DVD Collectors Online

Arthur (1981), a review by Antares

Arthur (1981) 72/100 - It is so sad that this film has been pretty much blacklisted by the PC police. I remember watching this countless times in the 80's on HBO & Cinemax and every time, it made me chuckle. What's even sadder is the amount of people today who love watching movies who have been brainwashed by the politically correct dogma that you shouldn't laugh at an alcoholic. Foster Brooks must be resting so comfortably in his grave, knowing that he came along when it was OK to be the bumbling drunk. I was surprised to read some reviews on this film from people whose thoughts and comments I respect. Lighten up! It's a comedy. It's worth it just to see John Gielgud steal every scene he is in.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on July 11th, 2020)

The Visitor, a review by Jimmy

Title: The Visitor (1979)

Genre: Science-Fiction
Director: Giulio Paradisi
Rating: R
Length: 1h49
Video: Widescreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
John Huston
Joanne Nail
Paige Conner
Shelley Winters
Mel Ferrer

Plot:
Katy Collins (Paige Conner, LITTLE DARLINGS) is no ordinary 8 year-old girl. Indeed, she is unique, carrying within her the power of Sateen, an inter-spacial force of immense magnitude. Katy's primary mission on earth is to carry these genes forward, a task accomplished by convincing her mother, Barbara (Joanne Nail, SWITCHBLADE SISTERS) to bear a similarly endowed male child with whom Katy would eventually mate. Opposing this scheme is The Visitor (John Huston, Academy Award winner, CHINATOWN, AFRICAN QUEEN, THE MALTESE FAMCON), a sage of galactic stature who has come to this world not to kill Katy, but to end her "confusion". Find out what happens in this unforgettable, supernatural, suspense thriller from the maker of the box office hit BEYOND THE DOOR.

I feel like I'm on fire this week, it's been a while I did 2 reviews in 2 days

It took me a while for buying this one and now that I've watched it the only thing I can say is why... To be honest it's one of the best movie I've seen for quite a while. The story took a little bit of its inspiration from The Omen in the sense that it's about an "evil" child kind of, but it's much more than that. The real driving force of the film is the fact that Kathy's mother must carry the seed of the new incarnation of Sateen. As you could see this movie had an extremely talented cast (Lance Henriksen, Glenn Ford, Franco Nero and Sam Peckinpah are also in this) and contrary to many italian films none of them are there only for a fast check. You see they give all they have to give in this film (John Huston is especially great whatever it is by his voice acting or his physical acting). But the real revelation of this film is Paige Conner, what an incredibly talented child actress! Usually child annoy me in movie because they have no purpose except to be cute, but this is sure not the case here... This little girl, who is cute by the way and aged quite beautifully, carry the film on her shoulders wich is quite impressive when you consider all the great names in this production. You got also some pretty good special effects since it's an italian films, but don't expect a lot of blood this isn't that kind of film. You got a lot of action with live birds (BTW I now know where he took his inspiration for the birds role in The Dark Half). The soundtrack is really powerfull and impressive too. Be ready to do some jump scare while watching  

Seriously this one is probably the best dvd release of 2010 and I can do nothing else than recommanding it.


Rating :

(From The little known movie review depot on May 16th, 2011)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title: Crime Traveller
Year: 1997
Director:
Rating: PG
Length: 197 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Plot:
Meet the most unconventional investigative duo of any time - JEFF SLADE and HOLLY TURNER, in the mystery adventure series Crime Traveller.

Sleuths come and go, working on intuition, luck and clues, but Slade and his science officer colleague Holly are armed with something extra in their fight against crime - their very own Time Machine.

Invented and developed over the years by Holly's father, quantum physicist Professor Fredrick Turner, the Time Machine is a bizarre mixture of DIY technology, but it works. Unfortunately the Professor disappeared during one of his time travel experiments, leaving his daughter convinced that he is still out there somewhere, stuck in another dimension.

Holly is now in charge of the Professor's extraordinary legacy, which is kept hidden in her apartment. When Slade, a charming maverick detective, discovers the Time Machine's existence, he convinces Holly to use it in order to solve major crimes. The scene is set for a rollercoaster ride, through the present and the past.

High speed chases and intriguing puzzles are solved with the aid of their unreliable Time Machine, in this stylish, fast-paced drama.

Extras:
Episode Guide and Synopsis'
Interviews
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

I have watched the first series now and I must say, that even though I was sceptical after the first episode, I quite enjoyed it. I didn't have a problem with how the machine looked. It was built by her father after all over a period of many years. Its material is from different times. E.g. some vacuum tubes are still used. As for closing the curtains: As I understood it, that the closing of the wooden curtains also closes a special circuit. And everyone inside that circuit (i.e. inside the room) travels through time.
I had a problem with the huge wrist-watch though. Luckily it was hardly seen.
What I liked about this series is, that they sticked to their established time-travel principle, that nothing can be changed in the past. Everything you see always happened this way. Some stuff you see before the time-travel happened, but we later find out, that they were caused by the time-travellers themselves.
To summarize: This is an average crime-solving TV series with a little time-travel twist. The first episode is rather weak, but I enjoyed the other three episodes of this first series. Especially the last one.

#	Episode	Rating
01	Jeff Slade & The Loop of Infinity
02	A Death in the Family
03	Fashion Shoot
04	The Revenge of the Chronology Protection Hypothesis

(From Tom's Random Reviews on October 25th, 2009)