DVD Collectors Online

The City of the Dead, a review by Danae Cassandra

City of the Dead
Year of Release: 1960
Directed By: John Moxey
Starring: Dennis Lotis, Christopher Lee, Patricia Jessel, Tom Naylor, Betta St. John
Genre: Horror

Overview:My Thoughts:
This was a great piece of 60's British horror. Really gothic and creepy, with fantastic atmosphere. Yes, you can tell it's made on a soundstage, but the blackness around the town and the thick fog make Whitewood seem like it exists in another realm. Christopher Lee is in his usual form - charismatic with an aura of menace beneath a classy exterior. The script is good too, especially since you think you know where the film is going and then it hits you with an unexpected twist in the middle. Highly recommended if you enjoy older horror films, or are a fan of Lee's. He's not here as much as I'd like, but he's superb in his scenes.

Watched For: Hoop-tober 3.0, Horror/Halloween Challenge 2016

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Pass

Overall: 4/5

Horror/Halloween Challenge Films: 5/52

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 5th, 2016)

Mad Max, a review by Jon

MAD MAX (1979)
5 out of 5



Mel Gibson is Max Rockatansky, a cop in a world on the edge of the apocalypse. A brutal motorcycle gang is terrorising the roads and Max's family come under threat.

Mad Max is a low budget sci-fi classic that made a star out of Mel Gibson and deservedly so. His quiet performance of pent-up anger anchors a film that might have been a bit too off-centre to work, despite featuring some of the best chase scenes you can find. And they are brilliantly staged, the opening especially (see below. I thought it more fun than the trailer!). A chase with "I AM the Night Rider!" is already underway and Max hasn't even started his engine. His colleagues are doing their best, but get wiped out in stunt after stunt. About 10 minutes long and full of confident gags, it sets the stage for one of the best comic book heroes who was never in a comic. This is all before his family are attacked and he sets off on a revenge mission against a biker bunch that can only work in a 70s cult movie.

It's a perfect case of using what you have. The sequels would expand the story a little more, perhaps a bit too much as the apocalypse has definitely been and gone in Mad Max 2. Here, it's just a thinly veiled excuse for tearing up the road. It's fantastic!

The Car's the star: Ford Falcon


Trailer

(From Car Movie Marathon on August 17th, 2008)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Highlander: The Series: Season One (1992/Canada) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 1070 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
"I am Duncan MacLeod, born 400 years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. I am Immortal, and I am not alone. For centuries we have waited for the time of the Gathering, when the stroke of a sword and the fall of a head will release the power of the Quickening. In the end, there can be only one."


Highlander
1.01 The Gathering
Writer: Dan Gordon (Writer)
Director: Thomas J. Wright
Cast: Adrian Paul (Duncan MacLeod), Alexandra Vandernoot (Tessa), Stan Kirsch (Richie), Christopher Lambert (Connor MacLeod), Richard Moll (Slan Quince), Amy Pietz (Reporter), Wendell Wright (Sgt. Powell)

Even though this series is far from perfect, I enjoyed watching it. I like it much more than the movies (even the good one). I think Adrian Paul is the better Highlander. It helps, that he is trained in sword-fighting.
The pilot did a good job introducing the characters and the premise. And it is nice to see Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod passing the torch.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on July 8th, 2011)