DVD Collectors Online

Vertigo, a review by Tom

Title: Vertigo
Year: 1958
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: PG
Length: 124 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital Surround, French: Dolby Digital Mono, Italian: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish

Stars:
James Stewart
Kim Novak
Barbara Bel Geddes
Tom Helmore
Henry Jones

Plot:
Set in San Francisco, James Stewart portrays an acrophobic detective hired to trail a friend's suicidal wife (Kim Novak). After he successfully rescues her from a leap into the bay, he finds himself becoming obsessed with the beautifully troubled woman.

One of cinema's most chilling romantic endeavors: its fascinating myriad of haunting camera angles shot among some of San Francisco's renowned landmarks. This film is a must for collectors; Leonard Maltin gives Vertigo four stars and hails it as "A genuinely great motion picture that demands multiple-viewings."

Awards:

Academy Award	1958	Nominated	Best Art Direction	Hal Pereira, Henry Bumstead (Art Direction); Sam Comer, Frank McKelvy (Set Decoration)
Academy Award	1958	Nominated	Best Sound	George Dutton (Sound Director, Paramount Studio Sound Department)
AFI	1958	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (1998)
AFI	1958	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (2007)
AFI	1958	Won	100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
AFI	1958	Won	100 Years... 100 Thrills (2001)
AFI	1958	Won	100 Years... 25 Scores (2005)	"Composer": Bernard Herrmann
Directors Guild of America	1959	Nominated	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures	Alfred Hitchcock

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

I enjoyed this movie more than I had expected. Mainly due .
This time around it was mainly the story that kept me interested, not so much the actors. James Stewart was okay, but I didn't much care for Kim Novak. Part of that is not really her fault: I really hated the look of her bleached hair.
So overall I enjoyed this movie. So far it is one of the better Hitchcocks I have seen. But I am not sure if I will watch it again in the future.

Rating:

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on November 8th, 2009)

The Cave, a review by Rich

Title: The Cave

Movie Count:7 
TV Ep. Count:6 

Runtime:97
Certificate:PG-13
Year:2005
Genres:Horror, Action, Science-Fiction

Plot:Deep in the Romanian forest, a team of scientists stumbles upon the ruins of a 13th-century abbey. On further inspection, they make a startling discovery - the abbey is built over the entrance to a giant underground cave system. Local biologists believe the cave could be home to an undiscovered ecosystem, so they hire a group of American cave explorers to help them investigate its depths.
Jack (Cole Hauser) and his brother Tyler (Eddie Cibrian) are thrill-seeking professional cave explorers who run a team of the top divers in the world. The crack unit, which also includes Charlie (Piper Perabo) and Buchanan (Morris Chestnut), immediately begin their exploration. But what they find deep inside the caves is not just a new eco-system, but an entirely new species altogether.

My Review:
More action than horror, a fast paced underground flick that tried it's best to beat a low budget, weak casting and B movie handicap.
At times it is hard to follow the shaky camera work and dimly lit scenes, and I had to rewind on several occasions. But you certainly do get the claustraphobic feeling, and I think the cave is actually more frightening than the strange creatures which liberally inhabit the screen. The booming sound was awesome and dragged you into the tension filled tunnels, but the huge let down was the lack of gore and violence (can't believe I said that!), clearly to hit a PG rating they cut out loads.
Fairly mindless entertainment but generally forgettable as the credits roll.




(From Rich's October Horror Fest on October 5th, 2009)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

7. Lineage
Original Air Date: 11/12/2003
While the gang does battle against a troop of Ninja-like cyborgs, Wesley finds himself battling with the sudden appearance of his father who is a member of the Watchers' Council.

Guest Stars:
Sarah Thompson
Jonathan Woodward
Treva Etienne
Roy Dotrice

My Thoughts:
While better then the last episode... this is another one I never really cared too much for. Just a basic filler episode with a story that just didn't interest me too much.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 22nd, 2010)