DVD Collectors Online

Strangers on a Train, a review by Jon

Strangers on a Train (1951)
5 out of 5





(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on July 21st, 2009)

Bad Lieutenant, a review by Achim

Title: Bad Lieutenant
Year: 1992
Director: Abel Ferrara
Rating: NC-17
Length: 96 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: Spanish

Stars:
Harvey Keitel
Brian McElroy
Frankie Acciarito
Peggy Gormley
Stella Keitel
Victor Argo

Plot:
He has survived on the streets for twenty years. He's a gambler... a thief... a junkie... a killer and a cop. Now he's investigating the most shocking case of his life, and as he moves closer to the truth his self-destructive past is closing in. Harvey Keitel gives a searing performance as an out-of-control police detective on a collision course with disaster in director Abel Ferrara's brilliant and deeply disturbing melodrama.

Extras:
Scene Access
Production Notes
Closed Captioned

The cover pretty much says it all already! It's a film about a cop who lost his path (assuming he used to have it) and is going down the wrong lane way too fast. Only once do we see him try to do actual police work, but at that point it seems already too late and the results he gets confuse him more than they help the case (not sure why the cover doesn't say it, I think it's no secret that a nun gets raped).

Keitel is a great fit for the role of the Bad Lieutenant, who curses like a dock worker (even in front of his young kids; pre-teens...?), takes drugs as soon as his kids leave the car to go to school and is more concerned about his gambling than catching a thug who does hos stealing right in front of him. The films theme seems to be faith, with Keitel's character's faith in his baseball team failing him bitterly and the nun's faith helping her to forgive the guys who attacked her. This is a Ferrara film, so the violence incl. the rape are quite in your face, which helps to give the film its tone.

This is not a popcorn film, but a great watch when you are in the mood for something with a doomed main character (some may call this a spoiler, but I found this to be inevitable right from the start).

I specifically added Victor Argo to the above cast list because he is just great anytime I see him. But besides him, this film is riddled with great faces which give the piece a nice authenticity.



(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 9th, 2009)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Gilligan's Island
A three-hour tour? No way! Not when you have all 36 Season-One episodes of 'Gilligan's Island' plus a cargo of DVD extras that include the originally unaired pilot.

The S.S. Minnow first sailed into living rooms on September 26, 1964, and from there steered into legend. Certainly much credit for the show's three-year run and amazing afterlife goes to the remarkable cast whose characters managed to endure life on the island while never losing their comic timing. Bravo to Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jim Backus, Natalie Schaefer, Tina Louise, Russel Johnson and Dawn Wells. It's a joy to be stranded with them time and again - here on Gilligan's Isle.

Two on a Raft
The shipwrecked castaways awaken to find themselves marooned on an uncharted island, so Gilligan and Skipper set out on a flimsy raft to find civilization.

My Thoughts:
A silly but fun show. That one short sentence pretty much describes it. Sure some of it is ridiculous. I have to admit... I enjoyed it more when I was a kid then I do now. But I still get in the mood to watch it sometimes. And Brittany really enjoyed it as well. I kinda like how the pilot episode introduces you to all the characters... with the news on the radio listing them and what they do where they talk about them being lost at sea. And the shark attack was pretty fun as well. The first season (of 3) is the only season that is in Black and White. I own the first two seasons... and I do plan on eventually getting season 3 if for no other reason to complete the series... but I would like to see the episodes again anyway... as I am sure would Britt.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on January 26th, 2010)