DVD Collectors Online

Elektra, a review by DVDsRGreat

Title: Elektra

Overview:
Superstar Jennifer Garner proves that looks can kill as the sexiest action hero ever to burst from the pages of Marvel Comics. Restored to life after sustaining mortal wounds in Daredevil, Elektra (Garner) now lives only for death as the world's most lethal assassin. But her latest assignment will force her to make a fateful decision in the ultimate battle between good and evil!

Hmm! Crappy dialog and weak acting! Well I wasn't expecting too much since it was kind of a follow-up on Daredevil - we all know how that was but it was still a disappointment. The only saving grace was Jennifer Garner in her red costume and some decent special effects.

Rating: 

(From My November alphabet marathon reviews on November 6th, 2008)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a review by Jon

Forgetting Sarah Marshall ***
3 out of 5

Peter (Jason Segel) is dumped by his girlfriend of five years, TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) and goes to Hawaii to forget. Unfortunately Sarah is at the same resort with her new boyfriend, a British pop-star (Russell Brand)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the closest yet that the Apatow run of comedies (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) have come to the Kevin Smith brand of heartwarming romantic comedy via outrageous gags, and while it's more the quality of Mallrats than Chasing Amy, it's a very well written and faithful script by star Jason Segel. Part of me wishes it was funnier, but maybe that would compromise the characters.

They are all very believable. Each person has their good and bad sides; nobody is perfect and everybody is in for criticism. That's important because they feel real whereas normally in a rom-com, lead characters go on "journeys" while the supporting cast don't change at all and it's vomit inducing. Here they are all well rounded. Segel in particular is nakedly honest (literally so in a couple of unfortunate scenes!) and his Dracula The Musical moments (apparently a genuine project Segel wrote years ago) work as both poignant and possibly the funniest thing in the film. Kristen Bell perhaps has the hardest job, because she's the villain of the piece, so putting across her point of view is an uphill struggle. Far better is her new boyfriend. Russell Brand plays himself really, but is far more than a mere cameo and he is excellent at portraying several layers. If anything, he is the most grounded. I know Brand in real life is Marmite to many people, but even if you detest him, don't let him put you off because not liking his character can reap rewards. Mila Kunis is adorable (oh, the irony of her voicing Meg in Family Guy!), while Jack McBrayer almost steals the show with his attempts to consummate his recent marriage. "God put our mouths on our head's for a reason!"

The middle section is very messy and seems to waste time, but it comes good in the end by continuing to surprise, even when resorting to predictable convention. Even then, I thought they'd written themselves into a corner, but it resolves gracefully. Overall I think Segel has a better ear for dialogue than the other Apatow films have showed, as they occasionally lapse into moments of being too clever for their own good. Still, they are much funnier.

Note: like any Apatow DVD, this is stuffed with extras, but personally I'd avoid them. I ruined Knocked Up for myself by watching the hours of deleted scenes, gag reels, abandoned ad-libbing, etc. The Line-O-Rama feature is a case in point; take one scene and show the 20 or so alternative lines in quick succession. Argh!

(From Jon's Random Reviews on August 30th, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child (1963/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia 2 entertain Video (United Kingdom) Length: 96 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, Trivia

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Plot:
The first ever story of the world's longest-running science fiction series comes to DVD for the first time!

Susan Foreman is a mystery to teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, seemingly knowing more then she should about the past... and the future. Their curiosity leads them to follow her home one night, only to find her 'home' appears to be a deserted junkyard. In the junkyard, they discover a police telephone box and a stange old man, who claims to be Susan's grandfather, and calls himself the Doctor. The journey of a lifetime is about to begin...

This story was originally broadcast on BBC ONE between 23rd November -14 December 1963


Doctor Who
Season 1.01 An Unearthly Child
Writer: Anthony Coburn (Writer)
Director: Waris Hussein
Cast: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), William Russell (Ian Chesterton), Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright), Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)

This first episode of the classic Doctor Who series is a nice introduction to the characters and the series. I enjoyed this first part. The following three episodes which makes up the first Doctor Who storyline were quite boring though.




(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on December 5th, 2013)