DVD Collectors Online

Pretty Woman, a review by DJ Doena

January, 8th


Director: Garry Marshall

Richard Gere    ...    Edward Lewis
Julia Roberts   ...    Vivian Ward
Jason Alexander   ...    Philip Stuckey
Alex Hyde-White   ...    David Morse
Hector Elizondo   ...    Barney Thompson

Synopsis: He's a successful business man. He buys companies, fillets them and sells the pieces at a profit. She hasn't even finished high school and works now as a hooker on Hollywood Boulevard. Their lives cross paths because he can't drive stick. But it's just a business arrangement. She's his companion for one week and that's it. As if life was that easy...

My Opinion: Hollywood fairy tale at its best. Julia Roberts was only 22 when she made this and she looked gorgeous in it, especially in the cocktail dress. But my favourite character in this movie is the hotel manager Mr. Thompson. The way he treats her and verbally sails around the cliffs and when he helps her - it's really great, particularly because he has no reason to help her.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2010 on January 24th, 2010)

Four Times That Night, a review by Achim

Title: Quante volte... quella notte
Year: 1972
Director: Mario Bava
Rating: NR
Length: 83 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Daniela Giordano
Brett Halsey
Dick Randall
Valeria Sabel
Michael Hinz

Plot:
For his sole foray into the sex comedy genre, Mario Bava delivers a swinging orgy of mod design, leering humor and daring late '60s erotica. American leading man Bret Halsey and former Miss Italy Daniela Giordano star in this Rashomon-inspired tale of a playboy and a virgin's first date that may or may not have included rape, nymphomania, lesbianism, and groovy inflatable furniture.

Extras:
Scene Access

I have yet to see Kurasawa's Rashomon (now rather sooner than later) to judge just how close this film was to it, but Bava's inspiration is undeniably clear ( only after typing this sentence did I realize that the cover blurb actually gives it away ). The same story is told from 4 perspectives (hence the title), with each one shedding a different light on how and why things happened. Saying much more about the plot would spoil it for first time viewer, so I'll stay away from that.

Bava starts out (again, as per cover blurb) in telling the story like a sex comedy which were so popular in Europe at the time. However, then the tone shifts and everything seems rather dark when the claims to her mother that she's almost been raped. Only when we head into the second telling of the events do we realize, that things may not be as they seemed and begin trying to put the puzzle together to find the truth.

I highly enjoyed the witty dialog, especially in the beginning; it fell partly flat in later parts The film is shot with some inventive camera work, giving the limited locations a sufficiently fresh fell throughout the film. It has not entirely aged well, but ignoring some signs of the times it was made in it's still much enjoyable today.



(From Mario Bava marathon on July 13th, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

The Office: Season One (2005/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Studios Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 135 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Plot:
Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Daily Show) stars in The Office, a fresh and funny mockumentary-style glimpse into the daily interactions of the eccentric workers at the Dunder Mifflin paper supply company. Based on the smash-hit British series of the same name and adapted for American Television by Greg Daniels (King of the Hill, The Simpsons), this fast-paced comedy parodies contemporary American water-cooler culture. Earnest but clueless regional manager Michael Scott (Carell) believes himself to be an exceptional boss and mentor, but actually receives more eye-rolls than respect from his oddball staff. Entertainment Weekly calls The Office "smart and trenchant", and all six hilarious season one episodes are available here on DVD for the first time. The awkward silences in The Office will have you laughing out loud!

The Office
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Ricky Gervais (Screenwriter), Stephen Merchant (Screenwriter), Greg Daniels (Screenwriter), Ricky Gervais (Original Material By), Stephen Merchant (Original Material By)
Director: Ken Kwapis
Cast: Steve Carell (Michael Scott), Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute), John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly), B. J. Novak (Ryan Howard), Melora Hardin (Jan), David Denman (Roy), Leslie David Baker (Stanley), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin), Angela Kinsey (Angela), Henriette Mantel), Mike McCaul), Oscar Nunez (Oscar), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis)

I know me reviewing this now for this thread is a little too early. But recently watching the seventh season put me in the mood to watch some early episodes, even though it only has been a year since I watched the first six seasons in a marathon.
Even though the first episode is a copy of the first episode of the original The Office, I still enjoyed it. Already much of the characters are present, which get bigger roles later on. Michael Scott will change though with later episode. Even going so far, that he goes from despicable to pitiful to a guy showing competence and even ending up as a pretty much nice guy where you can believe he can be considered a good boss from time to time.
What I like about this series is, that the background characters are constant. The people filling this Office are pretty much always there, making it feel to be a real Office. And it are these characters, which get more screentime and their own storylines later on.

Rating:


(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on September 4th, 2011)