DVD Collectors Online

Baron Blood, a review by Achim

Title: Gli Orrori del castello di Norimberga
Year: 1972
Director: Mario Bava
Rating: NR
Length: 98 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Joseph Cotten
Elke Sommer
Massimo Girotti
Rada Rassimov
Antonio Cantafora

Plot:
An American student's family curse, an ancient Austrian castle of torture and a demonic incantation that resurrects the infamous 16th Century sadist known as 'Baron Blood'. Director Mario Bava returns to his gothic roots -- albeit with a modern day Technicolor twist -- in this indelibly atmospheric thriller that pays tribute to the sumptuous horror classics of the '30s and '40s while delivering the black humor and grisly shocks of the drive-in '70s. Joseph Cotton, Elke Sommer and Massimo Girotti star in one of the most visually haunting films of Bava's later career, now presented in its uncut European Version featuring footage not seen in the original American release.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Trailers
Radio Spots

After the previous film (Four Times That Night, produced the same year) Mario Bava goes back to the genre he fells much more at home in. While the look follows a lot what the Hammer films looked like, Bava very much makes it his own. The camera work is inventive, the atmosphere tense, the make up effects are top notch (for its time, obviously) and the story telling, while most of the time rather conventional, has some inspired moments.

Joseph Cotton is the token film star, mostly phoning in his performance in. It seems in those days it was common for aging film stars to appear in small horror films, supposedly to pair their bills (see also Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, heck even Christopher Lee did it for a while in the early 90s). Elke Sommer, who you may have seen in the Dr. Clouseau flick A Shot in the Dark, does her usual overacting. No complaints about the other members.



(From Mario Bava marathon on July 14th, 2009)

Finding Nemo, a review by Tom

Title: Finding Nemo
Year: 2003
Director: Andrew Stanton
Rating: FSK-0
Length: 96 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Surround EX, German: Dolby Digital Surround EX, German: DTS ES (Matrixed), Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Commentary, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Turkish

Stars:
Englische Stimmen
Albert Brooks
Ellen DeGeneres
Alexander Gould
Willem Dafoe
Brad Garrett

Plot:
When Nemo, a young clownfish, is unexpectedly carried far from home, his overprotective father, Marlin (Albert Brooks), and Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a friendly but forgetful regal blue tang fish, embark on an epic journey that leads to encounters with vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish and hungry seagulls!

Awards:

Academy Award	2003	Won	Best Animated Feature Film	Andrew Stanton
Academy Award	2003	Nominated	Best Music, Original Score	Thomas Newman
Academy Award	2003	Nominated	Best Sound Editing	Gary Rydstrom, Michael Silvers
Academy Award	2003	Nominated	Best Writing, Original Screenplay	Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds (Screenplay); Andrew Stanton (Story)
American Cinema Editors Awards	2004	Nominated		David Ian Salter, Lee Unkrich
American Film Institute Awards	2003	Won	Movie of the Year
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Best Animated Feature	Pixar Animation Studios
Annie Awards	2003	Nominated	Individual Achievment - Animated Effects	Justin Ritter
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Individual Achievment - Animated Effects	Martin Nguyen
Annie Awards	2003	Nominated	Individual Achievment - Character Animation	Dave DeVan
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Individual Achievment - Character Animation	Doug Sweetland
Annie Awards	2003	Nominated	Individual Achievment - Character Animation	Gini Santos
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Individual Achievment - Character Design in an Animated Feature Production	Ricky Nierva
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Individual Achievment - Directing in an Animated Feature Production	Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Individual Achievment - Music in an Animated Feature Production	Thomas Newman
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Individual Achievment - Production Design in an Animated Feature Production	Ralph Eggleston
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Individual Achievment - Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production	Ellen DeGeneres as the voice of Dory
Annie Awards	2003	Won	Individual Achievment - Writing in an Animated Feature Production	Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, Dave Reynolds
BAFTA	2003	Nominated	Screenplay (Original)	Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds
BMI Film & TV Music Awards	2004	Won	BMI Film Music Award	Thomas Newman
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	2004	Won	Best Animated Film
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	2004	Nominated	Best Picture
European Film Awards	2003	Nominated	European Film Academy Non-European Film - Prix Screen International
Golden Globe	2003	Nominated	Picture - Musical or Comedy	Graham Walters
Hugo Award	2004	Nominated	Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
MTV Movie Awards	2004	Nominated	Best Comedic Performance	Ellen DeGeneres
MTV Movie Awards	2004	Nominated	Best Movie
Online Film Critics Society Awards	2004	Won	Best Animated Feature
Satellite Awards	2004	Nominated
Satellite Awards	2004	Nominated	Best Original Score	Thomas Newman
Saturn	2003	Won	Best Animated Film
Saturn	2003	Nominated	Best DVD Special Edition Release
Saturn	2003	Nominated	Best Music	Thomas Newman
Saturn	2003	Won	Best Supporting Actress	Ellen DeGeneres
Saturn	2003	Nominated	Best Writing	Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds
Visual Effects Society Awards	2004	Won	Outstanding Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture	Andrew Gordon, Brett Coderre (For "Speaking Whale")
Visual Effects Society Awards	2004	Nominated	Outstanding Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture	David DeVan, Gini Santos (For "Inside the Whale")
Young Artist Awards	2004	Won

Extras:
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Interactive Game
Kurzfilm "Knick Knack"
Music Videos
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
THX certified
Trailers
Virtuelles Aquarium

A great movie. The animation is wonderful. Dory is the most fun character in this movie. Too bad that I didn't watch it in the theatre.

Rating:

(From December Marathons - DISCUSSION AND REVIEW THREAD on December 24th, 2009)

Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

1. Orphan of War
When Xena tries to help the centaurs protect a sacred stone that contains their evil, she encounters someone from her past...her son.

My Thoughts:
A good episode. As the plot says in this episode we learn of Xena's son. I didn't remember this from when I watched this series on TV. So not sure if we ever hear from him again or not. In this episode Xena has to go against one of the men that used to be in her army. A man very greedy for power.

My Rating:

2. Remember Nothing
The Three Fates offer Xena the opportunity to erase her past - including her brother's untimely death - but only if she vows to never shed blood in anger again.

My Thoughts:
Wow... impressive. This is another episode I don't remember ever seeing before. It is nice knowing I have episodes in these sets that I never seen before to look forward to. This one is an alternate reality/What if episode that I thought was very well done. I enjoyed every minute of it.

My Rating:

3. Giant Killer
Xena is caught between a rock and a hard place when she's pitted against her friend Goliath in a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines.

My Thoughts:
Whatta ya know... Xena was there when David put down Goliath. Not a bad episode... though not the best I have seen. Entertaining anyway.

My Rating:

4. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Xena is forced to take on the Bacchae - bloodthirsty minions of the wine god, Bacchus - to get to their power-hungry leader and foil his plan to take over the world.

My Thoughts:
Somehow I completely forgot about this episode till I got to it. I don't know how I could forget they did a take on the Vampire legend. And yes... I of course loved every minute of it. It is definitely a favorite.

My Rating:

(From Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon on December 30th, 2009)