DVD Collectors Online

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, a review by Danae Cassandra

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree
Year of Release: 1995
Directed By: Jon Stone
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Leslie Nielsen, Stockard Channing, Kevin Clash, David Rudman, Julianne Buescher
Genre: Comedy, Television

Overview:
A single Christmas tree becomes the source of cheer for the people and animals living around Mr. Willowby's estate. Based on the children's book of the same name.

My Thoughts:
More Muppets and less RDJ than I was hoping, but this was still a fun Christmas special. The mice are actually the stars here, but Downey is having quite a bit of fun with his character and Leslie Nielsen garners more than one smile as the straight-laced butler who's sweet on the upstairs maid. I'd actually have rather seen more of those characters, and not only because I like Downey so much.

Recommended if you're a fan of the Muppets, and don't mind watching a grainy version of this on youtube. Also recommended if you're a big fan of RDJ like I am, but you'll be disappointed by how little you see of him.

Bechdel Test: Fail
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 2.75/5

(From Christmas 2016 on December 16th, 2016)

Super, a review by dfmorgan

Super (2010/United States) G2 Pictures (United Kingdom) Director: James Gunn Writing: James Gunn (Writer) Length: 92 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1 Subtitles:

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Stars:
Rainn Wilson as Frank Darbo
Ellen Page as Libby
Liv Tyler as Sarah
Kevin Bacon as Jacques
Gregg Henry as Detective John Felkner

Plot:
When Frank's (RAINN WILSON - THE OFFICE (US), TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN) ex-junkie wife Sarah (LIV TYLER - LORD OF THE RINGS, THE INCREDIBLE HULK) leaves him for the arms of sleazy drug-dealer Jacques (KEVIN BACON - X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, APOLLO 13), he is touched by the finger of God and decides to take the law into his own hands, becoming his own crime fighting superhero: 'The Crimson Bolt'. What Frank lacks in superpowers he makes up for with his trusty wrench in his one-man war on petty criminals. Powers or not, every superhero needs a sidekick! Enter Libby (ELLEN PAGE - INCEPTION, JUNO), a cute psychopath working at the local comic book store. Transforming into 'Boltie', Libby teams up with Frank to take Jacques down in his quest to win back his wife.

From the warped imagination of writer-director JAMES GUNN (SLITHER) comes Bolt and Boltie, a crazed crime fighting duo here to save the day, or at least to beat you up!

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes

I decided to watch this after it came up in another thread. I did enjoy it, not as much as "Kick-Ass" though with which there are a number of similarities, and liked the twist within Frank's rationalisation at the end.

Rating:

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on March 18th, 2012)

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

05. Homecoming (1998-11-03)
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Greenwalt (Writer)
Director: David Greenwalt
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Seth Green (Oz), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), K. Todd Freeman (Mr. Trick), Jeremy Ratchford (Lyle Gorch), Fab Filippo (Scott Hope), Ian Abercrombie (Old Man), Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Danny Strong (Jonathan), Jason Hall (Devon), Jack Plotnick (Deputy Mayor), Billy Maddox (Frawley), Joseph Daube (Hans), Jermyn Daube (Frederick), Lee Everett (Candy Gorch), Tori McPetrie (Michelle), Chad Stahelski (Kulak)

A fun episode. I always liked the idea of the Slayerfest. And a great scene where Cordelia stands up to the vampire.
It also marks the introduction of the mayor, the main villain of the season.
My favorite line: "As Willow goes, so goes my nation" (by Oz)
Another thing: I always thought that Scott was right to dump Buffy. It was obvious it wasn't fun for him to be with her. I would have liked it, if they had explored this relationship longer. I think it would have been refreshing to have Buffy in a good relationship with a normal nice guy for a while, who would have only been slowly sucked into her slayer life.

Rating:

(From Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon on February 27th, 2009)