DVD Collectors Online

Miss Congeniality, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Miss Congeniality: Deluxe Edition
Year: 2000
Director: Donald Petrie
Rating: PG-13
Length: 110 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Sandra Bullock
Michael Caine
Benjamin Bratt
Candice Bergen
William Shatner
Ernie Hudson

Plot:
Legs waxed. Lips glossed. Gun ready. Special Agent Gracie Hart is going undercover as a hopeful eager to be the next Miss United States. But Gracie doesn't have a beauty-pageant bone in her body.

Sandra Bullock stars as an operative posing as a pageant contestant in order to ferret out a terrorist targeting the event. Michael Caine deliciously plays the frustrated consultant hired to turn Dirty Harriet into a poised beauty. And Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen, William Shatner and Ernie Hudson also score points for hilarity in this box-office smash. From big laughs to sly quips, Miss Congeniality hits.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Interactive Games
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I have seen this movie get not so great reviews on the net... but I have to say... it is one of my favorite Sandra Bullock movies. I have watched it countless times. I find this movie to just be pure fun. There is several parts of this movie that I literally laughed out loud on. Sandra Bullock really has a great style in this movie. Shows that she can really hold her own when it comes to comedy.



(From Monday Mini-Marathon: Happy Birthday Sandra Bullock on July 27th, 2010)

The Gold Rush, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Gold Rush
Year of Release: 1925
Directed By: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Georgia Hale
Genre: Comedy

Overview:The Gold Rush is an indelible work of heartwarming hilarity. This special edition features both Chaplin's definitive 1942 version, for which the director added new music and narration, and a new restoration of the original 1925 silent film.

My Thoughts:
What a wonderful, enjoyable, well-made film.  Chaplin is a master of graceful physical comedy, seemingly effortless with his mastery of comedic timing and excellent classic scenes.  One cannot help but laugh at the Thanksgiving Dinner scene, or the dance of the dinner roles, but equally one cannot help but have a great sympathy for Chaplin's Prospector after his guests do not show for the dinner he worked so hard for.  Chaplin creates a character of fun comedy, yes, but also of heart.  The supporting cast is quite good too, especially Mack Swain's fellow prospector who gets some comic moments in as well.  Highly recommended, even if you aren't a big fan of silent films.  One of the most genuinely funny films I've seen.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4.5/5

(From Off Day Alphabet Marathon on September 4th, 2014)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

What's the show about?
Young cops in their early twenties - who look even more younger than they are - are going undercover in high schools to investigate crimes that happen there - drug dealings, extortion, car thefts, ... The unit works out of an old chapel on Jump Street. Sometimes they go into a school alone, sometimes as buddies, sometimes as enemies. But in the end they bust the bad guys.

"Pilot"
Officer Tom Hanson has a problem: He looks younger than he is and his colleagues and (what's worse) criminals don't take him seriously. Even though he has now a partner who is willing to work with him the captain can't risk his officers getting hurt or killed. But he has a solution: Hanson is transferred to an undercover unit where he meets his future partners: the officers Doug Penhall, Harry Ioki, the beautiful Judy Hoffs and their captain who was in Woodstock.

My Opinion
It was a cool show for its time but I bought the first season only for sentimental reasons. Now and then an episode is ok, but I wouldn't watch the entire show again. Still I enjoyed seeing Johnny Depp and Peter DeLouise in their early roles again. DeLouise (son of Dom DeLouise) has mostly stopped acting but instead became a director and producer, most notably on Stargate SG-1 where he has the occasional cameo.

And I don't think I have to say much about Depp:



(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on September 11th, 2009)