DVD Collectors Online

Backfire, a review by Antares

Backfire (1950) 62/100 - For a good part of this film, I couldn't make heads or tails as to what the hell was going on. At first, I kind of liked the flashback narrative, that is, until the flashback involved a very stereotypical Chinese butler recounting his portion of the tale on his deathbed. It also wasn't very difficult to figure out who "Lou Walsh" was going to turn out to be. I also think this is the first time I've watched Ed Begley stumble through a performance. He's usually pretty good, but here, he's kind of a buffoon cop. Lastly, prior to watching this, I'd only seen Viveca Lindfors in roles from the 1970's and onward. I never realized how beautiful she was in her younger years, and how much she kind of looked like Ingrid Bergman.

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 November 22nd, 2014)

Hulk Vs. Thor, a review by addicted2comics

Title: Hulk Vs. Thor
Year: 2008
Director:
Rating: PG-13
Length: 45 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Fred Tatasciore
Mattie Wolf
Graham McTavish
Grey DeLisle
Kari Wahlgren
Bryce Johnson

Plot:
Asgard, realm of the gods. For ages, Loki the trickster has sought a way to bring defeat to his accursed stepbrother, Thor. But for all the battles Thor has fought, in all the nine realms, only one creature has ever been able to match his strength - a mortal beast of Midgard known as The Incredible Hulk. Now, with Odin the almighty king of the gods deep in a regenerative sleep, and the forces protecting Asgard at their weakest, Loki is finally ready to spring his trap. In an epic battle that will pit gods against monsters, that will test a hero's limits more than ever before, only The Mighty Thor can hope to prevail.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Hulk vs. Thor was never a favorite of mine, as much as a comic book addict I am. I simply never fully understood the Asgardian myths and way of life. I mean, I can't even get the lingo!! (And that's really bad considering I'm currently writing a mini series of Thor.)

One of the complaints I have are the ideas of the afterlife. Bruce was a good man. Enchantress claimed that Valhalla, the viking version of heaven, claimed his soul. He witnessed his ideal life and experianced peace. Yet, when Loki and Thor decided they needed him to send Hulk back to Midguard (which the Asgardians call Earth?) they go down. For me, that begs the question, how is it possible? Does the Goddess of Death decide herself where the soul goes? Is Valhalla only for the heroes of Asgard? I just don't get it!!

There are other points that bothered me, like the fact that many think Thor and Loki stepbrothers when all the Gods are of blood relation, except Loki who is a foster brother. Still, I'll stop there.

It was enjoyable overall, though. That, and the idea of the "Odin Sleep" gave me an idea for the next chapter in my writings!! Very decent movie if you're the type of person to be a fan of ancient myths and legends.   



(From Doing the ABC's Movie Style!! on July 18th, 2010)

Tom's TV Finales marathon, a review by Tom

Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy: Season Two (2006/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia FUNimation Productions (United States) Length: 600 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
The song may say "Thank heaven for little girls" - but who is college student Keiichi Morisato supposed to thank when three honest to goodness living Goddesses move in and take over his life? And should he really be all that grateful?

After all, in most mythologies, close relationships between mortals and immortals usually lead to mortifying complications, so we're already talking about an extremely mixed blessing! And when a FOURTH Goddess suddenly appears, that blessing becomes more like a curse! They may just be trying to help, but sometimes it seems that Belldandy, Skuld, Urd and Peorth might be less concerned with Keiichi's safety than they are with establishing a pecking order and ownership rights!

The delicate celestial balance that exists between human and goddess is thrown into complete and utter chaos in Ah! My Goddess 2 - The Complete Collection!


Ah! My Goddess
Season 2.24 Ah! The Song of Love That Shakes the Heart!
Writer: Kosuke Fujishima (Original Material By), Akira Watanabe (Screenwriter)
Director: Hiroaki Goda
Cast: Eileen Stevens (Belldandy), Drew Aaron (Keiichi Morisato), Vibe Jones (Urd), Annice Moriarty (Skuld), Juliet Cesario (Peorth), Veronica Taylor (Chihiro Fujimi), , Kikuko Inoue (Belldandy), Masami Kikuchi (Keiichi Morisato), Yumi Toma (Urd), Aya Hisakawa (Skuld), Rei Sakuma (Peorth), Yuka Imai (Chihiro Fujimi)

I decided to watch this episode as finale, even though it is a bonus episode produced for the DVD release coming after the finale. It is a nice episode provided some emotional closure.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Finales marathon on November 27th, 2012)