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The Bridge Of San Luis Rey, a review by KinkyCyborg

The Bridge Of San Luis Rey



Title:The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Year: 2004
Director: Mary McGuckian
Rating: PG
Length: 120 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: DTS: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:Plot:
Robert De Niro, Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, and Geraldine Chaplin co-star in this epic film adaptation of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize winning novel.

Five seemingly unrelated travelers cross the San Luis Ray bridge when it suddenly collapses. Were their tragic deaths the result of Divine Intervention, mere chance or perhaps something more sinister? Intrigued, a Franciscan monk investigates the victims' pasts, uncovering secrets in this moving tale of passion, ambition and destiny.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Closed Captioned


Five souls plummet to their deaths off an old bridge in Peru during a period of the Spanish Inquisitions. The movie delves less into the tragedy and more into the lives of the five people, their own personal tragedies, how their lives interconnect and the intrigues of the Spanish court. A pious priest played by Gabriel Byrne investigates what these people may have had in common, and if that denominator might have been the reason God might have taken their lives.

Pretty heavy subject matter which leaves the viewer with much to digest. The irony of the priest's findings is that they themselves lead to an inquisition, his assertions deemed heretic, and the priest burned at the stake.

Some excellent performances by an A-list cast make up for an at times excessively slow pace. I didn't find the ending very satisfying as many questions that should have been asked at the trial of the priest were not asked. Kathy Bates was incredible as the Marquess, a lonely old woman of power who only longs for the love of her petulant daughter who is off in Spain, playing the social game at Court, all the while ignoring her mother's many letters. You feel terribly bad for Bates' character, almost thankful for her death which was more of a release from her misery.

F. Murray Abraham and Harvey Kietel were also excellent in their respective roles. Robert De Niro seemed out of place as the Archbishop of Peru. His enunciation of the speech from that era was good, but his Goodfellas accent was evident which almost made it appear to be a bad voice over job. 
If you want to watch and appreciate some great method acting then you may enjoy this but I'm certain this movie is not for everyone and would likely be labeled as boring for many.

KC

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on February 6th, 2011)

Phantasm, a review by addicted2dvd

Phantasm (1979/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Anchor Bay Entertainment Director: Don Coscarelli Writing: Don Coscarelli (Writer) Length: 85 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: DTS: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: English

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Stars:
A. Michael Baldwin [Michael Baldwin] as Mike
Bill Thornbury as Jody
Reggie Bannister as Reggie
Kathy Lester as Lady in Lavender
Terrie Kalbus as Fortuneteller's Granddaughter
Ken Jones as Caretaker

Plot:
When two brothers uncover the startling secret of the living dead following the murder of their friend, what seems like a horrible unending nightmare becomes terrifying reality!

A mortuary's embalming cellar is the site for supernatural evil - including a floating sphere with razor-sharp protruding daggers which seeks out victims and drains the blood from their heads.

As the brothers learn more and more about what is really going on at Morningside Mortuary, they get deeper into trouble... until it may be too late to escape!

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Production Notes
• Introduction by Angus Scrimm

This is the first movie from the region 2 set that was recently given to me. This set contains all 4 movies plus a 5th extras disc. It has been a good couple years since I watched this movie... so I am glad I had a reason to watch it again. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Angus Scrimm did a good job being the Tall Man. I found him to be pretty creepy. But another that I found to be on the creepy side here was the psychic woman and her granddaughter that Mike went to go see early on in the movie. The way they worked off each other I felt was very cool. And of course I liked the signature of the Phantasm movies... the flying ball... "The Orb of Evil" as I just seen it called in the Phantasm III trailer. I really enjoyed every minute of re-watching this movie. Whether you never had the opportunity to see this movie... or it has been many years since you seen it. This is one I would highly recommend.

I am now looking forward to checking out the rest of the set. I have seen part 2 before... years ago as well. But to be honest I don't believe I ever seen the last two movies in this film series. Hopefully they don't go downhill too much!



(From What Movies I Been Watching on February 9th, 2013)

Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon, a review by Tom

6.05 Life Serial
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Fury (Writer), Jane Espenson (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: Nick Marck
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson), Adam Busch (Warren Meers), Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Enrique Almeida (Marco), Richard Beatty (Small Demon), Winsome Brown (Woman Customer), Clint Culp (Bartender), Alice Dinnean Vernon (Mummy Hand), Mark Ginther (Horned Demon), Jonathan Goldstein (Mike), Noel Albert Guglielmi (Vince), Paul Gutrecht (Tony), Jabari Hearn (Steve), James C. Leary (Loose Skinned Demon), Christopher May (Male Customer), Derrick McMillon (Ron), David J. Miller (Rat-Faced Demon), Jennifer Shon (Rachel), Andrew Cooper Wasser (Slime-Cover Demon)

I liked Jonathan's attack best. Warren's didn't really lead to anything and Andrew's was rather average.

Rating:



6.06 All the Way
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Steven S. DeKnight (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: David Solomon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), John O'Leary (Kaltenbach), Kavan Reece (Justin), Amber Tamblyn (Janice), Dave Power (Zack), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Lorin Becker (Witch Woman), Charles Duckworth (Glenn), Chad Erickson (Guy), Lily Jackson (Witchy Poo), Emily Kay (Maria), Steven Anthony Lawrence (Chunky Kid), Adam Gordon (Carl), Dominic Rambaran (Paramedic #1), Anthony Sago (Paramedic #2), Sabrina Speer (Girl), Dawn Worrall (Christy)

A rather boring Halloween episode. It focuses too much on Dawn and her friend.

Rating:



6.07 Once More, with Feeling
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Hinton Battle (Sweet), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Timothy Anderson (Henchman), Hunter Cochran (College Guy #2), Alex Estronel (Henchman), David Fury (Mustard Man), Marti Noxon (Parking Ticket Woman), Matt Sims (College Guy #1), Daniel Weaver (Handsome Young Man), Zachary Woodlee (Demon/Henchman), Scot Zeller (Henchman)

I love this episode. Joss Whedon shows here for the first time, that he can write entertaining musicals. I own the soundtrack to this episode and still like to listen to it from time to time.

Rating:



6.08 Tabula Rasa
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Rebecca Rand Kirshner (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: David Grossman
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Raymond O'Connor (Teeth, the Loan Shark), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), David Franco (Vamp #3), Stephen Triplett (Vamp #2), Geordie White (Vamp #1)

A great episode. It is fun to see the reactions of everyone after they lost their memories. I also like all the references to previous episodes. The only thing I didn't like about this episode is the ridiculous shark demon.

Rating:

(From Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon on September 19th, 2010)