DVD Collectors Online

Baron Blood, a review by Achim

Title: Gli Orrori del castello di Norimberga
Year: 1972
Director: Mario Bava
Rating: NR
Length: 98 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Joseph Cotten
Elke Sommer
Massimo Girotti
Rada Rassimov
Antonio Cantafora

Plot:
An American student's family curse, an ancient Austrian castle of torture and a demonic incantation that resurrects the infamous 16th Century sadist known as 'Baron Blood'. Director Mario Bava returns to his gothic roots -- albeit with a modern day Technicolor twist -- in this indelibly atmospheric thriller that pays tribute to the sumptuous horror classics of the '30s and '40s while delivering the black humor and grisly shocks of the drive-in '70s. Joseph Cotton, Elke Sommer and Massimo Girotti star in one of the most visually haunting films of Bava's later career, now presented in its uncut European Version featuring footage not seen in the original American release.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Trailers
Radio Spots

After the previous film (Four Times That Night, produced the same year) Mario Bava goes back to the genre he fells much more at home in. While the look follows a lot what the Hammer films looked like, Bava very much makes it his own. The camera work is inventive, the atmosphere tense, the make up effects are top notch (for its time, obviously) and the story telling, while most of the time rather conventional, has some inspired moments.

Joseph Cotton is the token film star, mostly phoning in his performance in. It seems in those days it was common for aging film stars to appear in small horror films, supposedly to pair their bills (see also Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, heck even Christopher Lee did it for a while in the early 90s). Elke Sommer, who you may have seen in the Dr. Clouseau flick A Shot in the Dark, does her usual overacting. No complaints about the other members.



(From Mario Bava marathon on July 14th, 2009)

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, a review by Danae Cassandra

Year of Release: 1995
Directed By: Shusuke Kaneko
Starring: Tsuyoshi Ihara, Akira Onodera, Shinobu Nakayama, Ayako Fujitani
Genre: Action, Science-Fiction, Tokusatsu, Kaiju

Overview:
Ten thousand years ago, an advanced civilization created the Gyaos to eliminate rampant pollution. However, the Gyaos grew stronger, started breeding and began feasting on humans. For protection, the Gameras were created to fend off the attacks. The onslaught of the Gyaos was eventually halted, and they were forced into hibernation. Despite the best efforts of its people, the advanced civilization was ruined. So, the scientists preserved the last remaining Gamera and bequeathed him to the next civilization, should the Gyaos ever return.

The giant flying turtle is back to protect the world from his old enemy, Gyaos, the giant prehistoric bird who is wreaking havoc on Tokyo!

My Thoughts:
This is the gritty 90's reboot of Gamera, and it's objectively a better movie on every level than any of its predecessors. It's still a fun film, but it eschews the silliness of the earlier films for a much more serious tone. The human characters are actually decently acted and fleshed out. Gamera's design gets a lot better too. He looks much more realistic and much more menacing. Gyaos as well. Bottom line, if you like kaiju films, this is a winner.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Gamera! on February 28th, 2016)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

Star Trek: The Next Generation
7.11 Parallels
Writer: Brannon Braga (Writer)
Director: Robert Wiemer
Cast: Patrick Stewart (Capt. Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. William T. Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lieutenant Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Patti Yasutake (Nurse Ogawa), Mark Bramhall (Gul Nador), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice (voice))

Worf jumps between different parallel universes. It's fun to see different realities of the Enterprise crew. For example Worf's reaction when Deanna is coming onto him because they are married in the reality he jumped into.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on November 1st, 2011)