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101 Dalmatians, a review by Dragonfire

101 Dalmatians (1996)

Unleashing every once of Disney magic, 101 Dalmatians thrills audiences of all ages with fast-paced adventure and comedy - featuring a brilliant performance by five-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close (including Best Actress, Dangerous Liaisons, 1988) as Cruella De Vil.  Achieving new heights of hilarity, Disney's all time classic puppy tale comes to life as a world-wide box office sensation.  In their small London flat, Dalmatians Pongo and Perdy, and their human "pets" Roger and Anita are overjoyed by the arrival of 15 puppies.  But when the spotted-fur-loving Ms. De Vil and her clumsy cohorts, Jasper and Horace, dognap the litter - along with every other Dalmatian pup in London - Pogo and Perdy must rally the town's animals to their rescue.  The plan hurls them towards a thrilling climax filled with uproarious moments as the puppies attempt to outwit their captors and bring on a final showdown with Cruella. 

My Thoughts

This was the first time in years that I've watched this one.  The movie had the same basic plot, though a few things were changed a bit and other things were added.  Cruella was a fashion designer and Anita worked for her instead of the two of them being old friends.  I thought that addition to the story made sense and provided a way for Cruella to have enough money to get all the fur she craved.  None of the animals were shown talking in some way like has been done in other movies.  Some scenes moved a little slower because of that when only animals were shown.  The animals, especially all the puppies, were adorable.  I think the movie is very entertaining even though the idea of someone being twisted enough to make a coat out of puppies is disturbing.  Glenn Close was perfect as Cruella.  I've thought that Cruella was one of the scariest Disney villains.  Close's version of the character was scarier than the version from the original animated movie.  A few things that happened, mostly with what some of the animals did, were a bit silly, but the movie was still very entertaining. 

  (I think that is the right one..still learning the emotes)

(From My November Alphabet Marathon on November 3rd, 2008)

Eternelle, a review by RossRoy

Original Title: Eternal Year: 2004 Country: Canada Director: Rating: 18+ Length: 107 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: Subtitles:

What they say
Detective Raymond Pope is a detective of questionable morals, searching for his missing wife. His investigation leads him to the wealthy estate of the enigmatic Elizabeth Kane and her young maid Irina. Under Elizabeth's fascinating looks and aristocratic manners hides a terrifying secret,shared by her companion Irina. Irina believes that her mistress is a supernatural being, perhaps the real-life 16th Century Blood Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who bathed in the blood of over 650 women in a misguided quest for eternal life. As Detective Pope finds himself perversely drawn to the powerful Elizabeth, bodies begin to surface, his inquiries only deepening the mystery surrounding Elizabeth's past. Pope's obsession grows so intense that he completely fails to anticipate Elizabeth's reaction to his intrusion into her dark world, a fatal mistake that might cost him his life and the lives of those close to him.

My Thoughts
This movie is odd. It is definitely about vampires, but they're fang-less. The main vamp's aid even puts on fake fangs to hunt. It's a bit odd. But at the same time, it makes it that much more scary, because you wouldn't know if she's human or vampire.

We also have a case where they say "Inspired by true events". Well. It may have been inspired by this story, but it has been very lightly inspired. It's not even the main story. For one, it takes place in today's Montreal, which is explainable, seeing as she's a Vampire and immortal, but during the movie, they never really mention that. You end up guessing it by some dialog, but it's far from obvious that she is an immortal vampire, she could just as well be a serial killing mad women who kills, drinks blood and bathes in it.

The main story is about the policeman looking for his lost wife, and it's decent at best. The whole thing feels like an excuse for some softcore porn (very very softcore, mostly just kissing and fondling, you don't really see anything). But there's a lot of it. Almost all killings by the Countess are preceded by some girl on girl action (she kills only pure, virgin young girls).

But the girls in the movie are all really beautiful. Starting with the Countess, played by Caroline Neron, one of the most beautiful actress from Quebec (IMO). Even the nerdy babysitter Lisa with her big black glasses is sexy as hell.

I do have mixed feelings about this movie though. One the one hand, it is enjoyable, but I feel like it is lacking something as a movie. It's like the authors/directors couldn't find what they were really trying to do. Were they telling the story of the Countess? Doing a cop movie? A softcore porn? A horror vampire based movie? As a viewer, you don't know, and they probably didn't know themselves. Or, they may have just tried to tackle too much at once and couldn't render it the way they wanted it to be. Who knows.

Rating:

(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on October 8th, 2008)

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

6.01 Bargaining: Part 1
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Marti Noxon (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), Franc Ross (Razor), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Paul Greenberg (Shempy Vampire), Mike Grief (Klyed), Harry Johnson (Parent #1), Hila Levy (Pretty Girl), Geoff Meed (Mag), Joy DeMichelle Moore (Ms. Lefcourt), Robert D. Vito (Cute Boy), Kelly Lynn Warren (Parent #2)

An okay beginning to the new series. Nothing really special.

Rating:



6.02 Bargaining: Part 2
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Fury (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), Franc Ross (Razor), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Mike Grief (Klyed), Geoff Meed (Mag), Richard Wharton (Homeowner)

Better than the first half. I like the reactions when they realise what they have done to Buffy. They really weren't thinking this through.

Rating:



6.03 After Life
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Jane Espenson (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), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Lisa Hoyle (Demon)

A good episode. Buffy confides in Spike about where she really was. This was nicely handled.

Rating:



6.04 Flooded
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Douglas Petrie (Writer), Jane Espenson (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: Douglas Petrie
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), Todd Stashwick (M'Fashnik Demon), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), John Jabaley (Tito), Brian Kolb (Bank Guard), Michael Merton (Mr. Savitsky)

An average episode. I like the three geeks, though they haven't much to do here.

Rating:

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