DVD Collectors Online

Early Summer, a review by Antares

Early Summer (1951) 57/100 - It pains me to say this, with the amount of time I spend watching Japanese cinema, but this one did not click for me. I bought this blind from Criterion a few years back, and have tried on four separate occasions to watch it in its entirety, failing to even make it to the halfway mark before giving up. This time I was determined to finish it and now I can see why it took me so many attempts in the past. Everything that was touching, beautiful and memorable in Late Spring, is completely absent from this film. At one point, I found myself wondering how the Japanese found time to fight World War II with everyone so anally fixated on who is and who's not married in each neighbor's family. I found myself distantly uncaring for almost all of the members of this family, with the exception of Noriko. I never even briefly felt that these people were real. And I think it comes from the way that Ozu shoots his films, with the back and forth editing of character conversations, which makes the actors look like actors performing. This technique, while visually interesting, just makes each scene seem somewhat vacant in character chemistry, timing and interest. I know a lot of people consider this one of Ozu's best films, but for me, it pales in comparison to Late Spring.

What the color coding means...

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 28th, 2014)

Green Lantern, a review by addicted2dvd

Green Lantern: Extended Cut (2011/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Home Video Director: Martin Campbell Writing: Greg Berlanti (Screenwriter), Michael Green (Screenwriter), Marc Guggenheim (Screenwriter), Michael Goldenberg (Screenwriter), Greg Berlanti (Story By), Michael Green (Story By), Marc Guggenheim (Story By) Length: 124 min. Rating: Unrated Video: Widescreen 2.40:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Stars:
Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern
Blake Lively as Carol Ferris
Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond
Mark Strong as Sinestro
Tim Robbins as Hammond
Jay O. Sanders as Carl Ferris

Plot:
Experience the action as it was meant to be seen as Green Lantern takes flight in full HD! In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, an elite force of protectors for peace and justice has existed for centuries. They are the GREEN LANTERN CORPS. When a new enemy called PARALLAX threatens to destroy the universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of the Corps' newest recruit, the first human ever selected: HAL JORDAN (Ryan Reynolds).

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Picture-in-picture
• BD-Live
• Digital Copy
• Theatrical and Extended Cuts
• Maximum Movie Mode

I actually started this film a day or two ago... but didn't get the chance to finish it at the time. I have read some less then favorable reviews for this film... as well as seen it made fun of on shows such as The Big Bang Theory. But I always liked this film. But that could have something to do with the fact that I have been a fan of Ryan Reynolds. And I thought he was a good choice to play Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, I also liked how they did the others in the Green Lantern Corp. This is something like the 3rd time I watched it since it was released... and I found I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did on previous viewings.



(From Monday Mini-Thon: Blu-Day on April 7th, 2014)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: The combined fleet attacks the Dominion. It's a brutal battle with many losses but the Dominion has made a fatal mistake. In retaliation for Damar's sabotages the Jem'Hadar destroyed an entire cardassian city and now the cardassian ships on the front switch sides. The Dominion has no choice but to retreat to Cardassia Prime but they are followed and they have nowhere else to go. On the ground the rebels around Damar, Kira and Garak decide to storm the Dominion Headquarters and after a bloody struggle they manage to capture the female Founder. But the ships in orbit will fight until the bitter end. Or they would if Odo wouldn't have made an offer the Founder couldn't resist. He offers the cure for an unconditional surrender. The war is over.
But not on all fronts. Winn and Dukat have managed to awake the Pah-Wraiths in the fire caves and they will bring destruction to the galaxy if Sisko doesn't stop them. And he will.

And that's the end of the story: Martok is the klingon chancellor. Rom is the Great Nagus. Damar has fallen in battle. Garak has killed the last Weyoun and has finally ended his exile. The Founder will stand trial for her crimes. Odo will return home and join and heal the Great Link. Worf will become the Federation ambassador on Qo'noS. O'Brien and his family return home to Earth where he will teach at Starfleet Academy. Julian and Ezri are finally a couple. Winn was killed by Dukat who in turn was sent to the Pah-Wraiths by Sisko. Sisko's journey is now over, he has joined the Prophets. And Morn? Morn sits at Quark's bar.

My Opinion: It is a good conclusion to the series although not perfect. There are some thing that bothered me. For example: Even though Weyoun sent out most of the guards, it should be impossible for half a dozen people to storm the headquarters of the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant. And I wished that Damar would have survived. Cardassia has suffered so much (the Dominion killed 800 million Cardassians in retaliation for their betrayal on the front line) and they need a strong leader now who's willing to rebuild their society and bring change to it. I also didn't like that so many people left the station at the same time: O'Brien, Worf, Odo and Sisko. It really felt like an end and not like "life goes on...". What I really disliked was that Worf wasn't allowed to remember any moment with Jadzia when he recollected his memories about the past four years.
But enough complaining. It was still a good conclusion with many emotional moments (especially the flashbacks).

The Season - My Opinion: This season was not as good as the seasons before but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. One gets used to Ezri over time and the final arc was very thrilling. I just wish they had cut back on that entire Prophets storyline both on Sisko's and on Dukat's side. There should have been a better solution.

But it was fun to watch the entire show again. The characters and the story are great even though the special effects may not be up2date anymore. But the TV world has changed since the mid-90s. Story arc series aren't the exception anymore, they are the rule. Let's see what else is out there...


The End.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on March 7th, 2009)