DVD Collectors Online

Where the Sidewalk Ends, a review by Antares

Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) 84/100 - Top notch noir that could have been considered a bona fide classic if the production code hadn't forced Fox to tack on a wimpy ending. I would have rather seen it end with the cop staying a bit dirty, with the truth of detective Dixon's lone transgression remaining a secret. Would the truth and his conscience be his undoing? Could he fall in love with the wife of the man he has killed accidentally, knowing that if she knew the truth, she may discard him? Keeping it dark would have fit the character of this film better, instead we get the rosy picture of a cop doing what's right. Andrews plays the tormented cop excellently as he skates the fine line between peace officer and hoodlum himself. Gene Tierney isn't really given much to do and this is another thing which slightly lessens its impact on noir film history. But those two things aside, I was completely engulfed in the storyline of a cop who mistakenly kills a suspect and must hide his involvement, in hopes of pinning another murder on the gangster he's been longingly trying to send to jail.

What the color coding means...

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 29th, 2012)

Meteor Man, a review by addicted2dvd

Meteor Man
Robert Townsend ('Hollywood Shuffle')leads an all-star cast including Marla Gibbs, Eddie Griffen. Robert Guillaume, James Earl Jones and Bill Cosby in this laugh-out-loud, feel-goodcomic fantasy about a reluctant superhero in a crusade to save his neighborhood.

Move over, Superman! spineless Jefferson Reed (Robert Townsend) has just discovered his backbone... and it's stronger then steel! a mild-mannered subsitute teacher, Jefferson would rather run then fight... until he's hit by a strange green meteor that gives himn superhuman abilities. And when a gang led by a powerful drug lord begins terrorizing his family and neighbors, Jefferson has no choice but to don his homemade spandex suit and take them in a war of cunning, wit... and super-powered super-modeling prowess... to save his 'hood!

My Thoughts:
My daughter, Brittany wanted to watch a comedy with me... so I let her choose one of the comedies in my collection... and this is what she decided on. Another Superhero spoof. It is pretty fun though... nothing extraordinary... but has some fun moments and a lot of familiar faces. Worth checking out... but not something I would put too much money into. I got my copy on sale for $4.95... not sure I would have paid much more then that though.

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Comedies on December 2nd, 2007)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Friends: Season One (1994/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United States) Length: 586 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.0, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, French, Korean, Spanish

---

Plot:
You can never have enough Friends. With this DELUXE 4-DISC SET OF THE COMPLETE SEASON ONE, you have more: each episode contains NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN MOMENTS every fan of Friends will savor. And for all loyal patrons of Central Perk, we've brewed up a fresh pot brimming with BONUS FEATURES. Revisit that first year in which Rachel (JENNIFER ANISTON), Monica (COURTENEY COX), Phoebe (LISA KUDROW), Joey (MATT LeBLANC), Chandler (MATTHEW PERRY) and Ross (DAVID SCHWIMMER) first charmed audiences worldwide. You'll be in fabulous company.


Friends
1.01 The Pilot
Writer: Marta Kauffman (Writer), David Crane (Writer)
Director: James Burrows
Cast: Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Courteney Cox (Monica Geller), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Matt Le Blanc (Joey Tribbiani), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing), David Schwimmer (Ross Geller), John Allen Nelson (Paul), Clea Lewis (Franny), Cynthia Mann (The Waitress), Barry Hine (The Guy in the Coffee House)

I never missed an episode when this series originally aired. At first I saw the first few seasons on German TV (pre-DVD and pre-broadband internet era made it hard to be able to see anything in the original language). Soon I discovered English transcripts of the latest episodes on the net and found out this way, that the German translation was horrible compared to the original.
The pilot does a good job introducing the characters. But it is hardly one of the better episodes.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 20th, 2011)