DVD Collectors Online

Pale Flower, a review by Antares

Pale Flower (1964) 3.5/5 - Highly stylized in its presentation, Pale Flower is a hybrid noir/gangster film from the heyday of Japanese cinema. The characters share a detached sense of coolness which leaves them underdeveloped and for the most part, kind of uninteresting. Now don't get me wrong, I liked the film, but then again, I love almost all Japanese films from this time period, but there really isn't much to the story. You have a ronin type Yakuza who has just been released from prison for killing a rival gang member, and he returns to his former life style, but seems to want to go in a different direction. Not knowing anything other than that kind of life, he just melds back into it with a sense of personal destiny. He then meets an attractive young female gambler, who throws caution to the wind in everything she does, and his life gets a jump start. Unfortunately, it is here where the story kind of fizzles out. Maybe the director should have shorn away a few scenes of the couple gambling, and added a little more of them together out in the real world as it is here that the film scores repeatedly. There's a scene of the two racing another car on a highway, and you get a sense of why they both are attracted to each other. They both live for danger, and she doesn't really understand what kind of man she is with, but that's because the director doesn't flesh out either character. This is only my second Yakuza film, and I hope that further adventures into this genre yield riper fruit. It's an interesting film to look at, but atmosphere, cinematography and a great soundtrack aren't a complete package.

(From Antares' Short Summations on February 15th, 2012)

Screamers: The Hunting, a review by Rich

Screamers: The Hunting





There are times you finish watching a film and regret wasting your time, and others where you purchase a dvd with a lot of expectations and anticipation, only to rue wasting your hard earned dosh. Sadly, this dvd leaves you with both feelings.
It is truly one of the worst cases of a sequel cashing in on the successful original film that I have seen, the actors are second-rate, effects largely unimpressive, storyline non-existent, action sedated, and the suspense rare.
The only highlights were some of the killing shots by the robot/humans, trully gruesome fist in head shots that were impressively delivered.
By far the worst part of the whole movie is the ending, which is so BAD and predictable, that it is nearly funny, the shame is I fear it is a stepping stone for another sequel - god forbid!
Avoid this dismal movie 




(From Riches Random Reviews on February 17th, 2009)

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete Third Season, a review by addicted2dvd

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete Third Season (1995/United States) Wedding planning puts a strain on any couple. Lois and Clark aren't just any couple. Besides coping with caterers and orange blossoms, they must battle mad scientists, LEX LUTHOR, revived World War II Nazis and other diabolical foes. Which means Lois and Clark face one tough (and action-packed!) trip to the altar. The Daily Planet's ace reporters team for exciting adventure and winning romance in 22 episodes that blew fans and critics away. "'Lois & Clark' has shown renewed superstrength in its third season...by breaking one of the oldest rules in the SUPERMAN canon: Superman has not merely revealed to LOIS LANE his secret identity as CLARK KENT, but he's also become engaged to her! Messing with the Superman myth is one thing; doing it so well is a shock" (Ken Tucker, 'Entertainment Weekly'). Prepare to be shocked...and thrilled! Episodes: 1. We Have a Lot To Talk About 2. Ordinary People 3. Contact 4. When Irish Eyes Are Killing 5. Just Say Noah 6. Don't Tug On Superman's Cape 7. Ultra Woman 8. Chip Off The Old Clark 9. Super Mann 10. Virtually Destroyed 11. Home Is Where The Hurt Is 12. Never On Sunday 13. The Dad Who Came In From The Cold 14. Tempus, Anyone? 15. I Now Pronounce You... 16. Double Jeopardy 17. Seconds 18. Forget Me Not 19 Oedipus Wrecks 20. It's a Small World After All 21. Through a Glass, Darkly 22. Big Girls Don't Fly

---

Stars:
Dean Cain as Clark Kent/Superman
Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane
Lane Smith as Perry White
Justin Whalin as Jimmy Olsen
Eddie Jones as Jonathan Kent
K Callan as Martha Kent

Extras:

• Featurettes
• Interactive Games
• Closed Captioned

I just finished this season. While I still enjoyed it quite a bit. This is actually my least favorite season of the series. It got a bit tiresome how they kept Lois and Clark apart. And I really didn't care for the whole frogs/clone storyline. That said... it did end on a high note. One that set up the fourth season really nicely. Once again there are many guest stars that I recognized this season. In the third season there was Peter Boyle, Bruce Campbell, Patrick Labyorteaux, Jonathan Frakes, Dave Coulier, James Read, Fred Willard, Brad Garrett, Tony Curtis and Justine Bateman.

When I first started to re-watch this series I was actually only planning on watching the pilot episode... or at the most the first disc of the first set. I got so into this series again that I have now completed the third season... and I still don't feel like I want to stop... so about to start the fourth (and final) season!




(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on August 7th, 2011)