DVD Collectors Online

Valdez Is Coming, a review by Antares

Valdez Is Coming (1971)) 68/100Teal = 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 July 11th, 2020)

Kwaidan, a review by Danae Cassandra

Kwaidan
Year of Release: 1965
Directed By: Masaki Kobayashi
Starring: Michiyo Aratama, Rentaro Mikuni, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiko Kishi, Katsuo Nakamura
Genre: Horror

Overview:
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, KwaidanKwaidan in a new ravishing color transfer.

My Thoughts:
This is a lyrical, poetic piece of horror, if you want to call it horror. It's horror only in the sense of it being stories of ghosts and spirits. The stories are actually tragedies, especially the first two which deal with the loss of love. It's a haunting film, but not a scary one.

It's a film of deep, rich color, in places almost more like a painting than a film. This is an artistic film, a film of elegiac beauty. Yet it is not just an art-house film, it's a film that would appeal to anyone who enjoyed old style horror. I think if you like Vincent Price's horror films you'd enjoy Kwaidan. The only thing I didn't like about the film was the framing story of "In a Cup of Tea."  I wish they had simply removed the section about the writer and gone forward with telling the story of the tea spirit.  Aside from that, excellent film. Highly recommended.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on December 8th, 2015)

Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon, a review by Tom

6.05 Life Serial
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Fury (Writer), Jane Espenson (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: Nick Marck
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson), Adam Busch (Warren Meers), Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Enrique Almeida (Marco), Richard Beatty (Small Demon), Winsome Brown (Woman Customer), Clint Culp (Bartender), Alice Dinnean Vernon (Mummy Hand), Mark Ginther (Horned Demon), Jonathan Goldstein (Mike), Noel Albert Guglielmi (Vince), Paul Gutrecht (Tony), Jabari Hearn (Steve), James C. Leary (Loose Skinned Demon), Christopher May (Male Customer), Derrick McMillon (Ron), David J. Miller (Rat-Faced Demon), Jennifer Shon (Rachel), Andrew Cooper Wasser (Slime-Cover Demon)

I liked Jonathan's attack best. Warren's didn't really lead to anything and Andrew's was rather average.

Rating:



6.06 All the Way
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Steven S. DeKnight (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: David Solomon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), John O'Leary (Kaltenbach), Kavan Reece (Justin), Amber Tamblyn (Janice), Dave Power (Zack), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Lorin Becker (Witch Woman), Charles Duckworth (Glenn), Chad Erickson (Guy), Lily Jackson (Witchy Poo), Emily Kay (Maria), Steven Anthony Lawrence (Chunky Kid), Adam Gordon (Carl), Dominic Rambaran (Paramedic #1), Anthony Sago (Paramedic #2), Sabrina Speer (Girl), Dawn Worrall (Christy)

A rather boring Halloween episode. It focuses too much on Dawn and her friend.

Rating:



6.07 Once More, with Feeling
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Hinton Battle (Sweet), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Timothy Anderson (Henchman), Hunter Cochran (College Guy #2), Alex Estronel (Henchman), David Fury (Mustard Man), Marti Noxon (Parking Ticket Woman), Matt Sims (College Guy #1), Daniel Weaver (Handsome Young Man), Zachary Woodlee (Demon/Henchman), Scot Zeller (Henchman)

I love this episode. Joss Whedon shows here for the first time, that he can write entertaining musicals. I own the soundtrack to this episode and still like to listen to it from time to time.

Rating:



6.08 Tabula Rasa
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Rebecca Rand Kirshner (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: David Grossman
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Raymond O'Connor (Teeth, the Loan Shark), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), David Franco (Vamp #3), Stephen Triplett (Vamp #2), Geordie White (Vamp #1)

A great episode. It is fun to see the reactions of everyone after they lost their memories. I also like all the references to previous episodes. The only thing I didn't like about this episode is the ridiculous shark demon.

Rating:

(From Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon on September 19th, 2010)