DVD Collectors Online

Finding Nemo, a review by Rogmeister

Finding Nemo  2-Disc Collector's Edition

Marlin (a clown fish) is a widower who only has his son Nemo left of his family after a predator attack. Years later, on Nemo's first day of school, he's captured by a scuba diver and taken to live in a dentist office's fish tank. Marlin and his new friend Dory set off across the ocean to find Nemo, while Nemo and his tankmates scheme on how to get out of the tank before he becomes the dentist's niece's new pet.

This is one of those movies that you hear so much about that you find yourself surprised at how long it's taken you to get around to watching it. This movie got glowing reviews when it came out and I always meant to watch it but never did...until now.

The first thing I noticed about the movie was the stunning visuals. This movie looks absolutely gorgeous with unbelievably vibrant colors. The story moves along quickly (as most animated films are wont to do as they're usually 90 minutes or shorter as this one is). Sometimes you rack your brain for most of these animated movies trying to figure out who did the voices but I luckily didn't have to do that. I already knew that Ellen Degeneres did the voice of Dory (and she has the funniest dialogue in the movie) and I recognized right away the voice of Albert Brooks who provided Marlin's voice.

Nemo meets a lot of different kinds of sea creatures in this movie...I had to laugh at the very thought of a shark intervention. The shark's name is Bruce which I found funny since most people remember that that's what the tech people called the shark when they were making the movie Jaws. I found the jellyfish sequence rather exciting and it reached quite an exciting conclusion. I absolutely loved this movie and I'll probably find myself watching it again before too long. Maybe I'll watch it with the commentary sometime. They have a special visual commentary where, if you use that option, they'll actually interrupt the movie to take you on the scenes to see how some sequences came to be.

As with many Disney special editions, this is a 2-disc set. One disc has the widescreen version and the other has the full-frame version and they divide the extras between the two discs. It's a movie I would heartily recommend.

(From Roger's Random Reviews on July 6th, 2009)

Cidade de Deus, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are:  Brazil
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Cidade de Deus  (City of God)

Year of Release: 2002
Starring:  Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen, Matheus Nachtergaele, Seu Jorge
Directed By:  Fernando Meirelles
Genre:  Drama, Crime

Overview:
Celebrated with worldwide acclaim, this powerful true story of crime and redemption has won numerous prestigious awards around the globe! The streets of the world's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's "City of God," are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a photographer becomes a window into his world and ultimately his way out!

My Thoughts:Cidade de Deus is an intense, visceral, magnificent film about a brutal life.  Live fast, die young, leave a corpse on the street in a pool of blood.  Recommended for any serious film fan, anyone who enjoys a good film, anyone with the stomach to watch it (in other words, not for my friend Katrina). 

If you get a chance, watch the featurette included on the disc as well, for a further look at the favelas and the drug/gun running culture.  Very informative.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall:  5/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on November 22nd, 2012)

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

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Season 4.17 Accession
Writer: Jane Espenson (Writer)
Director: Les Landau
Cast

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on March 2nd, 2013)