DVD Collectors Online

Monsters vs. Aliens, a review by Dragonfire

I still love animated movies and I'll usually see most of them at least once.  I do tend to like the Pixar and Disney movies more than some others, but I do think that Dreamworks has been getting better.

A meteorite lands on Earth, specifically on Susan Murphy, just before her wedding.  During the ceremony. Susan starts to grow until she is 50 feet tall.  The government, lead by General W.R. Monger arrives and takes Susan away.  She ends up in a special top secret facility where monsters captured by the government are being held and her name is changed to Ginormica.  When the alien Gallaxhar starts an invasion on Earth, Monger convinces the government to send in the monsters to deal with the threat. 

This movie is in 3D in some theaters.  The theater here doesn't do that, so I saw the normal 2D version.  I think it would be entertaining to see the 3D version though.

The plot is definitely a nod to the old monster movies.  The monsters are interesting and they all have some unique abilities that they use, or try to use, in dealing with the Gallaxhar threat.  The plot isn't that complicated, but it is very entertaining.  There are things in it aimed at kids and other things aimed at adults without anything being too suggestive.  The movie isn't as silly as some other animated movies and I think adults can enjoy it just as much as children.  There are a few scenes that might scare or upset young children, but overall, it is a very family friendly movie.  The humor works well and only a few of the jokes are gross.

The animation is very well done.  I think this is the first time that Dreamworks has come close to the quality of Pixar with the animation, though what they have just managed to do - mainly with the animation of hair - is something that Pixar has been doing for years.

Overall, this is a really entertaining animated movie that deserves to be seen. 

 

I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Monsters vs. Aliens

(From Monsters vs. Aliens on April 30th, 2009)

The Lineup, a review by Antares

The Lineup (1958) 97/100 - Now this is my kind of crime film! It starts off a bit slow, with the obligatory scenes for exposition sake, but once we meet Eli Wallach and the outstanding Robert Keith, this film shifts into overdrive. What made this movie resonate for me was the realism that Don Siegel puts on screen. Correct me if I'm wrong, but was this the first film to show blood dripping from a murder victim's body? I can't recall any other film before this that showed it, as it was banned by the Breen office. Another aspect that I loved were some of the tracking shots that Siegel used and of course the wonderful panoramic shots of San Francisco. Eli Wallach plays the hit man with a maniacal, yet calculating cockiness that proves what a great actor he has been throughout his lengthy acting career. But for my money, the real star of this film is Robert Keith. I had only recognized him from a classic episode of The Twilight Zone called The Masks, in which he was quite good. But in this film, he steals almost every scene he's in, even outperforming Wallach. And one last note on the acting... I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the little girl who played the daughter who used the heroin on the doll's face. Her name was Cheryl Callaway, and in an endless sea of robotic, wooden or cloying child actors, she was a breath of fresh air. She's never too saccharine when she is first introduced and her transformation into a terrorized and scared kid is completely believable. It's a shame her career never blossomed any further. If you are looking for a crime procedural that hits all the right marks, then you can't go wrong with The Lineup. This is definitely going to be cracking into my top 20 of all time. I've got two more films left in the Columbia Film Noir collection Volume 1 and I already know that I'll be purchasing this set in the near future.

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 October 14th, 2013)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon, a review by Achim

The Demon Hand
Another one of those "sorry we need to bore you, but we need to bring acreoos some more exposition" episodes. They aren't bad, it's just not a lot going on, really. I enjoyed them bringing Silverman back.

"No, I'm not police. But I do find them useful."

Vick's Chip
Those scenes with the chip were quite interesting; and creepy at times! It was cool how they tightened the screws a bit on the suspicions against Cameron, but also on Derek; good stuff for season 2.

"The roast should have been removed from the stove 18 minutes and 27 seconds ago."

What He BeheldMy conclusion:
A cool TV series that connect Terminator 2 and 3 brilliantly (so far), with good acting, sufficient amount of action and some humor thrown in for good measure. Looking forward to season 2 (full-length!).

(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon on January 27th, 2009)