DVD Collectors Online

The Departed, a review by Antares

The Departed (2006) 3/5 - Can someone please tell directors that no one in Massachusetts talks like the Kennedys, except for the Kennedys!!!! I lived the first 25 years of my life in Massachusetts, and it drives me absolutely insane when I watch a film that takes place in my old home state where everyone speaks so phonetically fucked up.

I can't for the life of me, understand all the praise that is heaped upon Martin Scorsese. This film was tedious at points and ridiculous in others. Scorsese, to me, has always been a little too interested in how a film looks as opposed to how the screenplay is gelling, and this film is no different. While the base story was an interesting concept, Scorsese mucks it up by having the main character be so stupid that he can't deduce that Costigan is the State Police mole, even though Costigan was an ex-trooper trainee. Shit, it's easy to see how such a bright individual worked his way up to the top of the Irish mafia. Another bad moment is when Queenan is tossed form the roof and lands at Costigan's feet, but the cops in the car who are tailing Queenan just keep saying to Sullivan, "Something came off the roof", repeatedly. I guess these cops are blind because they're parked within visual range of the front door of the building and should have been able to deduce that it was a body that came off the roof. Oh, and another thing, to get from South Boston to Washington street takes at least 20 minutes on a good day. But in this film they get there so fast, you'd think it was right around the corner. And finally, towards the end when Costello is being confronted by Sullivan, after the first shots are fired by Costello and Sullivan, there is a small bit of dialogue between the two and then finally more shots. The camera then shoots the pair from above as Sullivan yells, "I got him", yet no one is moving towards where the shots have been fired. This moment was so ridiculous I couldn't take it anymore. The second the first salvo was fired between the two, a swarm of state troopers would have started moving towards it, but this would have gotten in the way of the final showdown I guess.

I hope that the original is better than this.

My Night at Maud's (1969) 4/5 - This is only my second Eric Rohmer film and I'm definitely hooked. I can't explain why, maybe it's the rich dialogue, but nothing much happens in his films, yet they suck you in. At first I thought that this was going to be a sophomore jinx for me as the film started a little slowly, but the minute we meet Maud, the film became engrossing. Maud's charm and honesty are refreshing and you want the story to stay with her. Unfortunately, it moves on to the relationship with Francoise, and the film kind of ends on a whimper. But for most of it duration, this film is a winner, and I'll will definitely re-visit it again. Next up...Claire's Knee.

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 2nd, 2011)

Anaconda, a review by GSyren

Anaconda (Disc ID: 123E-EAED-891E-3350)

United States 1997 | Released 2009-12-09 on DVD from Columbia TriStar Home Video

86 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.35:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, English Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, German Dolby Digital 5.1

Directed by Luis Llosa and starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde

My thoughts about Anaconda:

I am a glutton for punishment, right? Well, I must be. I was browsing one of my favorite DVD retailers' website, and I noticed a box set sale. One of the box sets was the Anacondas set. I had never seen any of them, but I knew about Anaconda. Not a good film, but with some good actors, especially Jon Voight. So how could a crappy film like that spawn three (count'em three) sequels? I was intrigued. Now, I'm sure lots of people were intrigued by that fact, but that wouldn't make them want to buy that box. Well, guess what ... So I started at the beginning, and my hunch was correct. Anaconda Anaconda

I rate this title

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on February 20th, 2015)

The Flash Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Guest Stars:
Vito D'Ambrosio as Bellows
Biff Manard as Murphy
George Dickerson as Quinn
Mike Genovese as Lt. Warren Garfield
Deborah May as Ruth Werneke

My Thoughts:
A good episode. I did enjoy it... but I have to say I thought the antidote for the toxin that was released in Star Labs was a bit on the convenient side.

My Rating:

(From The Flash Marathon on April 13th, 2010)