DVD Collectors Online

The Lady Vanishes, a review by Dragonfire

During a transcontinental train trip in Europe, a young woman is alarmed to discover a passenger has disappeared. Starring Margaret Lockwood

My Thoughts

This one does start off slower while the various characters are introduced.  I was wondering briefly where the train was..lol.  Anyway, the movie has a unique group of characters and there are some humorous moments with some of them.  There is a good amount of tension and suspense throughout the movie, especially once the woman has vanished and everyone denies ever having seen her.  The mystery is decent and helps to make things interesting.  The explanations for what happened as well as why everyone denied seeing the woman ultimately work.  Many of the passengers have their own somewhat selfish reasons for denying seeing the woman.  There is decent chemistry between the main characters and their developing relationship is believable.

Overall, the movie is very entertaining and I enjoyed it.

 

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on June 10th, 2009)

F For Fake, a review by Danae Cassandra

F For Fake
Year of Release: 1973
Directed By: Orson Welles
Starring: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar
Genre: Documentary

Overview:
Trickery. Deceit. Magic. In Orson Welles's free-form documentary F for FakeF for Fake is an inspired prank and a searching examination of the essential duplicity of cinema.

My Thoughts:
What is art? Why do we value it? Because we appreciate it, aesthetically? Because it is beautiful, or it speaks to us? Or because someone has told us it is rare and valuable? If we loved a painting, do we then hate it if exposed as a fake?

What is a documentary? Is it a true story, or simply a piece of non-fiction? If we enjoyed a story we believed to be true, and later found out it was fake, is our enjoyment less?

Does our knowledge of something make it more valuable? Or does it make it worthless?

Endlessly interesting film, and worth watching - if only for Welles' wonderful, creative use of editing. Don't watch it if you need a straight story told in a linear fashion. That isn't what Welles is after here, and if you're expecting that you'll be disappointed.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4/5


(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on February 7th, 2015)

Birthday Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

All in the Family: Season 2
The Elevator Story
The Bunkers are celebrating Edith's birthday at an Italian restaurant in the city when Archie discovers that Edith failed to mail out a payment to the insurance company. This leads him to run across the street to drop it off. However, on his way he gets stuck in an elevator along with a pregnant Puerto Rican and her husband, an aging hippie, and an erudite black businessman.

My Thoughts:
This is a good classic sitcom.  One that definitely pushes the limits of the time... let alone something you would see in today's politically correct times. It was really funny to see Archie Bunker stuck in an elevator with some of the people he hates the most. Let alone Edith going heavy on the wine at dinner waiting for Archie to get back.



(From Birthday Marathon on May 30th, 2009)