DVD Collectors Online

Frozen, a review by Danae Cassandra

Frozen
Year of Release: 2013
Directed By: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana
Genre: Fantasy, Animation

Overview:
Walt Disney Animation Studios presents a chilly twist on one of the most humorous and heartwarming stories ever told. "Disney Animation's best since The Lion King" (William Bibbiani, CraveOnlineFrozenMy Thoughts:
Certainly the best Disney movie in twenty years, and also one of the best of all time, Frozen has a great soundtrack, top-notch animation, and a heart-felt story. 

The animation is absolutely stunning.  The choice of CGI over traditional hand-drawn works perfectly for the story here, creating a crisp look, and the gorgeous blue and white palette glistens so much like real snow and ice you'll feel a bit cold just watching. 

I really liked all of the characters, and felt they all had a bit of uniqueness to them.  Even the relatively minor characters like the shopkeeper were memorable.  My favorite character, hands down, was Olaf, who was simply so sweet and endearing as to nearly steal any scene he was in.   

I do wish we had seen more of Elsa, though, and that her part in the story was larger.  She is a very different lady than we have seen before from Disney, and really far more interesting than her sister.  Her story is far from over and continuing with her would make an excellent sequel - if Disney didn't have such an abysmal track record with sequels.

That aside, this movie is a lot of fun, has really positive female characters who save themselves and each other for a change, and I'd recommend it for just about anyone.

Bechdel Test:  Pass

Overall: 4/5

(From Frozen on March 21st, 2014)

The Beastmaster, a review by addicted2dvd

The Beastmaster (1982/United States) IMDb |Trailer |Wikipedia | Anchor Bay Entertainment Director: Don Coscarelli Writing: Don Coscarelli (Writer), Paul Pepperman (Writer) Length: 118 min. Rating: PG Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: None

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Stars:
Marc Singer as Dar
Tanya Roberts as Kiri
Rip Torn as Maax
John Amos as Seth
Josh Milrad as Tal
Rod Loomis as Zed

Plot:
The prince of a family slaughtered by lords of evil, Dar must embark on a perilous journey to seek his revenge against a villainous priest.

Extras:

• None

This is a on a cheap Echo Bridge DVD I got at a grocery store recently called Fantasy Adventure: 4 Films Collector's Set. 4 movies on 1 single side DVD for only $2.99. So going into it I wasn't expecting much of anything quality wise.  Of course no extras at all... not even a scene select menu. When I picked this one up I couldn't remember for sure if I seen any of the films before. Turns out in this case as I was watching it I remember I have seen it before. But it has been many years! The movie itself is pretty good... not what I would call a great movie... but I definitely enjoyed it. As for the quality... I was honestly expecting worse. But still wasn't great. Reminded me of the old VHS days. So it is watchable... but nothing special. At least it was in Widescreen.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs on June 23rd, 2013)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon, a review by goodguy

2x11 Self Made Man
Synopsis: Cameron never sleeps, so what does she do at night? Chase a T-888 that's been lost in time.
My Rating:

Toni Graphia is one of the finest writers on this show and here she is responsible for another gem. The seasonal story arc is pretty much abandoned in what seems to be a stand-alone episode, but is it really? Sure, on the surface it's about a T-888 lost in the '20s. It's also a night in the life of Cameron. But the really beautiful thing is how the episode picks up not so much the plot, but the themes developed in the series so far.

Why does Cameron go to the library? It's not so much information she seeks, but knowledge. That's why she befriends Eric, the night librarian (excellent, Billy Lush), that's why she reads Shakespeare. She wants to understand humans. She wants to understand John. They don't make sense to her.

Upon the photograph of the T-888 she stumbles by accident. At first, he doesn't make sense to her either. But he is a machine. Machines are predictable, easy to figure out. And that, Achim, is exactly why it takes her only a night to piece together the clues.

But humans? They turn over turtles, so she did turn over Ellison. But when Eric falls out of his chair, he obviously doesn't want her help. And Cameron observes him, curious, confused. But not attached. For her, everything works out fine: the robbery, Othello, Eric being replaced by another night guard (what a great ending).

There are so many little things in this episode to marvel at. They are what creates the rich texture of the show, what makes it special. Like the question about suicide in the bathroom, calling back that girl in S1 who killed herself. Like the bomb comment, linking back to her talk about Sarah's cancer. Like the three dots that suddenly appear as star positions in a flashback, making them part of the T-888 investigation that essentially is just a McGuffin.

I also really liked John and Riley. Again very little happens, but the beauty is in the details and how it is all connected. Like John beating up the guy at the party and Sarah beating up Akagi. Like Riley playing little games with John at the party and a big game to further Jesse's agenda. Like John's "I shouldn't be around people" echoes what Jesse said about Future John. Like Riley's "you're a weirdo, you might get me" complements the story of Cameron and Eric. And, and, and.

I'm very glad the show doesn't speed up and move along, as Achim said. It wouldn't be the show I've come to admire.


(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon on February 13th, 2010)