DVD Collectors Online

Mädchenjahre einer Königin, a review by Tom

Now I have to start to stretch the Cinderella theme a little.
This movie is an old "kitsch" classic in Austria and Germany from the year 1954. This is the first collaboration of Romy Schneider with writer/director Ernst Marischka. The following year they started making the famous Sissi trilogy. This movie is in the same vain as that trilogy.
The story: A young queen does not want to wed into an arranged marriage and therefore flees. On the run she meets a young man in a pub and falls in love with him. What she doesn't know: The young fellow she falls in love with is the prince she is supposed to marry. But both do not know of each others real identity yet.

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Cinderella Stories on January 20th, 2008)

The Killing of America, a review by Jimmy

Title: The Killing of America (1982)

Genre: Documentary
Director: Sheldon Renan           
Rating: Unrated
Length: 1h31
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: No Subtitles

Stars:
Chuck Riley - Narrator   

Before I start my review I will be honest with you, I've not wrote a review for so long and my last one was so bad that I feel a lot of pressure this time. But I'm not here for that so here we go with the review.

I've decided for this one to go with one genre that I don't think that I've reviewed here : the documentary. I have some of them in my collection, but not that much (many mondo movie, the faces of death serie, the first 3 of Michael Moore, ...) and one that I can't really name as a documentary that show footage of people death (this is the only movie in my collection that I'm not able to watch. I've bought it to shock my relatives, but finally this one is too much for me). The movie that I review here was made for the Japanese market after the success of the first Faces of Death (a rites of passage for all the teenagers when I was young). But there are no real comparison between the two : much of FOD is fake. So what we see in the movie is real, I'm sure that some find that it will be a bad taste documentary. Surprise, this is a very well done movie about the culture of violence in the United States. The film start with the assasination of John Kennedy that are the end of the innocence for the country (I tend to agree with that). That continue with the mention of many others political murder : Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, Georges Wallace, Ronald Reagan (I know he was not murdered). After they continue with an analysis of many others tendancy : the sniper (Charles Whitman), the serial killer (Ted Bundy), the cult murder (Jim Jones) and the random killer (Brenda Spencer). Most of the footage came from the tv station or the police, except for 2 interviews : Thomas Noguchi (a well known LA coroner) and, a particulary good one, with Ed Kemper (a serial killer). Some of the footage can be hard to watch for some viewers (we talk of dead person here), but like I've said most of the image came from the news.

The documentary is more neutral than Bowling for Colombine that covers the same subject. The director didn't manipulate the image or the editing to convince the viewer, he present the facts and let the archives do the talking.

Sure, he mentions that the guns culture are a part of the problem (even the most gun crazy guy can agree with that) but not the only one. Another part of the problem is the media themselves (the more they talk about those murders the more they happen). Just to quote one of the killer (Robert Smith) that have killed many women in a beauty school when he was caught : I want to be somebody, I want to be known.

The film end with the John Lennon memorial at Central Park when we learn that 2 person were killed. To leave us on a positive note at the end the narrator told us that five people were killed while we were watching the documentary. This movie was made more than 20 years ago and sadly this is worst than ever. Even in a little town like where I live we don't feel secure, not that a murder happen everyday but more and more crime happen.       

The bad thing is that this movie is not available at all in America, my copy is a bootleg but it was released in Europe many years ago on dvd. Since I don't want to end my review with a bad news : the movie is available on youtube (can't understand since they have closed my account for a couple of trailer ).

Rating :

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9FtOlVp5wo

(From The little known movie review depot on September 3rd, 2008)

Charmed Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

8. Muse To My Ears
The sisters fiercely battle warlocks who are enslaving the world's muses to use their divine creative inspiration for evil.

My Thoughts:
A good... but standard episode. Nothing that really stood out for me in this episode.

9. A Paige From The Past
Haunted by her parents' tragic death, Paige travels back in time while Pipermust prevent the marraige of Phoebe and Cole, whose bodies are inhabited by outlaw ghosts.

My Thoughts:
Another good episode. Obviously we see Paige's past in this episode. Since they go to her teen years they try to play down her bauty... with little results. I really didn't care too much for the side story with Phoebe and Cole though. But over-all an episode I enjoyed.

10. Trial By Magic
Phoebe must convince other jury members of the existence of magic while Piper, Paige and Leo frantically search for the real killer in time to free an innocent man.

My Thoughts:
This is one that I really liked a lot. Of course that could be because I do like some court shows as well... and always enjoyed shows that dealt with a jury. I don't know why... but always liked seeing my favorite TV Show characters in that situation.

11. Lost And Bound
The sisters must teach a 10-year-old Firestarter how to use his power for good before his demon bounty-hunter foster parents find him.

My Thoughts:
Another good... but standard episode. This one did have some purpose to the series though... it was to teach Piper a lesson for when she is to have her kids... and whether or not there could be justifiable reason to bind their powers.

(From Charmed Marathon on June 29th, 2008)