DVD Collectors Online

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, a review by RossRoy

WHAT THEY SAY

Harry Potter learns on his 11th birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses magical powers of his own. At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry embarks on the adventure of a lifetime, discovering a world of magic and fantasy where he is destined to live.

MY THOUGHTS

What can I say? I love the Harry Potter franchise. It took me a while to give in, but once I did, I discovered a great little world filled with magic and a very interesting story. In this first installment, of course the characters are introduced. Our main trio, their closest allies and their future enemies are pretty much already all laid out. The stage is set, now let the magic happen. I like how magical they make everything look. Hogwarts looks absolutely stunning. A shame though that the Quidditch match and some other effects are already showing their age. It didn't stop me from enjoying the movie though! Still, it's not as good as some of the upcoming ones!

RATING

(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on July 5th, 2010)

Bar 20 Rides Again, a review by Rogmeister

Bar 20 Rides Again (Part of a double-feature DVD that includes "Hopalong Cassidy", the first film in the series)
Cast: William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, George "Gabby" Hayes, Harry Worth, Jean Rouveral, Al St. John, Paul Fix
Director: Howard Bretherton   Camera: Archie Stout  Year of Release: 1935

Plot: Hoppy gets a letter from a friend (and the father of a girl Johnny has seen) telling him he is having rustling problems...and not to tell Johnny since his daughter Margaret is now seeing someoone else.  Hoppy reveals to Johnny part of the message (about Margaret, not the rustling) and the impetuous Johnny (Jimmy Ellison) takes off for the ranch ahead of Hoppy.   It turns out that the man Margaret is seeing is secretly the mastermind behind the rustling and someone who sees himself as a Western Napoleon...he even has Napoleon's personal snuff box.  Hoppy disguises himself as a gambler and infiltrates the rustler's band of outlaws while also befriending a prospector named Windy (Gabby Hayes).  It all eventually comes to a head ahd Hoppy, with the aid of his Bar 20 riders, once again emerges victorious.

I enjoyed this film a lot...of course, you have to be in a "Hoppy" mood to watch such a film.  Luckily for those of us who aren't into singing cowboys, there's only one short number (Johnny serenading Margaret) and lots of action, well-shot by Archie Stout who would eventually go on to "A" pictures (for instance, he was one of the photographers for The Quiet Man).  Gabby Hayes had appeared in the first two Hoppy films as different characters, getting killed in both films, but in this film he first played Windy and survived to aid Hoppy in several future films.  The Hoppy films are fun to watch with Hopalong having a great sense of humor and Johnny being a hothead who usually rushes headlong into action without thinking.  A good film for the kid in all of us. 

(From Roger's Ongoing Westerns Marathon on September 7th, 2009)

Twilight Zone, a review by addicted2dvd

55. Mr. Dingle, The Strong (3/3/61)
A timid salesman (Burgess Meridith) is given super strength by a Martian experimenter. He eventually returns to normal - briefly. For the experiments have just begun!

My Thoughts:
This is one I have seen a few times before and always enjoyed it. Another fun episode. Not only does it have Burgess Meridith... who I have always liked in his episodes of the Twilight Zone... but also Don Rickles who I also always enjoyed. Attached to the end of this episode is a TV Spot for The Andy Griffith Show. Extras added to this episode is an Isolated Score and an audio commentary with Don Rickles. I couldn't wait to hear the audio commentary so I did watch it after the episode. Unfortunately there wasn't much to the commentary track... first of all the commentary was only for 1 scene of the episode instead of the whole episode... plus there was too much silence on his part considering it was just a commentary for the one scene.

56. Static (3/10/61)
Life seems to have passed by a grouchy old man (Dean Jagger). However, everything changes when an antique radio starts to broadcast programs from his youth that only he can hear.

My Thoughts:
This is another one I never seen before. Was an OK episode... but nothing that would make a favorite for me. This is another episode that there was some slight problems with the video. Seems like many I never seen on TV has these slight problems. Which could be why you never catch them on TV. Attached to the end of the episode was a TV Spot for the series My sister Ilene. Extras included with this episode is a Marc Zicree interview with Buzz Kulik and Original Production Slate.

57. The Prime Mover (3/24/61)
Ace Larsen has discovered that his business partner (Buddy Ebsen) can move things with his mind! They set out for Las Vegas and win - for a while anyway.

My Thoughts:
This was a pretty good episode... I enjoyed it. Is one of the handful I have seen before. Attached to this episode was a TV Spot for the series My Sister Ilene. The only extra on this episode is an Isolated Score.

58. Long Distance Call (3/31/61)
Before Grandma died, she gave Billy (Bill Mumy) a toy telephone, When he uses it to talk to her, his parents dismiss it as imagination - until Billy decides to join his Grandma!

My Thoughts:
This one is a very good episode that I have seen before. So far this one would rank up with my favorites. Attached to this episode is a TV Spot for The Andy Griffith Show. The extras included for this episode are an Audio Commentary with Bill Mumy and William Idelson and the Original Production Slate.

59. A Hundred Yards Over The Rim (4/7/61)
In 1847, a Western settler (Cliff Robertson) sets out to find medicine for his dying son - and stumbles into modern-day New Mexico. He returns with much more than just medicine.

My Thoughts:
Another good episode I seen before. I first saw this episode on one of the volume dvds I had. Attached to this episode is a TV spot for Gunsmoke. Extras that come with this episode includes an audio commentary with Cliff Robertson... a Marc Zicree interview with Buzz Kulik... an Isolated Score and The Twililght Zone Radio Drama staring James Caviezel.

60. The Rip Van Winkle Caper (4/21/61)
Thieves put themselves into suspended animation for 100 years after hiding a million dollars worth of gold bars. But even in the future, wealth is still far out of reach for two greedy crooks (Oscar Beregi, Simon Oakland).

My Thoughts:
This is another episode that I never seen before. was a really good episode. I really enjoyed it. Attached to this episode was a TV spot for Gunsmoke. The only extra for this episode is an Isolated Score.


Episodes I seen for the First time on this set include:

   1. Judgment Night (Episode 10)
   2. And When The Sky Was Opened (Episode 11)
   3. What You Need (Episode 12)
   4. I Shot an Arrow into the Air (Episode 15)
   5. The Hitch-Hiker (Episode 16)
   6. The Purple Testiment (Episode 19)
   7. Elegy (Episode 20)
   8. Mirror Image (Episode 21)
   9. A World of Difference (Episode 23)
  10. Long Live Walter Jameson (Episode 24)
  11. People Are Alike All Over (Episode 25)
  12. Execution (Episode 26)
  13. The Big Tall Wish (Episode 27)
  14. A Nice Place to Visit (Episode 28)
  15. Nightmare as a Child (Episode 29)
  16. The Chaser (Episode 31)
  17. Mr. Bevis (Episode 33)
  18. The Mighty Casey (Episode 35)
  19. A World of his Own (Episode 36)
  20. The Man in the Bottle (Episode 38)
  21. A Thing About Machines (Episode 40)
  22. The Howling Man (Episode 41)
  23. A Most Unusual Camera (Episode 46)
  24. Dust (Episode 48)
  25. Back There (Episode 49)
  26. The Whole Truth (Episode 50)
  27. Twenty-Two (Episode 53)
  28. The Odyssey of Flight 33 (Episode 54)
  29. Static (Episode 56)
  30. The Rip Van Winkle Caper (Episode 60)

(From Twilight Zone on February 5th, 2008)