DVD Collectors Online

The Matrix, a review by Tom

Title: The Matrix
Year: 1999
Director: The Wachowski Brothers, The Wachowski Brothers
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 131 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish

Stars:
Keanu Reeves
Laurence Fishburne
Carrie-Anne Moss
Hugo Weaving
Gloria Foster

Extras:It has been some time that I have seen this movie. I still enjoyed it just as much as the first time. I just had to watch it, as this DVD is from 1999 and I wanted to check, if I need to upgrade this movie to Blu. I am relieved, that despite its age, the picture is okay. No need to upgrade just now.
I belong to those who believe, that it would have been better to leave it with this movie. I don't like the sequels very much.
I noticed this time around, that I could read the Matrix code if I wanted to. A lot of the characters used in it are mirrored katakana characters

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on April 6th, 2009)

Campfire Tales, a review by Danae Cassandra

Campfire Tales
Year of Release: 1996
Directed By: David Semel, Martin Kunert, Matt Cooper
Starring: Jay R. Ferguson, Christine Taylor, Kim Murphy, Christopher Kennedy Masterson
Genre: Horror

Overview:
Horror takes a detour deep into the woods in this terrifying cross between Scream and Tales From The Crypt, starring Christine Taylor (Dodgeball) and Ron Livingston (Office Space).

Returning home from a concert and driving recklessly, four teenagers crash their car on a deserted road. To ward off the cold, they build a fire and wait for help. But the hair-raising stories they tell around the fire put a deeper chill into the night. Each tale is more lurid, more horrifying, more shocking than anything they've heard before. Yet for these unlucky teens in the woods, the biggest shock is still to come...

My Thoughts:
This is a competent enough film, but suffers from being thoroughly predictable. After their car crashes, four teens are forced to spend time by the side of the road telling stories, all of which are well-known urban legends. "The Hook" is the most well-known, and a throwaway bonus tale. Nothing special here. "The Honeymoon" does well to leave you never actually seeing the creatures, and therefore letting the imagination run wild, and I liked that the girl fought back instead of just screaming and cowering. "People Can Lick Too" does well with creating tension but the villain doesn't act as someone like him would. It almost seems the filmmakers are afraid to go where the story should take them. I thought this was the weakest of the group. "The Locket" was my favorite. I liked the production design and atmosphere here, even if I knew how it would end. The wraparound story wasn't bad either, but you could easily see where it was headed. Twist ending aren't as fresh now as they might have been when this was released.

This is a low budget film, and there's some pretty clear technical errors (most glaringly to me, the red camera sights that were visible multiple times). The acting was competent, but nothing spectacular, though I did like how expressive Jacinda Barrett was in "The Locket," especially given I think she was cast because she was very pretty. Recommended if you like anthology horror, but don't expect any surprises.

Bechdel Test: Pass

Overall: 2.75/5

2015 Horror Movie Count: 13

(From Horror/Halloween Marathon 2015 on October 29th, 2015)

Grey's Anatomy Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

13. Great Expectations
With Richard stepping down, the doctors at Seattle Grace begin jockeying to replace him -leading to harsh words and hurt feelings. George's method of dealing with his father's death is taking a toll on Callie, and Richard is surprised by his wife's reaction to his retirement plans. The plight of a young Amish girl inspires the staff to push for a free clinic. Cristina and Burke finally speak to each other, and what Burke has to say shocks Cristina.

My Thoughts:
A good episode. I really enjoyed the whole Amish girl storyline.  And this one ends with a bit of a surprise.

My Rating:

14. Wishin' And Hopin'
George and Callie return from a trip to Las Vegas with huge news. Meredith gets some big news of her own when her mother wakes up free from the effects of her Alzheimer's disease, but her excitement is short-lived when her mother is as critical of her as ever. Cristina worries that having a personal life will have a negative effect on her career, and Izzie frets that her money has gone to waste. The entire staff must pitch in when a patient's toxic blood endangers the hospital.

My Thoughts:
This is another one I really liked a lot. Especially the whole toxic blood thing. I also liked seeing Meredith's mother free from the effects of her Alzheimer's for a while.

My Rating:

15. Walk On Water
Derek worries that Meredith has let her mother's criticism affect her. Burke and Cristina discuss how best to tell the others about their engagement. Triage drills at the hospital are interrupted by a real-life emergency - a ferry has collided with a container ship in dense fog, resulting in multiple casualties. As each member of the Seattle Grace team deals with their own emergencies, Meredith finds herself in over her head.

My Thoughts:
Wow! What an episode! I absolutely loved every minute of it! This one definitely dealt more with the medical aspect of the show more then anything else. Which I dedfinitely love to see! And wow... the way this one ended! I was planning on making this one the last episode of the night... but after how this episode ended I had to see where the next one goes from here. Definitely one of my favorite episodes of the series that I have seen so far!

My Rating:

16. Drowning On Dry Land
Meredith is pulled from the water, unconscious and unresponsive. Izzie continues to fight for the life of the patient trapped between two vehicles on the ferry. Alex is put in charge of notifying friends and family members about the status of the patients, and George races to find a missing boy before his mother wakes up from surgery.

My Thoughts:
An excellent continuation to the last episode. Very dramatic and thrilling all at the same time. Probably for the first time in this entire series so far Alex actually impressed me. If this episode has a downside at all... it is the final moment of the episode. I think the episode would have been even more powerful if they didn't go where they did. But at the same time it was not so bad to take away from my enjoyment of the episode. The story will be continued on into the next episode. And as much as I really want to see it... it will just have to wait till tomorrow.

My Rating:

(From Grey's Anatomy Marathon on September 15th, 2009)