DVD Collectors Online

Public Enemies, a review by Jon

Public Enemies
4 out of 5



From visionary director Michael Mann comes the film inspired by one of the country's most captivating and infamous outlaws - John Dillinger. Johnny Depp stars as the charismatic and elusive bank robber, John Dillinger, marked by the GBI as America's "Public Enemy Number One." Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) plays Billie Frechette, the only woman capable of capturing his heart. Hunted relentlessly by top FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), Dillinger engages in an escalating game of cat and mouse that culminates in an explosive legandary showdown.

(From Stop Thief! The Robbing Bastard Marathon on December 19th, 2009)

I tre volti della paura, a review by Danae Cassandra

I tre volti della paura (Black Sabbath)Overview:
Experience Mario Bava's horror classic BLACK SABBATH - as it's never been seen in America before!  A beautiful woman is terrorized by calls from an ex-lover who has escaped prison for the pleasure of killing her...  a family becomes a feeding ground when their father returns home wounded after ridding the countryside of a hideous vampire...  a nurse is haunted by reproaches from the Beyond after stealing a ring from the finger of a dead medium!  Join Boris Karloff as he hosts (and stars in) this trilogy of terror tales - presented in its original aspect ratio and in Italian with English subtitles, with every shock intact!

My Thoughts:
This is a wonderful anthology film, with three good stories to tell - each stronger than the one before it.  If my favorite was "The Wurdulak," I would have to admit that the last story "The Drop of Water" was the strongest and most chilling; and that the first ("The Telephone") is still good.  All of the performances are strong, but Jacqueline Pierreux's is the best, as the haunted nurse in "Water."  I have a soft spot for Karloff, though, and he is quite sinister in his role here.  All of the women are beautiful, as perhaps only the women in horror films of this age were, very lush and voluptuous when compared to the stars of today. 

My other reasoning for my preference for "The Wurdulak" is that I really love Gothic style horror, and this is the only one of the three in that mold.  It has the best art direction and eerie locations.  Also a really great fog effect.  This is the first of Bava's films I've seen, though I've read a lot about him, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of his work.  There's not really any gore - there's much more reliance on atmosphere and story, and this is what I like in a film.  Recommended for any fans of 60's-70's era horror films, such as Hammer Studios stuff.

Bechdel Test: Pass

Overall: 3.75/5

(From Danae's 2013 Horror Marathon on October 11th, 2013)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Superboy: Season One (1988/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United States) Length: 558 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Plot:Daily Planet with a year's worth of headlines.

The production team whose big-screen spectacular revitalized live-action Superman adventures brings a live-action Boy of Steel to the small screen with 26 year-one episodes of the series that ran four heroic seasons. What emergency compelled Clark to emerge as Superboy? When did Clark/Superboy first encounter the green menace of Kryptonite? How did Lex Luthor lose his hair? The series has its own entertaining visions of key moments in the lore. So, enroll at Shuster U. Class is now in session.


Superboy
1.01 The Jewel of the Technacal
Cast: John Haymes Newton (Clark Kent/Superboy), Stacy Haiduk (Lana Lang), Jim Calvert (T.J. White), Peter White (Professor Thomas Lang), Scott Wells (Lex Luthor), Michael Manno (Leo), Gregg Todd Davis (Haines), Forest Neal (Dean Thompson), Bob Barnes (Dr. Spencer)

This is the first episode which aired, though not the first one shot. I had enjoyed this season when I first watched it. Sadly no further seasons were ever released on DVD.

Rating:


Superboy
1.05 Countdown to Nowhere
Cast: John Haymes Newton (Clark Kent/Superboy), Stacy Haiduk (Lana Lang), Jim Calvert (T.J. White), Doug Barr (Roscoe Williams), Duriel Harris (Theodore), Noah Meeks (Miller), Fred Broderson (Detective), Jay Glick (Security Chief), Paul J. Darby (Radar Operator)

I decided that I would also watch this episode. This one was shot to be the pilot but it then aired as the fifth episode. In this episode, Superboy makes his first public appearance.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on July 27th, 2012)