DVD Collectors Online

Tormented, a review by Jimmy

Tormented

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNjjcCKuAAs

(From DVD Profiler random marathon on December 20th, 2007)

Dog Day Afternoon, a review by Rich

Dog Day Afternoon



Before Peter Finch was 'mad as hell' in NETWORK, Sidney Lumet's scorching indictment of the American television industry, Al Pacino played an equally ferocious and fed-up bank robber in Lumet's classic film DOG DAY AFTERNOON. Pacino is heartbreakingly real as Sonny, a smart and tough if self-destructive Brooklyn tough whose plan to rob the local bank to fund his male lover's (Chris Sarandon) sex change goes absurdly wrong. Accompanied only by his doltish accomplice, Sal (John Cazale), Sonny resorts to kidnapping a handful of bank employees when he realizes that all the money had been removed before his arrival. As the lengthy August day drags on, Sonny and the hordes of local police, led by Sergeant Moretti (Charles Durning), make little progress, and eventually Sonny's wife and lover are brought to the scene. The crowd's sympathy is immediately captured by the charismatic Sonny, whose antagonism with the police is played out before an audience of millions, leading to an inevitably tragic finish.
Balancing suspense, violence, and humor, the film's depiction of a grand scale media event craftily dives from the political to the personal, evoking a piercing portrait of a single man and his devastating downward tumble into the cracks of the system that Lumet made a career of chronicling. DOG DAY AFTERNOON reunites Pacino with his SERPICO director Lumet, and stands as one of the finest films of the 1970s.

Stand-out performance by Pacino masks the dating of this movie, incredible depth and appeal he creates for the character Sonny highlights his genuine talent. The film as a whole is pretty limp for me in terms of action and suspense, and the 2nd half is totally ruined by being bogged down with over the top sentimentality regarding homosexuality.
Overall an enjoyable viewing experience, and a pleasure to see Pacino mastering his craft
 



(From Riches Random Reviews on January 16th, 2009)

Charmed: The Complete Series, a review by addicted2dvd

Stars:
Shannon Doherty as Prue
Holly Marie Combs as Piper
Alyssa Milano as Phoebe
Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt
T.W. King as Inspector Andy Trudeau
Dorian Gregory as Inspector Darryl Morris
Jennifer Rhodes   as Grams
Drew Fuller    as Chris
Finola Hughes as Patty Halliwell

The Packaging:
I really have a love/hate relationship with this packaging. On one hand I think it is an extremely cool idea to use a replica of the Book of Shadows.  And it came out great! I love the look and feel of it. And it is a perfect size with lots of pages of information you can read... including a complete episode guide for the series.  But on the other hand I am not thrilled with how the actual discs are housed on the pages of the book. I fear with multiple viewings the discs will become scratched.

The Show:
As most of you know already... I love this series. It is one of my all time favorite series. Sure... some seasons are better then others... but on a whole it is one of my all-time favorite shows. Because of this series I became a fan of all the actresses that have played the sisters. The discs included are the same discs released in the individual season sets. This means there is no real extras until the final season of the series. Speaking of the final season. For you fans of the Big Bang Theory out there... Kaley Cuoco (Penny on TBBT) joins the cast as a young witch that the sisters take in and train. If by chance you never seen this series... it is one I highly recommend!

Bonus Disc:
Buying the complete series set is the only way to get this bonus disc. The disc includes...

Unaired Pilot:
This is a 30 minute version of the pilot episode. The main difference is that a different actress plays one of the sisters (Phoebe) and a different actor plays Inspector Andy Trudeau. It is a fun watch... though weird seeing Charmed without Alyssa Milano.

There is also a whole series of Featurettes:
- The Demons of Charmed
- Charmed Effects
- The Men of Charmed
- The Book of Shadows
- The Power of Three
- Directing Charmed
- The Making of a Monster

I haven't watched all the featurettes yet... but what I have watched so far has been interesting.

Over-all Thoughts:
I originally had all 8 of the individual season sets... which I traded off to get the complete series set. And I must say... I really a glad I did. Not only is the complete set very cool... it gave me a reason to re-watch the series again. Over-all I feel the complete series set is more then worth it. I just wish the discs themselves were housed differently.





(From Charmed: The Complete Series on March 21st, 2014)