DVD Collectors Online

The Aristocats, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Aristocats
Year of Release: 1970
Directed By: Wolfgang Reitherman
Starring: Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers
Genre: Adventure, Romance, Animation

Overview:
Disney's irresistible classic The Aristocats is all jazzed up in a spectacular Special Edition, complete with a new digital transfer.

In the heart of Paris, a kind and eccentric millionairess wills her entire estate to Duchess, her high-society cat, and her three little kittens. Laughs and adventure ensue as the greedy, bumbling butler pulls off the ultimate catnap caper. Now it's up to the rough-and-tumble alley cat, Thomas O'Malley, and his band of swingin' jazz cats to save the day.

My Thoughts:
I was in the mood for something light and fun, and this always fits that bill.  This is one of my personal favorite Disney films, even though I'm well aware that it's considered a 'lesser' film in their catalog.  Yet, I'm never sure why.  I like all the characters, even spoiled little Marie who is always the one in danger.  The villain is truly bumbling but has believable motivation.  The two dogs are hilarious.  Sure, the tale is a pretty simple one, but the romance is genuine, the voice acting is good, and the art and animation, if not top-notch Disney, is still pretty good. Of the 60's and 70's era Disney animated features, this one is my favorite (with Dalmatians a close second). 

Bechdel Test: Pass

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Off Day Alphabet Marathon on August 7th, 2014)

Deadly Friend, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Deadly Friend: Twisted Terror Collection Year: 1986 Director: Wes Craven Rating: R Length: 90 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Mathew Laborteaux
Kristy Swanson
Michael Sharrett
Anne Twomey
Anne Ramsey
Richard Marcus

Plot:
Enjoy being really scared? Have we got a pal for you. Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Red Eye) directs "a witty ghoul story" (Caryn James, The New York Times) that combines artificial intelligence with all-too-genuine horror. Lonely teenage genius Paul (Matthew Laborteaux), a specialist in brain research, has two best friends: his remarkable robot BB and the beautiful girl next door (Kristy Swanson). When tragedy strikes both his friends, he desperately tries to save them both by pushing technology beyond its mortal limits into a terrifying new realm. Like a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, Paul discovers too late that he has created a rampaging monster. Your blood will run cold...if it runs at all...after meeting this Deadly Friend.

Extras:
Feature Trailers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
This is one I watched several times when I was a teen... and was thrilled to get in the Twisted Terror Collection boxset. This is the second time I watched it since getting it on DVD.  I enjoyed every minute of it. I believe anyone that seen this movie will agree with me when I say that the best kill scene had to be the basketball scene. If you never seen this movie I suggest checking it out. I don't believe you will be sorry. I just wish there would have been more extras on the disc for this one... all you get is the Theatrical trailer.




Count:
Movie Count: 69
TV Ep. Count: 35
Other Count: 8 I Made It! (10/15)

(From Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon: 2010 on October 19th, 2010)

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

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine



What's the show about?
At the request of the Bajoran government, Starfleet is to establish a Federation presence in their system following the withdrawal of the Cardassian forces. Deep Space Nine is a former Cardassian station that happens to be in the system that has the only known stable wormhole. And that wormhole leads to the Gamma Quadrant, to a point 70,000 lightyears away. But this wormhole is indirectly the reason for the greatest war the Alpha Quadrant has ever seen.

What happened before?
DS9 begins six years after the beginning of TNG and three years after Wolf 359. At Wolf 359 a fleet of 39 Federation ships fought one Borg cube - all were destroyed. Among the ships was the USS Saratoga and its XO, Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko, who lost his wife in that battle.

"Emissary"
Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko and his son arrive on the heavily damaged space station Deep Space Nine. Most of his crew hasn't arrived yet but he soon meets with his second-in-command, the Bajoran Major Kira. Sisko isn't sure he wants this assignment and his son to grow up here but then an extraordinary event takes place. They find the only known stable wormhole and suddenly the Bajoran system moves from "the outer rim" into the "attention center" of the Alpha Quadrant.

My Opinion
My favourite Star Trek show! It has a great story arc, even if it wasn't planned from the beginning as it was done with "Babylon 5". B5 and DS9 have many similarities which isn't that surprising since JMS (the creator of B5) has shown his B5 plans to Paramount. But they are also different since DS9 is anchored in the Star Trek universe.

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on January 5th, 2008)