DVD Collectors Online

Hamlet (1948), a review by Danae Cassandra

Hamlet
Year of Release: 1948
Directed By: Lawrence Olivier
Starring: Lawrence Olivier, Norman Wooland, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Jean Simmons
Genre: Drama

Overview:My Thoughts:
Probably the best film version of Hamlet you're going to see.  It's a very dark version of the story.  What humor there was in the play has been cut, leaving you with a bleak, somber tragedy.  Olivier is absolutely superb in the title role.  He really embodies Hamlet as I have always thought of him from reading the play.  Olivier also directs, and does a pretty fine job of that too.  His supporting cast are excellent too, especially Norman Wooland as Horatio and Jean Simmons as Ophelia.  The gorgeous cinematography, with its noir-influenced shadows and interesting use of camera angles, deserves high praise as well.  Between the cinematography and the score, it creates a moody atmosphere that serves the film well, especially in the scenes with the ghost. 

All in all, an outstanding film, a splendid rendition of Hamlet, and highly recommended for lovers of the Bard's work.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 5/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on July 6th, 2015)

Soul Surfer, a review by Dragonfire

Soul Surfer tells the story of teenage surfer Bethany Hamilton.  She survived a shark attack that took her arm and she returned to competitive surfing.  I hadn't realized a movie was being made about what happened before seeing the trailers.  I do remember hearing the news reports about it when it happened.

The movie starts off introducing Bethany, her family, and best friend.  It is clear how much surfing is a part of her life and a competition is shown.  The shark attack is shown, though not in a lot of detail.  I think the way it was shown worked well.  It is clear that she has been attacked and seriously injured without being gory.  The fact that she survived is amazing.  She has an incredibly good attitude about what has happened to her overall, though she does have moments when she struggles with it.  She is still in the hospital when she talks about wanting to go surfing again.  I can't imagine setting one toe in the ocean again after seeing a shark, let alone after being attacked.  I should probably mention that I have...issues about sharks.  I do have a fear of sharks even though I don't live near the ocean - I saw one of the Jaws movies too many times when I was younger.  In some ways, the shark attack in this movie freaks me out more than the more graphic shark attacks in other movies I've seen.  Bethany and the people she were with weren't doing anything.  There was no sign of the shark.  It just lunged up out of the water and attacked her with no warning.  That is scary.  I read some stuff about the movie and evidently some scenes were filmed in the same spot where the attack happened.

The movie does deal with things tied to Bethany's recovery and how she and her family dealt with some things.  It took time for Bethany to be able to surf again.  The movie is very entertaining and interesting, though there is some bad dialogue every so often.  The cast does well with their parts, especially AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany, though she is several years older than Bethany was when she was attacked.  Bethany was only 13 when that happened.  She is professional surfer now.

The movie has a beautiful look in many scenes.  Bethany lives in Hawaii and that is where the movie was filmed.  The beaches look gorgeous.  The scenes showing the surfing are well done.  There are some amazing shots that I don't have a clue how they were filmed. 

The movie has a few issues, but overall it is really good and definitely worth seeing.  Bethany's survival and recovery is amazing.  When the movie is over, there is footage of the real Bethany surfing, before and after the accident.  One of her brothers filmed a lot of home movies, and that is where a lot of the footage came from.  The movie is definitely worth watching.



I did get a review posted after seeing the movie.

Soul Surfer


(From Soul Surfer on May 8th, 2011)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Cheers: Season One (1982/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Paramount Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 539 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
It's the cozy Boston bar where everybody knows your name ... welcome to Cheers -Cheers: The Complete First Season, you'll find all 22 complete, uncut episodes of the show's premiere season and see how this milestone TV comedy series began. Former pro baseball player Sam "Mayday" Malone (Ted Danson) enjoys a playboy lifestyle as the proprietor of the neighborhood hangout, assisted by his befuddled bartender, Coach (Nicholas Colasanto), and his surly waitress, Carla (Rhea Perlman). Cheers also has Norm (George Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenberger) - two of the funniest barflies you'll ever encounter. And completing the show's ensemble cast is Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, a teaching assistant who suddenly finds herself jilted, jobless - and hired as Sam's newest waitress! A hearty round of laughs is served up in each episode of TV's classic comedy hit...Cheers!

Cheers
1.01 Give Me a Ring Sometime (Pilot)
Writer: Glen Charles (Created By), Les Charles (Created By), James Burrows (Created By), Glen Charles (Writer), Les Charles (Writer)
Director: James Burrows
Cast: Ted Danson (Sam 'Mayday' Malone), Shelley Long (Diane Chambers), Nicholas Colasanto (Ernie 'Coach' Pantusso), Rhea Perlman (Carla Tortelli), George Wendt (Norman 'Norm' Peterson), Michael McGuire), John P. Navin Jr.), Erik Holland), Ron Frazier), John Ratzenberger (Cliff)

I always enjoyed Cheers. It ran on German TV around 1996 weekdays at half past midnight and I made a point to record it every night to watch it after school.
My favourite characters are Norm and Cliff.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 31st, 2011)