DVD Collectors Online

Lifeboat, a review by Dragonfire

Lifeboat

This was the first time I had seen this one, though I had heard of it before. 

The plot works well even though it isn't as complex as some of Hitchcock's other movies.  It is just dealing with the survivors in the lifeboat, but since one of them is German, that does add some issues that get dealt with.  There is a bit of mystery tied to if Willy is really trying to help or if he has something else in mind like at least one of the others believes.  There are a few confrontations that help to keep things interesting.  One rather drastic thing is done at one point, though nothing much is shown, it is still clear what is going on.  A few somewhat disturbing things happen, though they all make sense given what is going on in the movie.  There isn't as much shared about most of the characters.  Constance seems the most developed even though still many things remain a mystery about her. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie.

 

I even managed to review of it posted on Epinions.

Lifeboat

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on August 27th, 2009)

Ben-Hur, a review by addicted2dvd

Ben-Hur (1959/United States) Warner Home Video (United States) Director: William Wyler Writing: Lew Wallace [General Lew Wallace] (Original Material By), Karl Tunberg (Screenwriter) Length: 222 min. Video: Widescreen 2.76:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, German: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital: Mono, Czech: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Hungarian: Dolby Digital: Mono, Polish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Music Only: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai

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Stars:
Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius
Haya Harareet as Esther
Stephen Boyd as Messala
Hugh Griffith (1912) as Sheik Ilderim

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers

Years ago when I was a teen they showed a portion of this (the chariot race) in class in high school. Every since then I wan't to see the entire film. And now... more years later then I wish to admit to... I finally got to see the entire epic film. A true classic if there ever was one. Yes, such a long film, but it doesn't feel like it when you watch. The time went by so fast! The acting is great, the visuals are fantastic and the story will bring out multiple emotions through-out. If there was one thing I would change here it would be a little more action. Not much more mind you... but I think just a touch more would have been beneficial. But over-all recommended as a must see!



(From 2018 Challenge: Box Office TOP 100 FILMS OF ALL-TIME (Domestic Gross) on February 14th, 2018)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: After he found the hand of the Terminator Special Agent Ellison begins to dig real deep into Sarah Connor's file. He watches her video tapes from the mental institution and he tries to get in contact with Dr. Silberman, her psychiatrist during her stay there. Meanwhile Cameron tries to retrieve the Turk.

My Opinion: I liked this episode for two reasons. The first one is the nice wrap-up of the second movie. And even though it's on "another timeline" I thought that this Dr. Silberman was very close to the one we saw in Terminator 3 shortly before he encountered the Arnie-Terminator for the third time.
But my favourite scene of this episode was when Cameron left the apartment after she got the information. This scene screamed at me "Never forget that she's a machine, not a feeling, living being, no matter how she looks like.". She protected them as long as she needed them and then they were of no more concern to her. To save them would have been an act of humanity and that's not on her program.

Synopsis: Derek finds the CPU of the previously destroyed Terminator and accuses Cameron of lying and she admits to it. After the argument is over, John tries to load the data from the memory chips to see what the Terminator was doing before he was destroyed. And there they find a connection to a project which can control the entire traffic infrastructure of Los Angeles.

My Opinion: This is one thing that has always bugged me on Science-Fiction series: That somehow all computer hardware and software is compatible and that they can communicate with one another. OK, Skynet and the Terminators are an invention of the human race but where did John even get a compatible interface port to plug the CPU in?
But that aside I liked the fact that both Cameron and Derek became a bit more grey (ok, we already knew he killed that Turk guy, but still).

Synopsis: Sarah tries to purchase the Turk but the seller tries to blackmail her with her past and he's watching John to make sure Sarah pays. But his plan doesn't turn out as expected. Meanwhile Ellison discovers that Kester is a fake FBI agent and he tries to take him down.

My Opinion: Taking into account that it wasn't planned as cliffhanger it was a decent one. It leaves quite a number of questions open that demand an answer and thus the viewer will most likely tune in "next year". I especially wonder why Ellison is still alive. Is he important to Skynet or is it just because he was unarmed and no threat to Cromartie? But then again Terminators are not the Borg, why should he let someone live who can identify him? As I said, enough reason to continue watching.

Disc 3 - My Opinion: I like the show better with every episode I'm watching and the less time travel is involved the less mistakes with the timeline happen.

The Season - My Opinion: It's not the best show in the world, but very enjoyable, especially due to the two female leads. I'll continue watching it even though it's likely to get cancelled after the second season.

(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon on January 29th, 2009)