DVD Collectors Online

Jingle All the Way, a review by Tom

Title: Jingle All the Way
Year: 1996
Director: Brian Levant
Rating: PG
Length: 89 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85, Pan & Scan 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Surround, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sinbad
Phil Hartman
Rita Wilson
Robert Conrad

Plot:
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this hilarious holiday comedy as a father desperate to buy that must-have Christmas toy during a frantic last-minute shopping spree on Christmas Eve.

Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) has promised his young son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas, unaware that it's the season's hottest-selling toy. And so begins a frenzied quest that pits Howard against a stressed-out mailman (Sinbad), a sleazy Santa impersonator (James Belushi) and every other harried parent in town, in "the best holiday family film in years." (Don Stotter, Entertainment Time-Out)

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

A very unfunny comedy. The only highlight is Phil Hartman as the creepy neighbor.
In the first scene, I thought: "Hey, this kid reminds me of this kid in Star Wars: Episode 1. He is just as bad in acting". And then the opening credits came up and it said "Jake Llyod"

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on January 18th, 2009)

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer, a review by Antares

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961) 88/100 - My favorite film of the trilogy. War and his treatment by his fellow soldiers has nearly broken Kaji. But the thought of returning to Michiko fuels his desire to survive and he'll stop at nothing to make it reality. This is definitely Nakadai's best performance of the three films. Gone is the doe-eyed zombie of the first film, replaced with a realistically tormented shell of a human being. Kobayashi, throughout the film, emphasizes the luck of having a roof over your head, the first time being when one of the prostitutes mentions it when they come to what appears to be an abandoned farm. Tange says it at one point and Kaji declares it at the refugee camp. But it's when Kaji is trudging through the frozen Manchurian landscape, after escaping captivity, and in his delusional mind, he hears Michiko say it as they entered their house back at the mining camp, that Kobayashi throws an ambiguous twist at Kaji. By now, Kaji knows he's finished and most likely is going to die and he's re-living the happy moments from the past with Michiko, in his mind. He remembers little bits of happy conversation between the two, but we only hear Michiko's lines of dialog. And then, just as Kaji is about to fall forward into the snow, you hear Michiko laughing. Is Kaji remembering one last moment of her exuberance before he dies or is Kobayashi, having the last thing Kaji hear, is Michiko laughing at him, for being so obstinate in his beliefs back at the mining camp and losing his military deferment? And now, instead of being back in Japan, at home with the woman he loves, he's dying, unsheltered on the frozen steppe of Manchuria...alone, a victim of his ideals.

What the color coding means...

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 26th, 2014)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Early Edition: Season One (1996/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 1031 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles:

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Plot:
What would you do if you knew tomorrow's news today? If you knew the winning lottery numbers? Could you rescue people from accidents and certain death? That's what Gary Hobson (Kyle Chandler) asks himself every day. A Chicago stockbroker whose marriage is on the rocks, Hobson becomes a reluctant hero when he is delivered the news a day in advance. Chuck (Fisher Stevens) is Gary's best friend and not above using Gary's knowledge for personal gain, and Marissa (Shanesia Davis) feels Gary should use his information to better people's lives. Now Gary has the chance and difficult responsibility of using this mysterious gift to help others avert tragedy and misfortune.

Early Edition
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Patrick Q. Page (Created By), Vik Rubenfeld (Created By), Ian Abrams (Created By), Bob Brush (Screenwriter), Ian Abrams (Screenwriter), Patrick Q. Page (Story By), Vik Rubenfeld (Story By), Ian Abrams (Story By)
Director: Michael Dinner
Cast: Kyle Chandler (Gary Hobson), Shanesia Davis (Marissa Clark), Fisher Stevens (Chuck Fishman), Milo O'Shea (Sherman), Ron Dean (Det. Marion Zeke Crumb), Felicity Huffman (Det. Tagliatti), Marc Vann (Phil Pritchard), Tom Noonan (Frank Price), Michael Bacarella (Fan), Maury Cooper (Homeless Guy), James "Ike" Eichling (Shaunnessey), Neil Flynn (Cop At Newsstand), Don Forston (Exterminator), Marianne Hagan (Marcia), Tracy Letts (Marksman), Malcolm Rothman (Guard at Bank), Jeff Still (Cop at Bank), Bill Visteen (Charlie), Alan Wilder (Friendly Guy), Linda Mac Lennan (Newscaster)

I enjoyed this series. Though I think it's a wonder that it survived four seasons. The pilot was a fitting introduction.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on April 10th, 2011)