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Dial M for Murder, a review by Tom

Title: Dial M for Murder
Year: 1954
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: PG
Length: 101 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, French: Dolby Digital Mono, Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, Italian

Stars:
Ray Milland
Grace Kelly
Robert Cummings
John Williams
Anthony Dawson

Plot:
Alfred Hitchcock's screen version of Frederick Knott's stage hit Dial M for Murder is a tasty blend of elegance and suspense casting Grace Kelly, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings as the points of a romantic triangle. Kelly won the New York Film Critics and National Board of Review Best Actress Awards for this and two other acclaimed 1954 performances (Hitchcock's Rear Window The Country Girl). She loves Cummings; her husband Milland plots her murder. But when he dials a Mayfair exchange to set the plot in motion, his right number gets the wrong answer and gleaming scissors become a deadly weapon. Dial "M" for the Master of Suspense at his most stylish.

Awards:

AFI	1954	Won	100 Years... 100 Thrills (2001)
AFI	1954	Nominated	100 Years... 25 Scores (2005)	"Composer": Dimitri Tiomkin
BAFTA	1954	Nominated	Foreign Actress	Grace Kelly

Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

It started really boring and I feared that I am watching a big stinker. To much boring talk in the beginning. This seems to be a trademark for Hitchcock. His movies often start out with a lot of exposition talk, where I can't help that my mind wanders off to other things. The movie picked up when the murder happened. It really got great when the inspector came in. It really reminded me of a good Columbo episode. The inspector really behaved a lot like a mix between Columbo and John Cleese. He even had the famous "one more question" Columbo scene. How the inspector unraveled the mystery was really fun to watch. In retrospect even the beginning was like a Columbo episode. Also there I often find the first half an hour boring, where the murder plans and commits the murder. And also there it only picks up when Columbo first appears.

Rating:

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on August 8th, 2009)

The Living Dead Girl, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Living Dead Girl (La Morte Vivante)Overview:
THE LIVING DEAD GIRL (La Morte VivanteMy Thoughts:
I'd seen two of Rollin's films before this (Iron Rose and Lips of Blood) and really enjoyed his style. I was leery going into this one, since everyone talks about this film featuring much more gore than most of Rollin's filmography. That is definitely true - there is a lot of blood, quite a bit of gore, and the camera lingers over it, especially in the last scene. It does feel somewhat excessive, but it might not be. It offers a contrast with the beautiful visuals Rollin sets up. The shots of Catherine walking in the field in her white dress are gorgeous. Setting aside the gory bits, you do see Rollin's dreamy, atmospheric qualities here - the girls with the music box, the scene of Helene washing Catherine, the set up of the chateau and crypts.

It also packs a surprisingly emotional punch for a horror film. The story of Catherine and Helene's love for one another and the tragedy of what happens to them has a greater depth then you might be expecting, especially if you aren't familiar with Rollin or have only heard about his reputation for erotica.

As I said in my reviews of the other two Rollin films I watched, I can't give this a blanket recommendation. The gore would likely appeal to fans of more traditional horror, but the parts in between kills are much slower and focus on creating atmosphere and growing tragedy - there's little action and no jump scares.

Watched For: Scavenger Hunt #18, Hoop-tober 3.0

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Pass

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 1st, 2016)

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

16. Lucky Leon (3/12/95)
Jimmy is arrested for murder, Superman is accused of stealing nuclear warheads and as assistant DA discovers Clark Kent's secret identity. But here's the big news: Lois and Clark share a first date...and a first kiss!

My Thoughts:
This is a real good episode that a lot happens on. It was pretty fun watching Lois and Clark deal with their first date. Before watching this episode again I had forgotten not only how Assistant DA Drake found out that Clark being Superman... but also that this episode ends in those 3 oh so famous words... To Be Continued...


17. Resurrection (3/19/95)
Searching for Assistant DA Mayson Drake's killer, Lois and Clark encounter a dark plot involving faked deaths, escape convicts and a hunky government, agent who finds Lois captivating.

My Thoughts:
This is a good conclusion to the last episode.I enjoyed it quite a bit. Unfortunately this is also the episode that introduces the character of Dan Scardino... the government agent mentioned above. That is one character I just never liked.


18. Tempus Fugitive (3/26/95)
H.G. Wells drops in - via his time machine - and gives Lois and Clark a glimpse of a surprising world to come. Then they race to the past to save baby Superman from a deadly fugitive from the future.

My Thoughts:
This is a great episode. Talk about fun! I enjoyed every minute of it... but I especially enjoyed Tempus' who routine of telling Lois how galatically stupid she is... and that Clark is Superman.


19. Target: Jimmy Olsen! (4/2/95)
The most dangerous man in Metropolis is Jimmy Olsen? Injected with a synthetic virus when he was an infant, Jimmy comes under the power of evildoers who transform him into a mind-controlled assassin.

My Thoughts:
Not bad... it is an enjoyable episode. I really liked the character of Sarah who was also injected with the synthetic virus. I thought she made a good companion for Jimmy. Unfortunately if I remember correctly we don't see her again. This is the second episode with Scardino... and nope... still don't like that guy.



(From Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Marathon on July 24th, 2009)