DVD Collectors Online

Death Proof, a review by Rich

Title: Death Proof

Runtime:110
Certificate:18
Year:2007
Genres:Suspense/Thriller, Action

Plot:Director Quentin Tarantino delivers an adrenaline shot to the heart with Death Proof, a pedal to the metal white knuckle ride behind the wheel of a psycho serial killer's roving, revving, racing death machine!
Featuring exhilarating high-speed action, jaw-dropping stunts, and some of the most quotable lines since Pulp Fiction, Death Proof "is pure pulp pleasure" (Film Review). Kurt Russell stars as a sociopathic stuntman whose taste for stalking sexy young ladies gets him into big trouble when he tangles with the wrong gang of badass babes. Their confrontation escalates to a hair-raising, 18-minute automotive duel with one of the girls strapped to the hood of a thundering Dodge Challenger that will have you on the edge of your seat mile after mile.

My Review:
Joyful, unadulterated carnage and mayhem, told and graphically displayed in typical Tarantino style, this movie is a blast.
The 2 stories work well in harmony, it is sluttishly funny, terribly tongue in cheek with women in hotpants, skimpy shorts or cheerleader outfits, macho in the cars, and gratioutous in some of the crash scenes showing several different angles of the same violent carnage which ensued.
Perhaps the biggest negative of the film for me was the fake scratchiness to achieve a 70s look in the 1st story.
But besides that I really enjoyed this OTT movie, with one of the greatest endings you'll experience with a large grin on your face.


(From December Marathons - DISCUSSION AND REVIEW THREAD on December 8th, 2009)

Only You, a review by Tom

Title: Only You
Year: 1994
Director: Norman Jewison
Rating: FSK-6
Length: 104 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.0, French: Dolby Digital Stereo, German: Dolby Digital 5.0, Italian: Dolby Digital Stereo, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.0
Subtitles: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Marisa Tomei
Robert Downey, Jr.
Bonnie Hunt
Joaquim de Almeida
Fisher Stevens

Plot:Extras:
Featurettes
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

I have a soft spot for this movie. When I first saw this movie, I knew Marisa Tomei only from her role as Maggie in the first season of "A Different World". I fell in love with her in this movie. She just is really adorable here. As far as I remember this was also the first time that I saw Robert Downey Jr. in anything. I didn't watch Ally McBeal.

Rating:

(From December Marathons - DISCUSSION AND REVIEW THREAD on December 6th, 2009)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

The Cosby Show

Pilot Presentation - Theo's Economic Lesson



The Cosby Show pilot episode uses the same title sequence as the rest of the first season, and is widely regarded as the 'first episode'. However, it is notable for a number of differences from the remainder of the series.
In the pilot, the Huxtables have only four children. Following the pilot, the Huxtables have five children, with the addition of their eldest daughter, Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf). The character was created when Bill Cosby wanted the show to express the accomplishment of successfully raising a child (e.g., a college graduate). Whitney Houston was considered for the role of Sondra Huxtable. Sabrina LeBeauf almost missed out on the role because she is only 10 years younger (b. 1958) than Phylicia Rashād (b. 1948), who played her mother.
Bill Cosby's character is called "Clifford" in the early episodes of the first season (as evidenced by his name plate on the exterior of the Huxtable home). His name was later switched to "Heathcliff". Additionally, Vanessa refers to Theo as "Teddy" twice in the dining room scene.

Clair is furious when Theo brings home a report card with 4 D's. He tells Cliff that he has no intention of going to college, as he feels that he is destined to be a "regular person." Cliff uses Monopoly money to teach him about the economic realities that many blue-collar workers must face. He assures Theo that he only wants him to try his best. Cliff is alarmed to meet Denise's latest beau, a former merchant marine who once spent time in a Turkish prison

Not a lot one can say about a tv series we no doubt would all of caught at some point. The pilot was a good introduction to the original family and the brand of humour one can expect throughout its long run. Probably a lot more suited and popular in the States than the UK, it still had a fairly long run here and was repeated a multitude of times.
It is one of those friendly sitcoms you can pick up at any point, there is no longer term complicated plot, and it is easy viewing.
Interesting tp note the points above, with a few changes by its 2nd episode, most notably a name change for the lead and another child appearing!
 


(From My PILOT Marathon on September 1st, 2009)