DVD Collectors Online

Babylon 5: The Gathering, a review by Tom

Babylon 5: The Gathering (1993/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (Canada) Director: Richard Compton Writing: J. Michael Straczynski (Writer) Length: 95 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Stars:
Michael O'Hare as Jeffrey Sinclair
Tamlyn Tomita as Laurel Takashima
Jerry Doyle as Michael Garibaldi
Mira Furlan as Delenn
Blaire Baron as Carolyn Sykes

Plot:
The Gathering: Alien envoys come to the giant space station in the pilot that launched the five-year TV Series.

Awards:
Nominated:

Hugo Award (1994)

Dramatic Presentation

Extras:

• Commentary
• Scene Access

This TV movie serves as the pilot of the series. They are some changes between this one and the series. Some of the cast changed and also some of the characters behaved a little different than we are used to in the series. I think it was a good choice to replace the doctor. I never liked the acting of the one in the pilot. As for the replacement of Takashima with Ivanova: I love Ivanova and Takashima was a little wooden here. But you never know. She could have worked out also.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 27th, 2011)

Coraline, a review by Dragonfire

From the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas comes a visually stunning stop-motion animated feature - the first to be filmed in 3-D! Discover how the filmmakers and artisans created the magical handmade world of Coraline, exclusively in this 2-Disc Collector's Edition!

Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door that leads her into a world that's just like her own. . .but better! But when this fantastical adventure turns dangerous and her "other" Mother tries to keep her forever, Coraline must conunt on her resourcefulness and bravery to get home.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this movie, though it is rather twisted and dark, especially for an animated movie.  I don't consider this a good choice for younger children.  The plot is interesting and makes for an entertaining movie, but aspects of it may be too dark for some viewers.  There are some rather disturbing images that turn up every so often as well.  This movie isn't going to appeal to everyone.  The story does have a bit of mystery to it as well as some suspenseful moments.  The animation is very well done.

My biggest issue with the movie is the way some of the characters are depicted.  It is harder to like them, even Coraline, because of how they act at times.  I get that she isn't happy about the move, but she does come across as a brat at times.  I do think she gets more likable as the movie progresses.  Coraline's parents aren't much better, especially her mother.  She is just shown in a perpetual bad mood, always snapping about something and only caring about her work.  Coraline's dad is a little better, but he is very focused on his work too.  With the way they act, it is easy to see why Coraline is so tempted by the other parents.

I did not see this movie in the theater.  My DVD does have the 3D version too and even came with 4 pairs of the glasses.  I tried the 3D version, but it wasn't that great.  I only noticed a few images that really worked for the 3D.  The color change because of the glasses was very extreme and did get annoying.  After a while, my eyes started hurting and I just gave up on the 3D version, flipping back to the normal version instead.  I'm sure the 3D worked much better in the theater.  I have seen a few other movies in 3D in the theater, and they worked well without the color distortion because of the different glasses.  I also haven't had my eyes start hurting in the theater.  Unless technology gets better, home viewing of 3D is lousy.

Overall, this is a good movie for people who don't mind something that is a little twisted and dark.

 

I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Coraline

(From Dragonfire: What I've Been Watching on September 10th, 2009)

[Rerun Marathon] Spaced, a review by Tom

8/10

The end was hilarious. Especially the Chewbacca yawn of Mike 

(From [Rerun Marathon] Spaced on December 29th, 2007)