DVD Collectors Online

Arsenic & Old Lace, a review by Dragonfire

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Arsenic and Old Lace

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I actually got this one for my mom for Christmas.  I watched it with her right after Christmas.  It was the first time I'd seen the movie.  I really didn't know much about the movie before watching it other than that Cary Grant was in it.  I did read the back of the case before we watched it.  I loved the movie and think it was a very well done comedy.  Some of what happens does get a bit crazy and silly, but it works for the movie.  It is based on a play, and some of the cast members are from the original run of the play on Broadway.  The movie does have a more limited setting, with most of it taking place in the large main room of a house in Brooklyn.

The plot is very entertaining and a lot happens even though it is confined to one Halloween when Mortimer and Elaine have just gotten married.  They return to Brooklyn to share the news with their families, and that is when the craziness starts.  Mortimer's brother Teddy still lives with their aunts - who raised them and their other brother Jonathan.  Teddy is..well...not all there you could say.  He thinks he is President Teddy Roosevelt and he talks to everyone like they are people Roosevelt would have worked with.  He doesn't just walk up the stairs to his room.  He yells charge and runs up the stairs, into his room, slamming the door behind him.  He plays a bugle at random times, night and day, which has many of the neighbors aggravated.  The family understands Teddy's issues and deals with them.  Mortimer discovers a dead body in the house, and he believes that Teddy finally completely flipped and killed the man, thinking he was fighting in battle or something.  The aunts - Abby and Martha - claim responsibility for the body and casually mention the other twelve buried in the basement.  The aunts have Teddy dig the graves, telling him it is the canal in Panama.  They are very calm about the situation while Mortimer freaks out, worrying how to deal with the situation in the best way for his family.  Then Jonathan returns home for the first time in years with his surgeon and accomplice Dr. Einstein.  Jonathan is a wanted criminal who, thanks to plastic surgery, looks like Boris Karloff.  The two men are trying to avoid the police and find a place to stash their own dead body.

A lot happens throughout the movie without making things too complicated.  Most of the movie takes place after Mortimer discovers the dead body and shows how he deals with an increasingly crazy situation.  The movie is a lot funnier than I expected it to be.  The way Teddy acts, yelling and racing up the stairs, is very funny.  Mortimer's reactions to what is going on is hilarious at times.  The entire situation is just a bit funny to begin with, and the humor continues throughout the movie.  The movies really isn't predictable and I was left wondering how a few things would work out.  The movie is very fun and entertaining overall, in a sort of twisted way.

The characters are wonderful and very entertaining.  Abby and Martha are such sweet, nice old ladies, yet they have killed thirteen men with poisoned wine.  They think they are doing something helpful for the men and don't understand why Mortimer is upset.  Teddy is harmless, though it is understandable why some neighbors are upset.  Jonathan has his own issues, but they have made him very violent and dangerous.  Even though they have killed all those men, the aunts just don't seem violent or threatening like Jonathan.  He's creepy and scary.  He gets very upset whenever anyone says that he looks like Boris Karloff.  Dr. Einstein is rather creepy as well.  Mortimer is a wonderful character who is struggling to deal with everything.  I love Cary Grant in the part.  For the most part, I've just seen him in more serious movies, though most of them have had a bit of humor in them as well.  This is the funniest I've seen him and I think he handles all the craziness, and the slapstick moments, very well.  Elaine isn't around as much, so she doesn't receive the same attention.

I loved this movie and am glad that I finally saw it.  I think it has held up well and is still well worth watching.



I did get a review posted at Epinions if anyone would like to take a look.

Arsenic and Old Lace

(From Marie's Random Movie Viewing on January 4th, 2012)

Seven Doors of Death, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Seven Doors of Death
Year: 1982
Director: Lucio Fulci
Rating: R
Length: 84 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: N/A

Stars:
Catriona MacColl as Lisa
David Warbeck as The Doctor
Cinzia Monreale [Credited As Sarah Keller] as Emily
Antoine Saint-John as Schweick
Veronica Lazar as Martha

Plot:
Seven Doors Of Death is a film that will horrify, sicken and terrify those who dare to watch this tale. Set in Louisiana the movie opens in 1927 with a Satanic disciple being crucified and melted alive with quicklime in the basement of an old hotel. Fifty years later, Lisa (Kathrene MacColl) inherits the hotel, not suspecting that it is one of the seven gateways to Hell. Horrible events begin to happen in the possessed hotel, such as a workman breaking his neck, another has his eyeballs gouged out by a zombie, a woman's head is melted by a vat of acid and an architect has his face eaten by hungry tarantulas. Not a hotel to stay for the weekend! Great special effects highlights this not to be seen alone movie!

Extras:
Scene Access
Production Notes

My Thoughts:
This is one of the movies I bought blind for my October horror marathon when I found it cheap (only $1.91). After buying it I found out it is a cut version of the movie The Beyond... which I never seen either. But I will say... if this is the cut version... I need to get my hands on the uncut version. As this one had it's fair share of gore... I could only imagine how much is in the uncut version. It is a good movie... but it could have been better. In some places the script seemed a little off but that could be because this is because it is an Italian film. Some of the effects do look a bit dated but I think that is to be expected since this movie is 28 years old now. And why did there just have to be a scene with spiders? I HATE SPIDERS! I had chills going up my spine during that scene. But over0all is a right good story. Hopefully before too long I can get my hands on an uncut copy.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs on March 14th, 2010)

Pilot Season 2014-15, a review by DJ Doena

Welcome to Sweden



Welcome to Sweden @ Wikipedia
Welcome to Sweden @ IMDb

Synopsis: This series is modelled after some of the experiences of Amy Poehler's (Parks and Recreation) brother Greg.
Here Bruce (Greg Poehler) is an American celebrity accountant who moves to Sweden with his girlfriend to her home country of Sweden and suddenly he is the foreigner in a land with different customs and languages.

My Opinion: Since the US seems to live in the binary system of a show either being a drama or a comedy this falls into the latter category.
It is actually not that funny if you ask me but I still like it nonetheless.
Why? Because you have countless jokes based on "foreigner from country X comes to America" in many different shows and movies but this time it's the American who has to adapt and learn that life is different in other countries.
It's a fish out of water story for both the main character and (I assume) the American audience who (like previously established on shows like Heroes) also have to adapt to people actually speaking Swedish half the time (with English subs of course).
I really do like it, I'm just not sure I'd qualify it as a comedy.



(From Pilot Season 2014-15 on September 14th, 2014)