DVD Collectors Online

Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther
Year: 2006
Director: Will Meugniot, Richard Sebast
Rating: PG-13
Length: 73 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.77:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles:

Stars:
Justin Gross
Grey DeLisle
Michael Massee
Marc Worden
Olivia d'Abo
Nan McNamara

Plot:BLACK PANTHER. But when brutal alien invaders attack, that leaves the Black Panther with no option but to go against the sacred decrees of his people and ask for help from outsiders. And so he turns to...

THE AVENGERSCaptain America, Iron Man, Thor, Giant Man, Wasp, Black Widow and the Incredible Hulk. These mightiest of heroes have battles the aliens before and barely survived. They thought it was over. They were wrong.

Extras:
Scene Access
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Outtakes/Bloopers
DVD-ROM Content

My Thoughts:
Before these animated movies I obviously wasn't too familiar with the Avengers. In the first movie I didn't know most of the team. In this one it is the first time I ever heard of the Black Panther. I enjoyed it quite a bit... though I was surprised to see one of the Avengers dying in the movie. Definitely worth checking out.



(From Marvel Movie Marathon on June 26th, 2010)

Caribe, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are:  Costa Rica
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Caribe
Year of Release:  2004
Directed By:  Esteban Ramirez
Genre:  Drama
Starring:  Jorge Perugorria, Cuca Escribano, Maya Zapata

Overview
This tantalizing tale of passion and betrayal created a sensation when it was first released. With its atmosphere of unspoiled tropical beaches and an unforgettable cast featuring the charismatic Jorge Perugorria (Strawberry & Chocolate) as Vicente and the seductive Maya Zapata (Bordertown) as his lover Irene, CARIBE casts an intoxicating spell. While Vicente experiences a passion like none he has ever before experienced, his life hangs in the balance as an American oil company threatens to destroy him unless he betrays the country he loves.

My Thoughts:
This is a film about a man's life as it falls apart, and about how corporate mentality destroys lives.  Vincente is a good man with a happy life, a wonderful relationship with his wife, and a beautiful banana plantation.  An oil company wants to drill off the coast of Costa Rica and the local people, including Vincente oppose it.  Then the exporter that buys Vincente's bananas tells him they can no longer do so, because corporate wants more profit.  Vincente, now faced with losing his plantation, is tempted to take work from the oil company to save it.  As he is tempted in one area, he is tempted in another, by his wife's beautiful half-sister, Irene, who has come to visit.  And when gives into one temptation, he gives into the other, his personal life paralleling his professional one.

This was a good film, but not without its flaws.  It seemed disjointed, as if the filmmaker wasn't certain which story he wanted to tell:  that of the fight against the oil company or that of the love triangle between Vincente, Irene and Abigail.  Or that the filmmaker wanted to tell the love triangle story but thought his film needed more than that.  The flow wasn't always the best and the two stories could have been interwoven better.  You could see the filmmaker tried to do so, because there are obvious parallels and connections between the two stories in Vincente's life.  You also know it isn't going to end well, because Vincente has fallen in love with one woman while he still loves another.  However Vincente's ending feels forced, but there were few ways for the filmmaker to get out of the situation he had created.  I was pleased to see that the two women patched up their relationship at the end, however.

I liked the acting in the film.  I felt all of the three leads did a good job and I understood and sympathized with each of them.  The camera work was average, but Caribe did a good job at showcasing the beauty of Costa Rica and its environment, and what the people had to lose with the entre of oil extraction.

Bechdel Test:  Pass, but barely.  Irene & Abigail talk about their mother, but most of their conversations are about Vincente.

Overall: 2.75/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on March 5th, 2012)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title: Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU
Year: 2003
Length: 300 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 , Japanese: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Plot:
This is a hilarious spin-off series to "Full Metal Panic". FMP is based on a series of novels which tell the main story and a collection of comedic short stories. The first anime series "Full Metal Panic" is a mixture of the first few novels and some of the short stories. The series "Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU" solely uses the fun short stories as its source. No mecha action in this series. But a lot of fun nonetheless! As a time-filler I just wanted to show my brother and a friend one or two episodes, but we ended up watching all 12 episodes in one go until 2 in the morning 
Both of them never have seen an episode of either FMP or FUMOFFU. That tells me, that one can enjoy this spin-off without having seen the original FMP.

Rating: 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=c1bAVLCL50o

(From Tom's Random Reviews on February 24th, 2008)