DVD Collectors Online

Rio Lobo, a review by Antares

Rio Lobo (1970) 40/100 - There is nothing sadder than when a film maker doesn't know when to stop making films and retire. Almost every great director has suffered this malady and Howard Hawks was no exception. Rio Lobo is Hawks' swan song and instead of mirroring the symphonic sagebrush set pieces of his glorious past, it plays like an out of tune saloon piano. It's said that "the third time's the charm", but not in this case. All the freshness of the two previous incarnations of this story (Rio Bravo, El Dorado) are long since past the expiration date. As I was re-watching this film, I wondered what John Wayne must have been thinking when he arrived for the shoot and realized what a train wreck he was about to embark on. Jennifer O'Neill, the leading lady of the film, is such a bad actress, she makes Angie Dickinson's performance in Rio Bravo look like an Oscar winning performance by Meryl Streep. Jack Elam, who just two years earlier, had an iconic, short lived performance in Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, is instead forced to recreate the drunken, crazy kind of character he played in Support Your Local Sheriff. Jorge Rivero, who was a star in Mexico, seems to be out of his league in his first Hollywood production. But what really lets this film down, is the rather cheap looking sets. There's one scene where Rivero is talking to O'Neill, and the film cuts back and forth between the two. In the background, behind Rivero, are painted clouds on a canvas. Rivero is standing still, yet the clouds never move. The film is peppered with these cheesy looking moments and you can't help but think, that the studio didn't want to invest too much money on what they must have known, was going to be a dud.

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 February 23rd, 2015)

The Switch or How to Alter Your Ego, a review by Jimmy

Title: The Switch or How to Alter Your Ego (1974)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Joe Sarno
Rating: Unrated
Length: 1h33
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Rebecca Brooke
Eric Edwards
Sonny Landham
Raymond Serra
Chris Jordan

Plot:
Rebecca Brooke stars as Dr. Sherry Hyde, a nerdy chemist who discovers a secret formula to make her both alluring and horny! Follow Medium's misadventures along with co-stars Sonny Landham, Jennifer Welles and Eric Edwards.

On the 3 films included in the set this one is the movie I've appreciated the least. Not necessarily because it's a bad film, but more because it isn't a new idea (of course I think the same of the vampire movie most of the time). I was expecting more from Rebecca Brooke that I've appreciated in so many films that I've reviewed here, but her talent is more obvious in the dramatic role. Of course Eric Edwards, Sonny Landham and Chris Jordan presence compensate for my little deception (Jennifer Welles is in this also, but I've always prefer her B/W works in the sixties when she was using the Liza Duran alias). Like I've said not a bad movie, just not my genre...

Rating :

(From The little known movie review depot on September 9th, 2009)

Hearts Afire: The Complete Second Season, a review by addicted2dvd

Hearts Afire: The Complete Second Season (1993/United States) Newlyweds John and Georgie Anne (the one-and-only John Ritter and Night Court's Markie Post) abandon bit city politics for the craziness of small-town life in this irresistable TV comedy! Helped out by John's best friend (the hilarious Billy Bob Thorton, Bad Santa), the couple attempts to revive the local paper. Adding to the mayhem is the incredible supportig cast, including the diminutive, but big-talking Lonnie (Leslie Jordon, Will & Grace) and the cynical, sharp-tongued Madeline (Conchata Ferrell, Two and a Half Men). From the creator of Designing Women, this warm and witty series has become an addictive pleasure for viewers around the world since its original 1992-1995 run! Now get fired up for all 16 episodes of this fun-filled show's smokin' second season, now on DVD for the first time. Episodes: 1. Lovely Always (Parts 1 & 2) 2. Moonlighting 3. The Great Depression 4. First Edition 5. String of Pearls 6. The Stud Club 7. Blue Christmas 8. True Confessions 9. Accelerated Dating 10. Sweet Revenge 11. The Sons of Sissy-Whatsis 12. Fatal Traction 13. Sleepless in a Small Town 14. Do the Limbaugh 15. Love in the Afternoon 16. The Big Yes

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Stars:
John Ritter as John Hartman
Markie Post as Georgie Anne Lahti Hartman
Billy Bob Thornton as Billy Bob Davis
Leslie Jordan as Lonnie Garr
Conchata Ferrell as Madeline Stoessinger

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Outtakes/Bloopers
• insert

Just finished off the second season of Hearts Afire. They pretty much changed the entire series. Moved them away from Capital Hill... moving them to the small town John and Billy Bob grew up in. I found I am enjoying this new format a bit more then what they had for the first season. I was never much of a fan of the Senator character they all worked for in the first season. But I really enjoy the new characters of Madeline Stoessinger and Lonnie Garr. Definitely an improvement over the first season. Now I am looking forward to starting season 3.




(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on November 18th, 2011)