DVD Collectors Online

Pleasantville, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Pleasantville: New Line Platinum Series
Year: 1998
Director: Gary Ross
Rating: PG-13
Length: 124 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Music Only: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English

Stars:
William H. Macy
Joan Allen
Natalie Ramsey
Kevin Connors
Jeff Daniels
Tobey Maguire

Plot:
When '90's teens David and Jennifer (Tobey Maguire, The Ice Storm, Reese Witherspoon, Freeway) get zapped into the perfect suburbia of the black & white '50's sitcom, Pleasantville, what results is a "visionary adventure" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) that Siskel and Ebert give "Two big thumbs up!"

Pleasantville's perfect people include a mild-mannered soda jerk (Jeff Daniels, Dumb and Dumber), a socially repressed mom (Joan Allen, Face/Off) and a father who always knows best (William H. Macy, Fargo). But, when '90's pop culture clashes with '50's family values, chaos ensues, turning the town of Pleasantville upside down and black and white into color.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
Music Videos
DVD-ROM Content
Closed Captioned
Color television set-up/isolated score with commentary

My Thoughts:
It has been a very long time since I watched this movie. I last watched it right after I bought it back in 2003. I liked the cast in this one... but the story could have been better. This movie stars Toby McGuire... someone that I really didn't know until he did the Spider-Man movies. I did find this movie enjoyable for what it was... but I just feel like there was something missing from it. Something I just can't put my finger on. I must admit I did get a kick out of seeing Don Knotts as the TV Repairman.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Anything Goes on July 23rd, 2010)

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, a review by Danae Cassandra

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Year of Release: 2013
Directed By: Tommy Wirkola
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Pihla Viitala
Genre: Action, Horror

Overview:
Get ready for a twisted take on the classic tale as Hansel (JEREMY RENNER) and Gretel (GEMMA ARTERTON) have turned pro, coping with the trauma of their childhood captivity by slaying witches for hire. But when seemingly unstoppable bounty hunters meet their match in an enemy so evil, it'll take all their training, weapons and courage to survive. PAYBACK IS A WITCH!

My Thoughts:
This is mindless action-horror, but I enjoy this a lot more than I probably should. I find this film a lot of really silly fun. Maybe I've played too much D&D, cause this is a D&D adventure. Maybe that it's the fun of the steampunk stylings or the genre mashup, both of which I enjoy. Or maybe I just really like Jeremy Renner. I think it's that one. Definitely that one.

Watched For:  Hoop-tober 3.0, Scavenger Hunt 19, Horror/Halloween Challenge 2016

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Pass

Overall: 3/5

Horror/Halloween Challenge Films: 22/52 (21 reviewed)

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 10th, 2016)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

24
Midnight. Jack Bauer, head of the CIA's Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit, is suddenly thrust into a chaotic and exhausting 24-hour marathon of death, deception and terror as he struggles to prevent the assassination of a presidential candidate, find the traitor within his own organization, and save his kidnapped wife and daughter.

12:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Moments after discovering his daughter Kimberly has snuck out of the house, Jack Bauer is called into work. As head of the CIA's Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit office, he's told that an assassination attempt will be made on the life of presidential candidate David Palmer and it's up to his team of agents to keep Palmer alive. Meanwhile, Jack's wife, Teri, also sets out to find their daughter.

My Thoughts:
This is a great start to the series. I really enjoyed every minute of watching it again. A good introduction to the characters and an interesting story. The main drawback to watching this type of series for this type of marathon is the fact that after watching the pilot episode you really don't want to stop.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on October 26th, 2009)