DVD Collectors Online

White Lightning, a review by Jon

WHITE LIGHTNING (1973)
3 out of 5



Burt Reynolds plays Gator McClusky, imprisoned for running Moonshine. He hears his brother has been killed and suspects the corrupt sheriff (Reynolds regular Ned Beatty) is to blame. He cuts a deal enabling him to get back into running liquour so he can get close to exposing the corruption and getting his revenge.

There was a time Burt Reynolds was as big a star as Clint Eastwood. Hard to believe now, but they were neck and neck until they both had a rough run in the 1980s culminating in the horrible City Heat. Eastwood came out on top (turning out to be the best American director around probably helped), while Reynolds spent a little too long as the Bandit and bankruptcy beckoned. I loved Smokey and the Bandit and the style is similar though not played for laughs (Hal Needham was stunt director here). But I prefer the serious Reynolds. He made several films like this and he was as solid an action star as they come.

The story is straightforward action-thriller, mean dialogue and great supporting characters. The sheriff is a first class villain. I'm only guessing, but this has to be a big inspiration to The Dukes of Hazzard, with such a familiar setup, just made fun. I've heard this takes its cues from Robert Mitchum's Thunder Road, but there's something about the 70s that gives this movie it's almost grindhouse feel.

Great movie anyway, but the driving is first class. Reynolds has several chases as he 'blocks' for the moonshine runner. Several stand out stunts, including one Tarantino talked about on the Death Proof DVD. Reynolds put his complete trust in the driver to pull off a truly iconic image at the films close.

The DVD is as barebones as they come!

The Car's the star: Ford Custom 500


Trailer

Pop quiz... name the film that uses the White Lightning theme, that can be heard at the start of the trailer...


(From Car Movie Marathon on August 15th, 2008)

Nancy Drew, Reporter , a review by addicted2dvd

Nancy Drew, Reporter (1932/United States) Mill Creek Entertainment Director: William Clemens Writing: Kenneth Gamet (Screenwriter), Carolyn Keene (Original Material By) Length: 68 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: None

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Stars:
Bonita Granville as Nancy Drew
John Litel as Carson Drew
Frank Thomas, Jr. as Ted Nickerson
Dickie Jones as Killer Parkins
Mary Lee as Mary

Plot:
While participating in a contest at a local newspaper in which school children are asked to submit a news story, local attorney Carson Drew's daughter Nancy intercepts a real story assignment. She "covers" the inquest of the death of a woman who was poisoned. Nancy doesn't think the young woman accused of the crime is guilty and corrals her neighbor Ted into searching for a vital piece of evidence, and they stumble onto the identity of the real killer.

Extras:

• Scene Access

I got this movie as part of a classic movie boxset... Shirley Temple and Friends... which a good friend gave to me not too long ago. I have been a fan of Nancy Drew since the TV Series in the '70s starring Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew. This is the first time I ever watched any of the old Bonita Granville movies. And I found that I really liked her in the role. I will have to look into getting more of these titles. The storyline is pretty good. And I got a kick out of the characters Killer Parkins and Mary. Who were two little kids (pre-teens) making Nancy's job harder. They were there for comedic relief. This boxset came from Mills Creek Entertainment... which from experience had been really hit and miss quality wise. While the quality wasn't what I would call great... it was more then watchable. But there was no extras what so ever of course.




(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Black & White on June 23rd, 2011)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

The Office: Season One (2005/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Studios Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 135 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Plot:
Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Daily Show) stars in The Office, a fresh and funny mockumentary-style glimpse into the daily interactions of the eccentric workers at the Dunder Mifflin paper supply company. Based on the smash-hit British series of the same name and adapted for American Television by Greg Daniels (King of the Hill, The Simpsons), this fast-paced comedy parodies contemporary American water-cooler culture. Earnest but clueless regional manager Michael Scott (Carell) believes himself to be an exceptional boss and mentor, but actually receives more eye-rolls than respect from his oddball staff. Entertainment Weekly calls The Office "smart and trenchant", and all six hilarious season one episodes are available here on DVD for the first time. The awkward silences in The Office will have you laughing out loud!

The Office
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Ricky Gervais (Screenwriter), Stephen Merchant (Screenwriter), Greg Daniels (Screenwriter), Ricky Gervais (Original Material By), Stephen Merchant (Original Material By)
Director: Ken Kwapis
Cast: Steve Carell (Michael Scott), Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute), John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly), B. J. Novak (Ryan Howard), Melora Hardin (Jan), David Denman (Roy), Leslie David Baker (Stanley), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin), Angela Kinsey (Angela), Henriette Mantel), Mike McCaul), Oscar Nunez (Oscar), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis)

I know me reviewing this now for this thread is a little too early. But recently watching the seventh season put me in the mood to watch some early episodes, even though it only has been a year since I watched the first six seasons in a marathon.
Even though the first episode is a copy of the first episode of the original The Office, I still enjoyed it. Already much of the characters are present, which get bigger roles later on. Michael Scott will change though with later episode. Even going so far, that he goes from despicable to pitiful to a guy showing competence and even ending up as a pretty much nice guy where you can believe he can be considered a good boss from time to time.
What I like about this series is, that the background characters are constant. The people filling this Office are pretty much always there, making it feel to be a real Office. And it are these characters, which get more screentime and their own storylines later on.

Rating:


(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on September 4th, 2011)