DVD Collectors Online

The Birds , a review by Dragonfire

The Birds



Nothing equals THE BIRDS for sheer terror when Alfred Hitchcock unleashes his foul friends in one of his most shocking and memorable masterpieces. As beautiful blonde Melanie Daniels ('Tippi' Hedren) rolls into Bodega Bay in pursuit of eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), she is inexplicably attacked by a seagull. Suddenly thousands of birds are flocking into town, preying on schoolchildren and residents in a terrifying series of attacks. Soon Mitch and Melanie are fighting for their lives against a deadly force that can't be explained and can't be stopped in one of Hollywood's most horrific films of nature gone berserk.

My Thoughts

I do enjoy this one, though a few things that happen don't make as much sense.  It does seem a bit odd that Melanie would go to so much trouble to give the love birds to Mitch's sister, someone she doesn't even know.  Melanie manages to find out all sorts of information about Mitch after getting to Bodega Bay even though she is a stranger.  People weren't as careful about that sort of thing then, though it does seem a little odd that Melanie is accepted so quickly, especially by Annie.

The pacing is a bit slower for a while, though that changes once the birds start attacking.  The scenes with the bird attacks are done well and are believably scary.  I think the fact that the explanation for the attacks wasn't given makes that part of the movie scarier.  There are a few somewhat gruesome things shown, though nothing is extremely explicit.  Suspense is in a few scenes, though the movie isn't as suspenseful as some of Hitchcock's others.

Melanie is a nice enough character, though like I mentioned, her motivation for taking the love birds to begin with does seem a little..odd.  That is an awful lot of trouble for her to go to.  It also doesn't make the most sense for Mitch to act like he does when they first meet in the pet shop.  It is fairly clear that they aren't getting along that well at that point, but in no time they seem to have changed their minds.  That relationship does develop fast.  Melanie does do something that is rather stupid at one point and I still haven't figured out why she did it.  The cast does well with their parts and the characters are likable overall.

The movie does have a few issues, but it is still very entertaining and deserves to be seen.



I did post a review at Epinions a few years ago.

The Birds


(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on August 1st, 2010)

Some Came Running, a review by Antares

Some Came Running (1958) 2/5 - Now this was a major disappointment. I have read many glowing reviews of this film over the years, and I can't for the life of me, understand why. It appeared that it wanted to be a bit like Peyton Place with a smidgen of

(From Antares' Short Summations on August 12th, 2011)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Clerks: Uncensored (2000/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Miramax Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 130 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

---

Plot:
Based on Kevin Smith's cult comedy classic, this outrageous anthology brings together every hilarious episodes of Clerks: Uncensored - including 4 never before seen anywhere! It's the continuing adventures of clerks Dante and Randal, two guys just trying to make the best of menial labor! With constant interference from the outlandish Jay and Silent Bob - follow the clerks' wildly improbable antics from one riotous episode to the next! Filled with big laughs and hysterical jabs at popular culture - anyone who enjoys fun, irreverent comedy won't want to miss it!

Clerks
1.01 Episode 1
Writer: Kevin Smith (Original Characters By), David Mandel (Writer), Kevin Smith (Writer)
Director: Chris Bailey
Cast: Jeff Anderson (Randal (voice)), Jason Mewes (Jay (voice)), Brian O'Halloran (Dante (voice)), Kevin Smith (Silent Bob (voice)), Alec Baldwin (Leonardo Leonardo (voice)), Charles Barkley (Himself (voice)), Jeff Bennett (Various (voice)), Diane Devlin (Nicole Corwin (voice)), Dan Etheridge (Mr. Plug (voice)), Walt Flanagan (Walt the Fanboy (voice)), Sam Gifaldi (Various (voice)), Elon Gold (Various (voice)), Dana Gould (Various (voice)), Nakita Hopkins (Various (voice)), Bryan Johnson (Steve-Dave (voice)), Kerri Kinney (Various (voice)), Matt Maher (Various (voice)), Brian Posehn (Mooby-Shirted Fan (voice)), Kevin M. Richardson (Announcer/Desmond Pfeiffer (voice)), Lauren Tom (Various (voice)), April Winchell (Various (voice))

A fun short-lived series based on the movie Clerks. It was cancelled after two of the six produced episodes were aired. Probably because the network wanted a show for kids, but this one is more directed to adult Smith fans.
Even though this episode is one of the weaker ones, I still enjoyed it. Especially the beginning.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 31st, 2011)