DVD Collectors Online

The Black Swan, a review by Rogmeister

The Black Swan  (1942)  Technicolor   85 minutes
Directed by Henry King
Cast: Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Laird Cregar, Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders, Anthony Quinn, George Zucco
Music composed by Alfred Newman
Oscar-winner for Color Cinematography
Oscar-nominated for Special Effects and for Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

DVD Extras
Commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer and actress Maureen O'Hara
Restoration Comparison
Theatrical Trailer

It's time to buckle that swash!  Join Tyrone Power and his cronies (including every whiskey drinker's favorite seaman, Captain Morgan) as they join him in Jamaica after being pardoned by the king of England...until another seaman (played by George Sanders in a bright red wig and beard) continues his evil ways attacking the king's ships and stealing their bootie.  It's a rollicking high adventure shot in beautiful Technicolor.  It also has an interesting audio commentary featuring actress Maureen O'Hara who revealed that in her first color film, she got "klieg eyes" due to overpowering lights and vowed to never shoot another color film again until cinematographer Leon Shamroy surprised her with the low level lights he would use.  This is certainly an incredible-looking picture with vibrant colors and terrific battle sequences both at sea and in castles on the mainland.  If you enjoy a good pirate adventure, this is one you need to see.

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 5th, 2009)

Night of the Living Dead (1990), a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Movie Count: 31
TV Ep Count: 13
Time Started: 5pm
Plot:My Thoughts:
OK... for my tastes... this is much more like it! Yes... in the beginning Barbara is still all scared and crying... but she is quickly out of that in this version! This is the way I want to see Barbara! Not to mention that I am a huge fan of Tony Todd. Between those 2 things... it really feels like this remake was made catered to me. As much as I love the original... and I do love the original!.. I have to say in this case I definitely prefer the remake! How often can someone say that?

(From Month-Long Horror/Halloween Marathon on October 10th, 2007)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: SG-1 is still searching for the "Lost City" or - as Jonas translates it now - "City of the Lost", a city of the Ancients that wasn't fully completed. They try to find the city with the help of the Gate addresses Jack entered into the computer when he had the knowledge of the Ancients. But they find something different - someone, to be precise.

My Opinion: The attack on Anubis's ship was a nice homage to the battle above Yavin in Star Wars IV, including Jack's comment that his F-302 (it's obviously not eXperimental anymore) should have the call sign "Red Leader". Michael Shanks has re-joined the main cast and returns to his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson. And while I liked Jonas, Daniel is somehow better. Jack and Daniel know each other for over seven years and even in the end Jonas was still "the new guy". The chemistry between Jack and Daniel worked instantaneously again in terms of: they like each other but are totally different.

Synopsis: Daniel and Jonas are still aboard Anubis's ship which hovers now over the capitol of Kelowna. Anubis wants to have the Naqahdriah and the knowledge of how to create a stable reaction.

My Opinion: On one hand it's understandable that Jonas returns home. Daniel is back and all three countries on his home planet know about the Stargate now. It's a bit sad, though. But since Daniel and he had basically the same role within SG-1 it would be hard to acknowledge this fact in future scripts.

Synopsis: When Jack awakes one morning, he is a teenanger of fifteen years. No one believes that he is Colonel Jack O'Neill. After his DNA has been confirmed they try to find out what happened and how to reverse it.

My Opinion: This time I even looked on the clock. The first appearance of RDA was in the 31st minute of this 42 minute episode. On the other hand one has to get used to it since his screen time will drop considerably from the 8th season on.
But it was good to see that not all Asgard are good and perfect, that even they have black sheeps.

Synopsis: After T'ealc has been wounded on a mission, he begins to doubt himself. Since he has lost "Junior" and has begun to inject Tretonin he doesn't feel as a full-fledged Jaffa anymore. But then there's a new crisis arising, Bra'tac and Rya'c are prisoners in a work camp that one only leaves dead.

My Opinion: A very good episode to show that something has changed for Teal'c. A symbiote has been part of his body for about 90 years (Teal'c is approximately 104 years old at this time) and now this part is missing. I can imagine that this is hard to get used to. I also liked the scene where his son helped im through the crisis by letting Teal'c kill the other Jaffa with his bare hands.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on April 13th, 2008)