DVD Collectors Online

The Secret of Kells, a review by goodguy

The Secret of Kells (IRL 2009) Written by: Tomm Moore, Fabrice Ziolkowski Directed by: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey DVD: R2-IRL Buena Vista/Cartoon Saloon (Aug 19, 2009) My rating:

Cover Blurb: There are legends of a secret book, whose pages hold tremendous power to defeat the forces of darkness. Now one boy must fullfil his destiny and write the final chapter to bring light back to the world.
Brendan, a mischievous young boy, is hard at work with his uncle to strengthen the village walls as a protection against a legion of Viking raiders. In order to save his people, Brendan must embark on a secret quest that will take him beyond the world he knows into an Enchanted Forest where a host of mythical creatures await. There he will uncover the mystery, experience the magic and live the adventure of THE SECRET OF KELLS.

The Secret of Kells isn't quite on the same level as Persepolis or Sita Sings the Blues, but it still shows that the results of working within the limits of handdrawn 2D animation and a strict formal and stylized approach are simply more magical and rewarding than anything 3D animation has to offer.

Kells takes his cues from the art of illumination and indulges in a rich, ornamental style grounded by the use of basic geometric shapes. It even refrains from the use of perspective (except for the Viking attacks). A visually stunning and marvelous movie whose only weakness is a somewhat underdeveloped story that kinda fizzles out at the end.


(From goodguy's Watch Log on July 3rd, 2010)

Dog Day Afternoon, a review by Rich

Dog Day Afternoon



Before Peter Finch was 'mad as hell' in NETWORK, Sidney Lumet's scorching indictment of the American television industry, Al Pacino played an equally ferocious and fed-up bank robber in Lumet's classic film DOG DAY AFTERNOON. Pacino is heartbreakingly real as Sonny, a smart and tough if self-destructive Brooklyn tough whose plan to rob the local bank to fund his male lover's (Chris Sarandon) sex change goes absurdly wrong. Accompanied only by his doltish accomplice, Sal (John Cazale), Sonny resorts to kidnapping a handful of bank employees when he realizes that all the money had been removed before his arrival. As the lengthy August day drags on, Sonny and the hordes of local police, led by Sergeant Moretti (Charles Durning), make little progress, and eventually Sonny's wife and lover are brought to the scene. The crowd's sympathy is immediately captured by the charismatic Sonny, whose antagonism with the police is played out before an audience of millions, leading to an inevitably tragic finish.
Balancing suspense, violence, and humor, the film's depiction of a grand scale media event craftily dives from the political to the personal, evoking a piercing portrait of a single man and his devastating downward tumble into the cracks of the system that Lumet made a career of chronicling. DOG DAY AFTERNOON reunites Pacino with his SERPICO director Lumet, and stands as one of the finest films of the 1970s.

Stand-out performance by Pacino masks the dating of this movie, incredible depth and appeal he creates for the character Sonny highlights his genuine talent. The film as a whole is pretty limp for me in terms of action and suspense, and the 2nd half is totally ruined by being bogged down with over the top sentimentality regarding homosexuality.
Overall an enjoyable viewing experience, and a pleasure to see Pacino mastering his craft
 



(From Riches Random Reviews on January 16th, 2009)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Sliders



What's the show about?
Quinn Mallory and his friends travel through alternate universes. But there are a few catches. But they cannot control when they have to "slide" or where they are going to land. Nor do they find the way to their own homeworld. Every universe can be totally different from what they know or it's really close to their own reality.

"Pilot"
Quinn Mallory tried to invent an anti-gravity machine but came up with something totally different. Without knowing where his jump would end he jumps through a wormhole and ends up in his basement - right where he started. But he has soon to learn that this is not his basement - at least not his-his. After having successfully returned to his own reality he invites his professor for physics and his friend Wade for another trip...

My Opinion
I really liked the show until the season where the professor died and Wade disappeared. After that the show lost it's touch especially with the Kromaggs.

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on January 3rd, 2008)