DVD Collectors Online

Iron Man, a review by Danae Cassandra

Iron Man
Year of Release: 2008
Directed By: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow
Genre: Action, Science-Fiction

Overview:
Lift off with high-speed, high-flying action in this Ultimate 2-disc Edition that takes you inside the suit of Marvel's invincible Super Hero for the ultimate Iron Man experience!

After surviving an unexpected attack in enemy territory, jet-setting industrialist Tony Stark builds a high-tech suit of armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.  Straight from the pages of the legendary comic book, Iron ManMy Thoughts:
I first saw this in the theatre on a free preview ticket, and thought then that it was an amazing film.  This makes my third re-watch, and it holds up excellently.  It's still exciting, and funny, and easily holds a viewer's interest.  It's filled with action but also with plenty of character development, at least in Stark.  Downey Jr.'s magnificent performance carries the film, and I can't imagine anyone else in that role.  

Of course, the other thing that really makes this film great is that it treats it's source seriously.  Yes, there's humor in the film  - witty lines and accidents in armor development - but it's not a campy film.  There's a respect for the comic medium behind it, and a lot of serious things to say about personal responsibility in one's business, in the film.  That doesn't mean it isn't a fun film - because it absolutely is.  It's a summer blockbuster superhero fun kind of film.  But that also doesn't mean it doesn't have something to say as well.

Bottom line - great film, lots of fun, smart enough to keep one sort of film fan interested while being filled with enough action and explosions to keep the other type interested.  Highly recommended.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4/5

(From Iron Man mini-marathon on January 25th, 2014)

Singin' in the Rain, a review by Tom

Title: Singin' in the Rain
Year: 1952
Director: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen
Writing: Adolph Green (Original Material By), Betty Comden (Original Material By), Adolph Green (Screenwriter), Betty Comden (Screenwriter)
Rating: G
Length: 103 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 1, English: Dolby Digital 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood
Donald O'Connor as Cosmo Brown
Debbie Reynolds as Kathy Selden
Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont
Millard Mitchell as R.F. Simpson

Plot:Singin' in the Rain marks its 50th anniversary in this Deluxe Edition providing a downpour of celebratory Special Features that salute not just this all-time favorite but also the musical legacy of its producer, songwriter Arthur Freed.

Awards:

Academy Award	1952	Nominated	Best Music, Musical Picture	Lennie Hayton
Academy Award	1952	Nominated	Best Supporting Actress	Jean Hagen
AFI	1952	Won	100 Years of Musicals (2006)
AFI	1952	Won	100 Years... 100 Laughs (2000)
AFI	1952	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (1998)
AFI	1952	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (2007)
AFI	1952	Won	100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
AFI	1952	Won	100 Years... 100 Songs (2004)	"Song": Good Morning
AFI	1952	Won	100 Years... 100 Songs (2004)	"Song": Make 'Em Laugh
AFI	1952	Won	100 Years... 100 Songs (2004)	"Song": Singin' in the Rain
BAFTA	1952	Nominated	Film And British Film
Directors Guild of America	1953	Nominated	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures	Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Golden Globe	1952	Won	Actor in a Leading Role - Musical or Comedy	Donald O'Connor
Golden Globe	1952	Nominated	Picture - Musical or Comedy	Arthur Freed
Writers Guild of America Awards	1953	Won	Best Written American Musical	Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
Scoring Session Music Cues
Trailers

A great classic musical. Also a fun story about the difficulties of the transition from silent movies to talkies. Like in Moulin Rouge, all the songs are not original to this movie, but are taken from older musicals. I enjoyed all of these, except maybe the one towards the end, which is too much of a showstopper and it just doesn't fit with the rest of the movie. I guess this is on purpose as the characters themselves planned this one for their talkie which is set in the past but has this modern number in it.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 9th, 2010)

Death Note anime/manga/movies comparison, a review by Tom

02. Confrontation

The public names the person (Light), who is responsible for the many deaths of criminals, "Kira" (coming from how Japanese pronounce the English word "Killer").
The police contracts the mysterious detective L to investigate the strange deaths. Nobody has ever seen L, nor does anyone know his real name. L has already deduced, that the deaths are murder by a person, who does not even need to be in contact with the victim. With tricking Kira, he already proves this in this episode and also that Kira is living in the Kanto region (Tokyo area).
L challenges Kira, and the great cat and mouse game begins.

Manga: In the manga, the trap and challenge by L comes first (chapter 2), then Light helps his sister with her homework (chapter 3) and then he builds the booby trap (chapter 4).
My comparison project already proofs to be getting hard. Although the anime stays close to the manga, it already shows, that it switches a lot of stuff around. In manga chapters 2-4 there are already a lot of other important things happening, which are not touched upon by the anime yet.


Movies: The first movie covers the complete trap for Kira set by L.
The movie omits the booby trap Light is building to hide the Death Note, which is not really essential to the plot.

(From Death Note anime/manga/movies comparison on February 1st, 2009)