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Ponyo, a review by dfmorgan

Ponyo

Year: 2008
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Hiroki Doi, Yuria Nara, Tomoko Nagashima
OverviewWatched: 5th Jun 2010
My Thoughts: Another wonderful anime from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. The basic premise of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid with a magical twist. I liked the Wagnerian references to The Ride Of The Valkyrie from that opera.

My Rating: Just loved it to bits so a 5

Dave

Addendum: Think I'll have to sort out all my Studio Ghibli titles and have a marathon session with them.

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on June 6th, 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

Dead Like Me: Season One (2003/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia MGM Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 627 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles:

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Plot:
You're about to be collected. "Winningly eccentric" (LA Daily News) and "insistently irreverent" (People), this groundbreaking, original series delivers you into a realm of shockingly funny characters and twisted narratives you'll find completely "addictive" (NY Daily News)!

When an errant toilet seat from the falling Mir Space Station puts an abrupt end to her life, George (Ellen Muth) discovers that death is nothing like she thought it would be. Recruited to collect the souls of others as they die, she suddenly finds herself an unwilling participant in a line of work she never knew existed: Grim Reaping!


Dead Like Me
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Bryan Fuller (Writer)
Director: Scott Winant
Cast: Ellen Muth (Georgia 'George' Lass), Rebecca Gayheart (Betty Rhomer), Callum Blue (Mason), Jasmine Guy (Roxy Harvey), Greg Kean (Clancy Lass), Britt McKillip (Reggie Lass), Christine Willes (Delores Herbig), Cynthia Stevenson (Joy Lass), Mandy Patinkin (Rube Sofer), Jodelle Micah Ferland (Kirsti), David Lewis (Dave Romain), Matthew Currie Holmes (Record Store Employee), Deb Podowski (Becky), Brad Sihvon (Brett), Sean Amsing (Druggie #1), Stefan Arngrim (Druggie #2), William MacDonald (Doug), Blu Mankuma (Duane), Reg Tupper (Ray), Kevin Blatch (Teller #1), Meghan Black (Teller #2), Darrin Klimek (Data Entry Guy), Tammy Pentecost (Piano Woman), David Kaye (Brad), John Shaw (Byron), Trever Havixbeck (Police Officer), Carin Moffat (Brenda), Mary Ann Skoll (June Cleaver Type), Art Kitching (Tom), Jim S. Smith (Security Guard), David Hurtubise (Older Man), Peter Bryant (Train Porter), Patricia Idlette (Waitress), Laura Boddington (UnGeorge), Jacob Chaos (Un Mason)

Good pilot to a good series. Sadly it only lasted two seasons. Luckily there is a TV movie made a few years later, which brings some closure to the characters.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on April 2nd, 2011)