DVD Collectors Online

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les parapluies de Cherbourg)
Year of Release: 1964
Directed By: Jacques Demy
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel, Ellen Farner
Genre: Romance, Drama, Musical

Overview:
An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop owner's delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castelnuovo. When the boy is shipped off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly. Exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors, and told entirely through the lilting songs of the great composer Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time.

My Thoughts:
What is love?  Is it the first blush of romance, the passion of youth and energy of youth, when life is ahead of you and everything is enormous?  I'm sure you remember those days, when everything that went wrong was the end of the world, and your life was over.

Or is love something you build with people who stand by you?  Is it something you have to work for, something that only comes when the flush of youth has passed and one becomes an adult?  

My vote is for the latter, but you can work it out for yourself.

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 4.5/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 12th, 2016)

Mystic River, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Mystic River
Year: 2003
Director: Clint Eastwood
Rating: R
Length: 138 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Sean Penn
Tim Robbins
Kevin Bacon
Laurence Fishburne
Marcia Gay Harden
Laura Linney

Plot:
Jimmy. Dave. Sean. Friends who grew up in working-class Boston, they drift apart after a terrible tragedy. Years later, brutal events reconnect them. Jimmy's 19-year-old daughter is coldly murdered. Dave is a suspect. And Sean, now a cop, scrambles to solve the crime before volatile Jimmy takes the law into his own hands.

Working from Brian Helgeland's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel, director Clint Eastwood shapes a masterwork, a brooding thriller built on family, friends and innocence lost. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon play the pivotal threesome, joining Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney in one of the most powerful casts ever. The river has many depths. Let it wash over you.

Extras:
Scene Access
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I liked this one... it is a good... and powerful story. Though I do think they could have made it a little shorter. I found some of the scenes to be rather slow and uninteresting. But the majority of the movie makes up for it. The entire cast did a great job. I even liked Sean Penn in this one... and I don't normally care for him all that much. Definitely worth checking out if you never seen it.



(From Addicted2DVD's September Birthday Marathon on September 12th, 2010)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom

1.01 Free Willie (1994-09-22)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), Kathy Slevin (Writer), Paul Haggis (Writer)
Director: George Bloomfield
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), David Marciano (Detective Ray Vecchio), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Daniel Kash (Detective Louis Gardino), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Catherine Bruhier (Elaine), Christopher Babers (Willie Lambert), Ed Sahely (Hamlin), Christina Cox (Caroline Morgan), Domenic Cuzzocrea (Landlord), Djanet Sears (Public Defender), Elena Kudaba (Celeste), Todd Schroeder (Charles), Matt Birman (Donald), Michael Donaghue (Hugo)

A great first episode. All the other regular cast members are introduced, including Ray's beloved 1971 Buick Rivieras which will get blown up a few times.
I like the captain, also Elaine who falls for Fraser is fun.
A familiar face to me: One of the guest stars (Chistina Cox) starred in "Better than Chocolate", a movie I reviewed recently.


Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on June 22nd, 2009)