a bad copy of Lana has the ability to shape-shift and she can fool everybody but Clark. Meanwhile a reporter tries to blackmail Lex with knowledge about his past in Metropolis.

My Opinion: This episode starts several things. Firstly, the tradition to introduce one new ability in every season, in this case his X-Ray vision. Secondly, Lex's obsession with Clark that will presumably never end. And thirdly we see that he has both a past that is at least greyish and that he becomes ruthless when he's threatened.
I doubt I would have noticed it before Buffy but that was the second time in only four episodes that had at least one scene in a cemetery.

(From Smallville Marathon #2 on May 22nd, 2008)