DVD Collectors Online

The Turning Point (1952), a review by Antares

The Turning Point (1952) 74/100 - Solid and entertaining popcorn crime film. It's all been done before, but it moves pretty quickly and never really lets you down. The direction is rather lackluster and there was some really bad editing done. Holden plays the wisecracking type again, almost a resurrection, so to speak, of Joe Gillis. Alexis Smith is pretty bland and lifeless, and Edmond O'Brien doesn't really have much to do with his part in the trio of main characters. I actually had more fun with this when I started to recognize a few future television stars in minor, but colorful roles. Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family)as a cheap, floozy gun moll and Russell Johnson (Gilligan's Island), as a gangster hitman.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on December 1st, 2014)

Spotlight, a review by Antares

Spotlight (2015) 88/100 - I thought I'd never utter or type these words...I've lost my love for films. I've spent a lot of money amassing a large collection of DVDs, which mostly sit in folders, unwatched. Over the last few years, I've bemoaned the fact that a majority of the films coming out of Hollywood are complete crap. A couple of nights ago, I was searching through the Redbox website, and after meandering throughout all the cinemuck, saw Spotlight. I've been pretty much out of the loop as to what's been coming out over the last year, but I knew that this had won the Oscar for Best Picture. I grew up in Massachusetts during the time frame of these atrocities and having attended Catholic schools for 12 years, thought this film might be the one that restores the fire in the dying embers of my film flame... it did. I love a good "journalist investigation" film and this has to rank up there with some of the best. After I finished the film, I went on Criticker and read some of the reviews there. I was surprised to see so many people trashing it, from what I felt, was a misunderstanding of what the film was made for. It's purpose wasn't to make a groundbreaking, technical masterpiece, nor was it made to stir up the crimes of the Catholic church. It was made to show how important a Free Press is to OUR freedom and security. We live in a world where everything is being crammed into either a 15 second sound bite or a 140 character Tweet. It's all disposable information and that's what the corporations, who have taken over our country want. If it's disposable, it's also desensitizing and an apathetic and passive populace is easy prey.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on April 15th, 2016)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Sam is accidentally catapulted into an alternate universe. There Atlantis has never been found, Landry is president and has declared martial law and the Ori are going to attack soon. Sam agrees to help them if she's allowed to return home after that.

My Opinion: The very first alternate reality we've ever encountered (There But For the Grace of God was overrun by enemies. Yet almost always the people in these alternate realities were as noble as the ones in our world or they've been extremely desperate (Ripple Effect). This time we've actually seen a world where the people had to make hard choices but these choices changed them dramatically. That we aren't immune to this was proven in Absolute Power, still I am glad that Sam's back.

Synopsis: SG-1 captures a Prior - it's Daniel. With the help of Merlin he was able to deceive Adria and could present to her a plan in which another plan is hidden. But for this to work SG-1 has to disable the Supergate - it all depends on whether Daniel is telling the truth.

My Opinion: This episode was well written, until the very end the question of Daniel's allegiance had remained open. The Prior make-up did look cool on Daniel and I had fun seeing Jack again. I believe Daniel is in the lead again when it comes to the "race" against Jack on whose body had to endure more (implanted symbiote, ascended, knowledge of the Ancients loaded into the brain, rewritten DNA, ...).

Synopsis: After SG-1 has sabotaged another crop transport, Netan of the Lucian Alliance puts a price on their heads. Although they are scattered all over the USA, they all have the same problem suddenly: bounty hunters.

My Opinion: I liked this episode very much, too. Especially Vala who spiced up the class reunion considerably. And who could be surprised by the fact that she knew the bounty hunter.
What I find interesting regarding series and movies is the fact that trains and busses either don't stop at all after they've ran something or someone over or they start to brake only after they've hit it. That leaves the question if they drive only by hearing. The bounty hunter was standing there for quite some time. I am of course aware that it is a stylistic device, but: A train that approaches a car standing on the tracks, blows a horn, runs the car over and drives away as if nothing had happened (Back to the Future III)?!

Synopsis: SG-1 is arriving directly in a museum that is visited by members of the administration. They are immediately mistaken for rebels. After the shootings have stopped they find themselves in the roles of hostage-takers.

My Opinion: Daniel shouldn't switch to taking hostages as a primary occupation that would be a very short career. Really cool was that Teal'c understood the cultural reference ("We've got ourselves a John McClane here.") better than Daniel. Such kind of knowledge doesn't find one in ancient egyptian scrolls. But I noticed that some of the team members aren't appearing for complete episodes. First Daniel has been gone for two episodes, then Teal'c and Vala haven't been seen in an episode and now Sam is away. On the other hand they have to create screen time for five people now.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on May 3rd, 2008)