DVD Collectors Online

Pale Flower, a review by Antares

Pale Flower (1964) 3.5/5 - Highly stylized in its presentation, Pale Flower is a hybrid noir/gangster film from the heyday of Japanese cinema. The characters share a detached sense of coolness which leaves them underdeveloped and for the most part, kind of uninteresting. Now don't get me wrong, I liked the film, but then again, I love almost all Japanese films from this time period, but there really isn't much to the story. You have a ronin type Yakuza who has just been released from prison for killing a rival gang member, and he returns to his former life style, but seems to want to go in a different direction. Not knowing anything other than that kind of life, he just melds back into it with a sense of personal destiny. He then meets an attractive young female gambler, who throws caution to the wind in everything she does, and his life gets a jump start. Unfortunately, it is here where the story kind of fizzles out. Maybe the director should have shorn away a few scenes of the couple gambling, and added a little more of them together out in the real world as it is here that the film scores repeatedly. There's a scene of the two racing another car on a highway, and you get a sense of why they both are attracted to each other. They both live for danger, and she doesn't really understand what kind of man she is with, but that's because the director doesn't flesh out either character. This is only my second Yakuza film, and I hope that further adventures into this genre yield riper fruit. It's an interesting film to look at, but atmosphere, cinematography and a great soundtrack aren't a complete package.

(From Antares' Short Summations on February 15th, 2012)

Into The Wild Green Yonder, a review by Dragonfire

ALL THE OTHER GALAXIES WILL BE GREEN WITH ENVY!

In the most epic FUTURAMA ever, dark forces older than time itself are on the attack, hell-bent on stopping the dawn of a wondrous new green age. Don't you hate when that happens? Even more shocking: Bender's in love with a married fembot, and Leela's on the run from the law - Zapp Brannigan's law! Fry is the last hope of the universe, recruited for an ultra-top-secret mission. Could this be the end of the Planet Express crew forever? Say it ain't so, meatbag!

Off we go, Into The Wild Green Yonder!

My Thoughts

I loved Futurama when it was on and I'm still irked about how FOX canceled it.  I've really enjoyed the direct to DVD movies that have been released and I'm hoping that more will be made.

The plot for this one wasn't tied to the previous Futurama movies, so it can stand alone fairly well.  Certain things will make more sense to people who have seen the show though. I did think the plot was interesting and entertaining..it was just odd enough to feel right for Futurama.  Things were mostly resolved by the end of the movie, but it was done in a way that also left open the possibility of more movies.  There was some resolution to the relationship between Fry and Leela as well.  Bender had a little less to do, but he was still around a lot.  Some of the other characters from the series were also back, though they weren't featured as much either. 

Overall, this was a great addition to my Futurama collection.  It was very entertaining and fans of Futurama should enjoy the movie.

 

I got a review posted on Epinions already as well.

Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder

(From Dragonfire: What I've Been Watching on February 24th, 2009)

Twilight Zone, a review by addicted2dvd

37. King Nine Will Not Return (9/20/60)
WWII Captain James Embry (Robert Cummings) finds himself next to a crashed plane in a vast desert. Where is his crew? And why are futuristic jet planes flying overhead?

My Thoughts:
This is an episode I have seen before. Not sure if I saw it during a Sci-Fi Marathon or if it was on one of the volume dvds I used to have. It is a right good episode.. I really did enjoy it. At least the add on the tail end of this one was finally something different! The add attached to this one was for The Andy Griffith Show! I was starting to get tired of seeing the same couple over and over again. Extras attached to this episode include an Isolated Music Score and an interview with Buzz Kulik. Neither of which I checked out.

38 The Man in the Bottle (10/7/60)
A discontented curio shop owner thinks he's finally found happiness when a genie he discovers in an old bottle grants him four wishes. But be careful what you wish for.

My Thoughts:
This is an episode I never seen before... but one I really liked a lot! On the tail end of this episode was an advertisement for a show I never heard of before... some show called My Sister Ilene. And was just a very short clip so I wasn't able to get a feel for it. The only extra attached to this episode is an isolated music score... which of course I didn't bother with.

39. Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room (10/14/60)
Ordered to commit a murder he doesn't want to perform, a small-time hood nervously looks in the mirror and sees the man he might have been - confident, strong...and determined to get out.

My Thoughts:
This is an episode I know I have seen before because I remember bits and pieces of it... but it must have been a very long time ago because I didn't remember the most of it... was a pretty good episode... but I have seen better. Extras attached to this one is an isolated music score, Interview with Doug Heyes and a Twilight Zone Radio Drama starring Adam Baldwin.

40. A Thing About Machines (10/28/60)
Mr. Bartlett Finchley (Richard Haydn) despises any sort of machine, and he'll experience a new kind of terror when he learns the feeling is mutual.

My Thoughts:
And here is another episode I never seen before... was a pretty good episode... I enjoyed it... though I wouldn't classify it as one of my favorites. The clip attached at the tail end of this episode was for giving donations to your favorite political party.No real extras attached to this episode... just that Isolated Music Score thing.

41. The Howling Man (11/4/60)
During a walking trip of central Europe following WWII, Ellington loses his way. Exhausted, he comes upon a monastery where an insane monk claims he's captured the Devil himself! Atmospheric music by Bernard Herrmann gives strength to this devilish tale.

My Thoughts:
This is yet another one I have never seen before now. It is a bit different but enjoyable. The clip attached to the tail end of this one if another clip of that show My Sister Ilene. The only extra for this episode is an interview with Douglas Heyes.

42. The Eye of the Beholder  (11/11/60)
Janet's hideous face has made her an outcast all her life. As she awaits the results of her last-chance surgery, she ponders the consequences of failure - to be banished forever to a village of freaks!

My Thoughts:
Now this one... this is one I have seen multiple times... and is one of my favorite episodes! It seems like every time there is a Twilight Zone marathon on TV this is one of the episodes they must show... and is a very good episode. There is a nice amount of extras attached to this episode... you get an Audio Commentary with Donna Douglas, Interview with Maxine Stuart and Douglas Heyes, Isolated Music Score, Rare Color Photos, and Alternate Ending Titles. A great setup for what is in my opinion one of the best episodes!


Episodes I seen for the First time on this set include:

   1. Judgment Night (Episode 10)
   2. And When The Sky Was Opened (Episode 11)
   3. What You Need (Episode 12)
   4. I Shot an Arrow into the Air (Episode 15)
   5. The Hitch-Hiker (Episode 16)
   6. The Purple Testiment (Episode 19)
   7. Elegy (Episode 20)
   8. Mirror Image (Episode 21)
   9. A World of Difference (Episode 23)
  10. Long Live Walter Jameson (Episode 24)
  11. People Are Alike All Over (Episode 25)
  12. Execution (Episode 26)
  13. The Big Tall Wish (Episode 27)
  14. A Nice Place to Visit (Episode 28)
  15. Nightmare as a Child (Episode 29)
  16. The Chaser (Episode 31)
  17. Mr. Bevis (Episode 33)
  18. The Mighty Casey (Episode 35)
  19. A World of his Own (Episode 36)
  20. The Man in the Bottle (Episode 38)
  21. A Thing About Machines (Episode 40)
  22. The Howling Man (Episode 41)

(From Twilight Zone on February 5th, 2008)