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The Blood of Fu Manchu , a review by samuelrichardscott

The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) R0 USA DVD

Overview
From his secret lair deep within the South American jungle, international super-villain Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) and his sadistic daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin of THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) reveal their latest diabolical plot for world domination: ten beautiful women are infected with an ancient poison so deadly that one kiss from their lips will bring instant death and lead to a global plague. Now the Asian madman's nemesis, Nayland Smith (Richard Greene of TALES FROM THE CRYPT), must desperately hunt an antidote in a savage land where rape and torture reign and the ultimate evil lies in THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU.

Maria Rohm (THE BLOODY JUDGE) and Shirley Eaton (GOLDFINGER) co-star in this wild Fu Manchu feature written and produced by Harry Alan Towers (VENUS IN FURS) and directed by the one and only Jess Franco (VAMPYROS LESBOS, EUGENIE). Released in America as KISS AND KILL, Blue Underground has fully restored THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU from its original European negative complete with additional scenes of nudity and violence!

Thoughts
I bought this for several reasons: I'm generally very happy with Blue Underground's output, I'm a fan of Christopher Lee and I'm a fan of Jess Franco. Unfortunately, this film, based on the character of Fu Manchu (whom until this film I was not familiar with) disappoints slightly. Lee overacts (not a problem), and Franco's direction is his standard nudity/violence affair (again, not a problem) but I felt that whilst the idea of Fu Manchu giving ten woman poison so that when they kiss the world's most powerful men, the men die, was a good one it was put together in a rather unconventional way without enough thought to structure. Fans of Franco and Lee might enjoy, but I would recommended a rental first. 2.5/5

(From Never Ending Movie Marathon (short reviews) on July 6th, 2011)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Two-Disc Deluxe Edition
Year: 2005
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: PG
Length: 115 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital EX: 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), French: Dolby Digital EX: 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), Spanish: Dolby Digital EX: 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1)
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka
Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket
David Kelly as Grandpa Joe
Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Bucket
Noah Taylor as Mr. Bucket

Plot:
What wonders await you in Willy Wonka's factory? Explore fields of soft minty sugar grass in the Chocolate Room...Sail along the Chocolate River in a pink sugar boat...Experiment with Everlasting Gobstoppers in the Inventing Room...Observe talented squirrels in the Nut Room and travel to the Television Room by a glass elevator. You'll find a lot that's funny, a little that's mysterious...and an adventure as sweet and satisfying as a Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight bar. This dazzling film adapted from Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore, is your Golden Ticket to a world so inventive, so imaginative, you won't want to miss a delicious moment!

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Interactive Games
DVD-ROM Content
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I bought this movie because of a friend's recommendation. It really isn't my normal type of movie. Besides... I seen the trailer and had some serious concerns if nothing more then from the way Johnny Depp played this character. It seemed silly and way over the top. After watching it I must say that the way Johnny Depp portrayed Willy Wonka was a bit annoying at first... but it quickly grew on me. I found this movie to be pretty fun and entertaining. Though there is still a bit more music then I would have liked... and that did take away from it a little for me. But I am definitely not sorry I got it.



(From What Movies I Been Watching on April 9th, 2010)

"Friends" Marathon, a review by Rogmeister

The One With Two PartsYes, it's a "Friends" two-parter!  It's also a crossover with, of all shows, ER!  Joey meets Phoebe's twin sister Ursula and gets involved with her, which upsets Phoebe.  Ross comes to the sudden realization that he's actually going to be a father.  Rachel injures her ankle trying to take down Christmas lights and Rachel takes her to the hospital where they meet up with the ER doctors (played by ER's George Clooney and Noah Wylie).  And Ross rushes his pet monkey Marcel to the hospital after he swallows a Scrabble tile...giving him his first real experience of being a father figure.  This episode actually also crosses over with a second NBC show as Helen Hunt and Leila Kenzle appear in one scene as their "Mad About You" characters.

The One With All The Poker is one of my favorite episodes of the first season...I'm not sure why...maybe because I used to have friends of my own that I used to play poker with.  The girls suck at poker and lose several times so they get coached by Monica's Aunt Iris (Beverly Garland).  It all culminates in a high stakes poker game one night following Rachel's failing to get a job that she desperately wanted.  You could also call this "The One Where Marcel Keeps Playing 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'" as Ross' monkey keeps playing a certain CD...

(From "Friends" Marathon on July 13th, 2009)