DVD Collectors Online

Buena Vista Social Club, a review by Danae Cassandra

Buena Vista Social ClubOverview:
"The Buena Vista Social Club," guitarist Ry Cooder's celebrated album featuring the recently re-discovered talents of Cuba's foremost folk musicians, sold millions of copies and earned a Grammy Award. Now, Cooder teams up with acclaimed director Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas) to reveal the astonishing life stories, vibrant personalities and unforgettable music of the brilliantly talented but long-overlooked performers who collaborated on this now-legendary recording. From the crumbling barrios of their native Havana, to their triumphant, sold-out concerts in Amsterdam and New York's Carnegie Hall, it's an unforgettable, deeply emotional journey into the passion, pride and humanity of the artists whose music sparked a worldwide musical phenomenon!


My Thoughts:
I've always loved Latin music, and these guys do not disappoint. They are fabulous, and the story of how these guys were all but forgotten and then made a triumphant return/rediscovery in their golden years is quite inspiring. The film is an excellent documentation of the making of the album, but it could have benefited from including some history of Cuban music and discussing these wonderful musicians in context.

Despite that, if you enjoy Cuban and Latin music I cannot recommend this film highly enough for how good the music here is.

Bechdel Test: Fail (N/A)
Mako Mori Test: Fail (N/A)

Overall: 4/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 20th, 2016)

Freaky Friday, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Freaky Friday
Year: 1976
Director: Gary Nelson
Rating: G
Length: 98 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Barbara Harris
Jodie Foster
John Astin
Patsy Kelly
Dick Van Patten
Vicki Schreck

Plot:
Now experience all the laughs of the original comedy classic that inspired Disney's hilarious hit remake. Trading places was never so funny, and it could only happen on Friday the 13th! that's when the tomboyish and free-spirited Annabel (Jodie Foster) switches bodies with her straitlaced mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris), and suddenly finds herself responsible for running the entire household. In turn Ellen, now in her daughter's body, faces the daunting challenges of school, including a typing test, field hockey competition, and much more!

Extras:
Scene Access
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Interactive Games
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
This is the first time I seen this movie since I was a kid. So going into it I really remembered nothing more then it used to be a favorite. I tried to convince Brittany to watch it with me. But she didn't want to. This movie is just plain fun! I got several chuckles out of it. I really enjoyed the field Hockey game I got a few laughs out of those scenes. The Baseball game in the park was pretty fun as well. Then there was the last scene of the movie... and once again I couldn't help but to laugh at it. There were a few familiar faces in this one... other then what I listed above there was the guy that played Arnold in Happy Days... as well as Marvin Kaplan who I have seen in several TV Series of the time. and then there is Sorrell Brooke as the principle... who was of course Boss Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard. I am the first to admit that I enjoyed the remake of Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan... but I have to say... I prefer this one!

The DVD itself isn't bad... but it could have been much better. Both the audio and video are just fine... but when it comes to extras it leaves a bit to be desired. There is one game you can play... which is a match game. Very simple and very boring once you play it once or twice. But the "Look Back" with Jodie Foster was pretty cool. She don't only look back on Freaky Friday... but all the movies she did for Disney. I did enjoy watching it. And that is all the movie related extras you get. The only other thing on the disc is the "also from Disney" trailers.



(From Movies of the '70s Marathon on May 12th, 2010)

The IT Crowd: Version 3.0 - (mini) marathon, a review by Tom

04. The Speech (2008-12-12)
Writer: Graham Linehan (Writer)
Director: Graham Linehan
Cast: Chris O'Dowd (Roy), Richard Ayoade (Moss), Katherine Parkinson (Jen), Matt Berry (Douglas), Lucy Montgomery (April), Tom Binns (Nolan)

This episode was a lot of fun again. The guys giving Jen the "internet" for a speech

Rating:

(From The IT Crowd: Version 3.0 - (mini) marathon on July 31st, 2009)