DVD Collectors Online

Kill the Umpire, a review by Antares

Kill the Umpire (1950) 15/100 - At one time in my life, I was the biggest baseball fan in the history of the game, and to that end, had seen almost every film made on the sport. But for some reason, I never got around to Kill the Umpire. I found it on YouTube and downloaded it and after viewing it over the course of three separate nights, final finished it. Why did it take three nights? Because it is the biggest, stinking pile of crap ever perpetrated on the fans of baseball movies. Up until now, The Scout (1994) had held the ignominious position of worst baseball movie ever made, but by the sheer weight of its horrendously bad screenplay, takes its place as king of the shit pile. The first 30 minutes are excruciatingly painful to get through, but finally in the middle of the story, it looks like those opening moments are being salvaged when the main character has an epiphany on a sandlot, while umpiring a group of kids playing a game. But alas, it once again devolves into a complete train wreck of epic proportions. Frank Tashlin, who directed all those Jerry Lewis films of the late 50's, must have been completely drunk when he wrote his final act. He actually incorporates arson and attempted murder into a series of comedy scenes getting the umpire to the big game. How could any screenwriter, save for one who was working during the silent era, deem it appropriate to have characters starting fires in the top floors of a high rise hotel? I know it was a different time in the postwar years, but every other baseball film I've watched from this era, is harmless and very sentimental towards the game. This catastrophe is not.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on July 8th, 2015)

Return From the River Kwai, a review by Rich

Marching across Burma...



One of the last untold true stories of World War II in the Far East, a story of soldiers who learnt about courage, and used their courage for survival. The story begins at the end of the war when a group of starving British and Australian POWs have all but given up hope of escaping from the dreaded railway line that had already cost so many lives. As the wheels of war grind to a halt, the Japanese decide to send their more able-bodied POWs over to Japan in a final attempt for victory. Crammed into cattle trucks, they begin their journey through the Thai jungle, destined to be imprisoned in the hull of a transport ship sailing through submarine infested waters

The description best suited I could find for this film was 'a jolly jape'. A real middle of the road movie that neither offends, bores or excites. The fictional Bridge on the River Kwai stands head and shoulders above this, classic wooden acting in abundance and a concentration on facts rather than feature makes this an average 5/10

(From Around the World in 80 DVD's on February 23rd, 2008)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title: Red Dwarf I
Year: 1988
Director:
Rating: 12
Length: 174 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Plot:
A radiation leak wipes out the crew of the mining ship Red Dwarf leaving one survivor - chicken soup machine repairman Dave Lister. After three million years in suspended animation, Lister emerges to find he is the last human being in the universe. But he is not alone.

Extras:
Book Chapters
Booklet
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
DVD-ROM Content
Featurettes
Japanese Version of "The End"
Music
Outtakes
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailers

Having watched the series review by sfdebirs, I got into the mood to rewatch this series again. Initially I have planned to do a marathon thread, but today my brother said he wanted to watch them with me. So I plan to watch them series by series instead of episode by episode.

With "The End" the series is off to a great start. I still very much enjoy this episode. The character introductions are great. And who can forget the "Everybody's dead, Dave" delivery by Holly.

My favorite episode from the first series is "Future Echoes". These echoes are a nice concept and very fun to watch. Especially the scene with the conversation between Lister and the Echo-Rimmer followed by Lister and the real Rimmer when we finally understand, what the first conversation is about. This scene was it, which completely won me over to Red Dwarf when I first watched this show.

The other episodes are nice, but not so good as the first two. The final episode comes close though. It's fun having Rimmer have to live with himself. Also the episode "Waiting for God" is enjoyable, where Lister learns that he is a god to the cat people.

#	Episode	Rating
01	The End
02	Future Echoes
03	Balance of Power
04	Waiting for God
05	Confidence and Paranoia
06

(From Tom's Random Reviews on October 10th, 2009)