DVD Collectors Online

The Lady Vanishes, a review by Achim

Title: The Lady Vanishes
Year: 1938
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: NR
Length: 95 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Margaret Lockwood
Michael Redgrave
Paul Lukas
Dame May Whitty
Cecil Parker

Plot:
In this best-loved of Hitchcock's British-made thrillers, a young woman on a train meets a charming old lady (Dame May Whitty), who promptly disappears. The other passengers deny ever having seen her, leading the young woman to suspect a conspiracy. When she begins investigating, she is drawn into a complex web of mystery and high adventure.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Featurettes
Production Notes


This must have been the first Hitchcock film I ever saw. It used to play on German TV often I possibly saw it each and every time. It has, however, been at least 20 years since I saw it last.

It is a great little film. It has lots of Hitchcock's typical ingredients: MacGuffin, suspense, witty dialogue and plays out with a rather high pace that the 90min pass by very quickly. The first 30min we are slowly and ingeniously (because of the way the focus is passed on from one to the other) introduced to all main characters. This bit plays mostly like a comedy with light hearted humor and only a hint (well, a murder) that this is not a comedy at all. The second 30min are the mysery section, where "The Lady Vanishes" (I don't think I need a spoiler tag here ) and the conspiracy plays out. The last third is the suspense section, where we finally gain more knowledge than the characters in the film and Hitchcock has us worried about how it will end!

I was rather surprised how well put together this film was. Considering its age the "special effects" (some matte painting mixed with miniature work) looked quite convincing and appropriate. The dialogue, I keep finding in all the Hitchcock films I rediscover (I used to watch these as a teenager and in a dubbed version!) is quite sharp and the sarcasm(?) is great fun for modern audiences and feels fresh. I especially enjoyed the bits with the two English gentlemen. The only cringe worthy moment was when some piece of evidence "flew by" rather conveniently...

Hitchcock does appear, but near the end of the film, so I missed him.



(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on May 8th, 2009)

Rocky Balboa, a review by Rich

12/11

Rocky Balboa



Never give up, and never stop believing.

When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), reigning heavyweight title holder Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) retaliates by challenging the Italian Stallion to a nationally televised, 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son (Milo Ventimiglia, TV's Heroes) and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger and thirty years his junior. With the odds stacked firmly against him, Rocky takes on Dixon in what will become the greatest fight in boxing history, a hard-hitting, action-packed battle of the ages!

Talk about flogging a dead horse - no wonder you can find this dvd in bargain buckets acrosss the UK now!
Better than the 4th (can you remember how gay that was), and nearly as boring as the 5th, Sly is just too old and plastic now for me to find this in any way believable. I was surprised to read good reviews on this, but personally it missed the mark and the plotline was just too old hat and obvious to catch my attention.
Current fighter gets in the ring against a 60+ retired fighter = one dead old guy. Sorry but thats the truth.
One to miss 





(From November Alphabet Marathon - Discussion/Review Thread on November 13th, 2008)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

King of Queens
The man. The myth. The driver. Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) is THE KING OF QUEENS, but his wife Carrie (Leah Remini) really rules the roost. Doug is the ultimate guy's guy, but he loves Carrie so much he's willing to sacrifice his tricked-out rec room (plus his 70-inch TV) so that her father Arthur (Jerry Stiller) can move in, a decision he's regretted ever since. Doug's free time is split between quality time with his wife and play time with his buds. A parade of crazy neighbors and oddball citizens of New York's middle-class borough help make this show the reigning comedy champ. THE KING OF QUEENS proves you don't have to have a huge castle to live like royalty.

Pilot
Doug gives up his personal paradise to make room for Carrie's dad, Arthur.

My Thoughts:
This is a fun show with likable characters. Leah Remini is fun to watch... and is definitely cute in this show. Jerry Stiller is hilarious to watch. Kevin James is pretty good as well... though I never really cared much for him. This is another show I am very behind in collecting as I only have the first season.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on February 23rd, 2010)