DVD Collectors Online

Dead Birds, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Dead Birds
Movie Count:  11
TV Ep. Count:  3
Other Count:  2
Time Started:  4:30pm

Plot:
When a group of criminals on the run after a bank robbery take refuge in an abandoned house they have no idea what evil they have come upon. Isolated and presumed deserted, the house is anything but safe...

As the night wears on and a thunderstorm grows outside, each member of the group begins to have visions of the atrocities that occurred within the house, haunting it forever. Voices in the well, visions of mangled bodies and clawing under the stairs plague their waking hours. As the fear in the group begins to grow and the supernatural forces in the house start to manifest themselves, they begin to turn on each other and exact the wrath of the souls trapped within the walls.

My Thoughts:
I bought Dead Birds for last year's Halloween marathon. I haven't watched it since... but I remembered I enjoyed it the first time around. So I was eager to give it another go. This one I liked a lot! I felt it was very well done... it had a good atmosphere... a few good jump scenes... and a bit of gore all mixed together. And it worked well for it.  I will definitely be willing to recommend this one to friends and family.



(From Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon: 2009 on October 5th, 2009)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a review by Rich

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button





Interesting production with very novel storyline, it is over-hyped, overly long and surprisingly well acclaimed critically, but never stretches itself from a good film to a great film. It reminded me a lot of Forrest Gump with the narrative voice-over, lead character in the middle of history, and very similar direction which was a surprise given Finchers previous movies. I believe both films have the same author?
Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt are ideally cast, and do a good job breezing through the script. The supporting cast are also unilaterally excellent in their roles. The CGI and make-up are unbelievable and totally convincing, helping Pitt portray Benjamin at several ages.
This is traditional escapism with a simple story, a romantic drama with an unusual theme, well told and adequately acted, but for me on first viewing I did not fall overly in love with the whole picture.
 



(From Riches Random Reviews on May 11th, 2009)

Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Every story has a beginning and the beginning of this story I will tell you now:


Synopsis: Xena is a fearsome warlord who raids defenceless villages. And as basically every warlord of that time she wants to slay the son of Zeus: Hercules. But first she has to break him. And what better way is there than to seduce his best friend Iolaus and let them turn against each other?

My Opinion: I have to admit, the only one who really convinced me here was Xena. Neither Hercules nor Iolaus behaved liked you would expect them to. They've travelled so much together, fought side by side and back to back. And suddenly Iolaus believes her more than he does believe him and even challenges him to the death? Unlikely.

Synopsis: Xena has raised a new army but unfortunately her soldiers don't follow her code of honour. In her absence they raid a village without warning and kill every man, woman and child in it (except for the one baby she can save). Her second-in-command, Darphus, sees this as a weakness and starts a mutiny. He puts her through the gauntlet, a ritual that nobody has ever survived - until now. Now she wants revenge and she gets help in the form of Hercules who wants to stop this army, too.

My Opinion: Here they started to build up the character for her own series and except for her sudden fondness for Hercules in the end there was nothing that contradicts with her former appearance. I liked how they changed her character because she's already much more like the Xena I know and love. But Salmoneus was also great. Both shows have a good number of supporting characters that act as comic relief and Salmoneus is one of them.

Synopsis: Ares, God of War, has resurrected Darphus and has given him his favourite "pet". Xena and Hercules decide to stop him once and for all, but they are not alone. Salmoneus is still with them, even if he's not the bravest of guys. And Iolaus is also joining them, despite his and Xena's history.

My Opinion: If you watch the show you have to admit that the effects have never been the best or even slightly realistic. But if you can look past this then it's really enjoyable. It makes it up with interesting characters, cool stories and a nice potpourri of Greek, Roman, Christian and whatnot mythology.

(From Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon on November 21st, 2009)