DVD Collectors Online

Red, a review by Dragonfire

I know I'm behind on posting about this one..and the other movies I've been watching.  I'm going to try to get caught up ...or at least not as far behind. 

Red

This one is based on a comic book series that only lasted for a few issues...3 or 6 I think.  I haven't read the comic books, so I don't know what has been changed for the movie.  It follows Frank, a retired CIA agent and shows how he is dealing with life now that he is retired.  Things get interesting once it is clear that someone is trying to kill him. 

The action starts fairly early in Red and keeps popping up throughout the movie.  There are explosions and several shoot outs.  The action is a bit over the top and not believable, but it still manages to work for the movie.  And some of the action scenes are just cool.  A bit of humor does turn up throughout the movie and it blends in well with what is going on. 

The characters are interesting, though they aren't the most developed.  The cast does really well with their parts.  Frank isn't that different from other parts that Bruce Willis has played, but I still enjoyed the character.  I loved Helen Mirren as Victoria, a former MI6 agent who is deadly with a gun. 

Red is entertaining, though I can see it not appealing to some people.

I did get a longer review posted on Epinions after seeing it in the theater.

Red

(From Red on December 2nd, 2010)

Diary of the Dead , a review by samuelrichardscott

Diary of the Dead (2007) R2 UK DVD

Overview:
In his first independent zombie film in over two decades, George A. Romero returns to ground zero in the history of the living dead. When a group of film students making a horror movie in the woods discovers that the dead have begun to revive, they turn their cameras on the real-life horrors that suddenly confront them, creating a first person diary of their bloody encounters and the disintegration of everything they hold dear.
Told with Romero's pitch-black humour and an unflinching eye on our modern world, GEORGE A. ROMERO'S DIARY OF THE DEAD marks the legendary trailblazer's return to his roots.

Thoughts:
Diary of the Dead is yet another film in Romero's mainly one trick pony career. Not that there is anything wrong with that, he is damn good at that one trick, and even the critically disliked Land of the Dead was a joy to watch in my opinion. However, my first viewing of Diary of the Dead was rather disappointing. It's good, but there is nothing new, with Romero even jumping on the 'handheld camera footage' bandwagon that started after The Blair Witch Project which Matt Reeves managed to do a whole lot better than Romero with 2008's Cloverfield. I wasn't overly keen on any of the characters and the way a lot of the script revolved around 'why are you filming?' / 'I don't wasnt to be filmed' annoyed me. It's good to see Romero go back to his roots but he's better than this average effort. 3/5

(From Never Ending Movie Marathon (short reviews) on July 6th, 2011)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Dawson's Creek: Season One (1998/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 567 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

---

Plot:
Kevin Williamson (the Scream movie series, I Know What You Did Last Summer) created this engaging drama, which chronicles a group of young friends' passage from adolescence to young adulthood in the small coastal town of Capeside, Massachusetts. Based on Williamson's own experiences growing up, "Dawson's Creek" focuses on 15-year-olds Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes), who have been friends since they were five and are trying to cope with the way their friendship is changing now that their hormones are raging. Add to the mix their friend Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and the new girl in town, Jen (Michelle Williams), and you can count on extra twists to the drama in their already turbulent lives.

Filmed on location in Wilmington, Durham and Raleigh, North Carolina, this first season marks the beginning of an unforgettable journey that explores the agony and ecstacy of teenage life. Can the kids of "Dawson's Creek" really grow up without growing apart? Watch and find out!

Dawson's Creek
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Kevin Williamson (Created By), Kevin Williamson (Writer)
Director: Steve Miner
Cast: James Van Der Beek (Dawson Leery), Michelle Williams (Jen Lindley), Joshua Jackson (Pacey Witter), Katie Holmes (Joey Potter), Mary-Margaret Humes (Gail Leery), John Wesley Shipp (Mitch Leery), Mary Beth Peil (Evelyn Ryan), Nina Repeta (Bessie Potter), Nicole Nieth (Nellie Oleson), Mitchell Laurance (Mr. Gold), Leann Hunley (Tamara Jacobs), George Gaffney (Bodie), Ed Grady (Gramps), Ted King (Newscaster Bob), Rick Forrester (Big Guy), Evan Kelly (Roger Fulford)

When Dawson's Creek first started airing on TV, I ignored it. But when the first season reran I caught the episode "Detention" by chance and was hooked since. I then continued to watch the second season and had downloaded the third season when it originally aired in the US (30 MB real media video on dial-up). Though I lost interest in the fourth season. But now I have all seasons on DVD and watched it up to the fifth season. I have yet to watch the final season.
The pilot is still good. You can still see that it was something fresh for its time. Of course they have been a lot of Dawson-type shows since.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on April 2nd, 2011)