Post by: GSyren on March 26, 2013, 12:22:56 PM
Now that I am no longer working, I thought I might share some thoughts about what I spend my days (and nights) watching.
So I hope you'll bear with an old man's ramblings. The fact that my film watching started in the fifties may sometimes shine through in my preferences. Anyway, here goes.
Post by: GSyren on March 26, 2013, 12:26:31 PM
| Title | On Her Majesty's Secret Service |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PkhLXuvYL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1969 |
| Director | Peter Hunt |
| Stars | George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas |
| Overview | James Bond goes undercover in the treacherous Swiss Alps in this action-packed epic filled with artillery-laden ski pursuits, incredible stunts and nonstop thrills! George Lazenby leaps into the role of Agent 007 with supreme confidence and undeniable charisma, even finding love with the beautiful and seductive Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg). But first Bond must stop evil genius Blofeld (Telly Savalas) from realising a germ warfare plot that could kill millions! |
| My thoughts | When I first saw OHMSS back in 1969, I didn't like it very much. But that may have been because it was the first time Bond was played by another actor. For those of us who had seen all the previous Bond films, Sean Connery was James Bond. Nowadays George Lazenby doesn't seem so bad anymore. In fact, I quite like him. The downbeat ending may have been another reason why many people reacted negatively. However, this is more than made up for by the fantastic photography in the film. The ski sequencies filmed by Willy Bogner are quite amazing. The guy actually skies backwards while filming. Combined with some superb aerial photography this makes for some of the most spectacular ski sequencies ever. The film relies on action and very little on gadgets, which also makes a switch from the preceding Bonds. All in all a very enjoyable Bond film. |
| Rating |  |
Post by: GSyren on March 26, 2013, 01:05:42 PM
| Title | Gorgo |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61tqzMXwQkL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1961 |
| Director | Eugene Lourie |
| Stars | Bill Travers, William Sylvester |
| Overview | A volcanic eruption in the North Atlantic brings to the surface a 65-foot prehistoric monster. Two treasure divers capture the creature and take him to London making him the star attraction at the acclaimed Dorkins Circus. A scientist is thoughtful enough to point out that the sailors' bonanza is only an infant, and that a full-grown specimen would be over 200 feet in height. Sure enough, Gorgo's gargantuan mama comes thundering ashore, reclaiming her offspring and heading back to sea — but not before, she trashes a generous portion of London. |
| My thoughts | It's not many European made films that have shown European cities devastated by giant monsters. The only other one that comes to mind is the Danish film Reptilicus. While I have a guilty-pleasures-fondness for Reptilicus, I have to admit that it cannot hold a candle to Gorgo. The films is obviously inspired by Godzilla. The miniature destruction of London is as good as anything Godzilla did to Tokyo. Sometimes the filmmakers try a little to hard and add superimposed debris that somewhat detracts from the reality of the scene rather than adds to it, but I can overlook that. The fact that the "monsters" win in the end is also nice. Today this would all have been made using CGI, but there is something special about "real" physical effects and monsters that CGI just can't duplicate. I'm not saying that it's better or worse, just - different. And I like it. The younger generation proably won't like it as much, I guess. |
| Rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 26, 2013, 06:16:03 PM
Post by: GSyren on March 26, 2013, 06:17:11 PM
| Title | Dracula (US: Horror of Dracula) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KP2MbXVFL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1958 |
| Director | Terence Fisher |
| Stars | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough |
| Overview | Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Britain's premier masters of the macabre, bring the Horror of Dracula to vivid, full-color death in this retelling of Bram Stoker's spellbinding vampire tale. Dracula (Lee), a centuries-old nobleman damned to an eternal half-life, travels from his native Transylvania to London. In the lurid nightlife of his adopted city, he finds new victims. He also finds Dr. Van Helsing (Cushing), a scientist who becomes the Count's implacable foe in a deadly game of bat-and-mouse. |
| My thoughts | Hammer's first Dracula outing changed forever how Dracula was portraid in movies. This is Christopher Lee's cinematic breakthrough. Before this he had only played minor parts, and the monster in Curse of Frankenstein, but this was the first time that he really got a chance to shine. And playing against him is the great Peter Cushing. Some have complained that Jimmy Sangster's script leaves out and/or changes too much of Bram Stoker's story. But that's unfair because it's necessary to transform a story when adapting a book. The latest Blu-Ray release of Dracula is a great restoration of an old classic, and includes two short sequences that was thought to be lost, but was found in a damaged Japanese print. A great classic film, and some very good extras makes this a must for serious film collectors. Unfortunately this release seems to be region B only, but I assume it will be released in the US eventually. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Dragonfire on March 27, 2013, 03:02:24 AM
I like the star graphics you are using. :D
Post by: Achim on March 27, 2013, 05:25:27 AM
If this Blu-ray is region free, I'd order it in an instant. Unfortunately a region A release has not yet been announced.
Post by: GSyren on March 27, 2013, 02:07:43 PM
Mine is an Oppo, which was rather expensive, but there are a lot cheaper models available that you can get modded nowadays. The only thing to remember is that they cannot determine region automatically for BDs (only for DVDs), so you have to switch region with the remote.
Post by: GSyren on March 27, 2013, 07:36:04 PM
| Title | The Mechanic |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BK7MlZ%2BaL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 2011 |
| Director | Simon West |
| Stars | Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Tony Goldwyn, Donald Sutherland, Jeff Chase |
| Overview | Jason Statham is Arthur Bishop - The Mechanic - an elite assassin with a unique talent for eliminating targets with deadly skill and total emotional detachment. But when the agency double cross him and his mentor and friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is killed, Bishop enlists Harry's son (Ben Foster) on a mission to avenge his death. As tensions rise and deceptions surface those sent to fix the problem soon become the problem themselves in this explosive, high-octane thrill ride. |
| My thoughts | I don't remember much of the original Mechanic (1972) with Charles Bronson. And perhaps that's just as well. If I did maybe I would like this version less. Bronson is a better actor than Statham, but a film like this doesn't need great actors, so it doesn't matter too much. If you're in the mood for some mindless action then this film works fine. If you need something more you may be disappointed. It's a pity that the original isn't available on Blu-Ray. It would be fun to compare them. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Achim on March 28, 2013, 05:03:11 AM
You should get a region free BD player, Achim. Then you don't have to worry.Well, "I did"...? Even seemed a relatively easy task, living in Taiwan and all. But after the purchase I found out that the machine (a Yamaha BD-A1010) was indeed not region free for Blu-ray (it is for DVDs) and then I decided that I mostly buy from USA anyway so it should not be a big issue. And in fact, except for odd cases like this one it really isn't an issue to me. As that purchase was only last year, I am not due to buy another one for a while...
I wouldn't mind switching manually, as long as it was possible. And Oppo seems to be the go-to brand for region free players :laugh:
And in Dracula's case, it would merely be an upgrade anyway, as I own a DVD release already.
Post by: GSyren on March 28, 2013, 10:02:27 PM
| Title | Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61YCgyE0WOL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 2011 |
| Director | Gilles Penso |
| Stars | Ray Harryhausen, Randy Cook, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippett and many others |
| Overview | The remarkable career of the movie industry’s most admired and influential special-effects auteur, the legendary Ray Harryhausen, is the subject of Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. Leaving no doubt as to Harryhausen’s seminal influence on modern-day special effects, the documentary features enlightening and entertaining interviews with the man himself, Randy Cook, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippet, Terry Gilliam, Dennis Muren, John Landis, Guillermo Del Toro, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and many more. These filmmakers pay tribute to the father of Stop Motion animation and films such as ‘The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms’, ‘It Came From Beneath The Sea’, ‘The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad’, ‘Mysterious Island’, ‘Jason And The Argonauts’ and ‘The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad’ – the films that enthralled them as children and inspired them to become filmmakers in their own right. |
| My thoughts | If you don't know who Ray Harryhausen is, you need to buy this title. If you do know who Ray Harryhausen is you need to buy this title. Ok, maybe that's a bit extreme, but the fact is that Ray Harryhausen is an extraordinary person who has had a HUGE impact on visual effects. If you are the least bit interested in visual effects you should learn about Ray Harryhausen. Today most effects are created with computer imagery, and there are often hundreds of people involved. Ray did it all himself. He was a one man visual effects studio. He was mainly a stop motion animator, and truly a great stop motion animator. His films inspired generations of stop motion animators. Without Ray we may never have seen Wallace and Gromit, Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline and ParaNorman. But he also inspired lots of other visual effects people. You can hear them tell how Ray's work was the thing that inspired them to go into the business. Ray Harryhausen is one of the very few technicians who has been elevated to a position above the directors of the films they worked on. If you ask people who made The 7th Voyage of Sinbad or Jason and the Argonauts, they'll most likely say Ray Harryhausen, not Nathan Juran or Don Chaffey. Me, I'm a long standing Harryhausen fan. I've got all his films on DVD (and some now on BD), almost all books published about him, and still I learned new stuff from this film. Unfortunately, this title seems to be region locked to region B. Sorry Achim! ;-) It's available from Amazon UK on DVD as well, but the DVD is actually more expensive than the BD. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Achim on March 29, 2013, 05:17:05 AM
I own Jason and the Argonauts (Blu-ray) and SHE (DVD). I'd have to check if there are more in my collection. Funny story about SHE: I watched the colorised version, since Ray promoted it in an introduction before the film, but ultimately kept changing back to black and white because it just looked better after all.
Should I get his version of Clash of the Titans, or any mother of his movies you may recommend?
Post by: Jimmy on March 29, 2013, 05:48:05 AM
Post by: GSyren on March 29, 2013, 09:17:46 AM
I love all Ray's movies, so it's hard for me to recommend any specific ones. The one that people seem to like best apart from Jason would be The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. But then it's up to your own preferences.
First we have Mighty Joe Young (1949), his only collaboration with Willis O'Brien (except for a short sequence in The Animal World). You may have seen the '98 remake (in which Ray had a cameo). King Kong style, but with a friendlier ape and a happy ending.
Then we have Ray's monster period with The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms, It Came from Beneath the Sea and 20 Million Miles to Earth. If you're into 50's giant monsters, these are definitely worth seeing. These are all b/w. Jimmy already mentioned Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. No monsters in that one, but nice animation of saucer attacks and saucers crashing into Washington landmarks.
The Three Worlds of Gulliver doesn't have a lot of animation, but quite a lot of other effects.
Mysterious Island is the Jules Verne story with giant animals thrown in. First Men in the Moon is H. G.Wells done in Harryhausen style. Not a whole lot of animation in this one, but it's a lot of fun anyway.
One Million Years B.C. and The Valley of Gwangi are dinosaur movies. Most believable dinosaurs prior to Jurassic Park (with the possible exception of Jim Danforth's animation in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth).
Then it's back to Sinbad in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. Not quite as much fun as 7th Voyage, but quite enjoyable anyway. The baboon in Eye of the Tiger is excellent. Some people believed that they had trained a real baboon to play chess...
The finally we have Clash of the Titans. The Medusa sequence is top notch; thrilling and great animation. I didn't like Bubo, the silly mechanical owl. Unnecessary comic relief, if you ask me. The only film where Ray had help animating (by Jim Danforth and Steven Archer). Worth watching, but not his best film. Way better than the remake, though, I say, but I know that some people disagree.
Post by: GSyren on March 29, 2013, 09:32:06 AM
When it comes to his own work, he states that the reason these films were in b/w was entirely economical and not artistic. If they could have afforded to make them in color, they would. Although I don't think he has said it, I suspect that he felt that colorising them would make his movies more accessible, since many young people simply will not watch b/w movies.
My personal feeling is that colorisation - no matter how well done - does not add to the value of the movie, but rather the opposite. The same way that you lose something if you watch a movie dubbed rather than in its original language. That said, I think it can be fun to re-watch part of a movie colorised, just to get a feeling of what it might have been like.
Post by: GSyren on March 29, 2013, 11:08:31 PM
| Title | The Wrecking Crew |
| (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/I38E60174A9AAAB25f.jpg) | |
| Year | 1969 |
| Director | Phil Karlson |
| Stars | Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, Sharon Tate, Nancy Kwan, Nigel Green |
| Overview | Teamed with beautiful British agent Freya Carlson (Sharon Tate), Matt Helm (Dean Martin) is assigned to retrieve one billion dollars in gold, stolen by international crime czar Count Massimo Contini (Nigel Green). Determined to keep his ill-gotten gain, the Count orders two gorgeous assassins (Elke Sommer and Nancy Kwan) to dispatch Helm once and for all. |
| My thoughts | The sixties was the decade when the Bond spoofs bloomed. The Matt Helm series (4 movies) was neither the best nor the worst. I never quite understood where the producers got the idea that Dean Martin would make a good secret agent, even in a spoof. But it didn't turn out quite as badly as one might have feared. The films range from silly to imbecile, with The Ambushers being the worst of the lot. So at least The Wrecking Crew, the last of the 4, was a step up. On the plus side there is the ladies. Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan and Tina Louise are just fine, but it is Sharon Tate who steals the show. Sadly this was her next to last movie before being so brutally murdered by "The Manson Family" in 1969. Without her this would have been a weak 2.5 stars, at best. The film is full of silly impossibilities. The portable helicopter - an idea clearly stolen from Bond - couldn't possibly fit in a car trunk. And the mountain road that ends at a cable car station in the fell like mountains. In Denmark, where the highest mountain is 170 meters! Well, you really have to be in a forgiving mode to enjoy this. But if you are, then it is passable. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Achim on March 30, 2013, 12:11:40 AM
I actually own The 7th Voyage of Sinbad as well, forgot about it yesterday. I think I'll wait and see if Tne Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (previously seen) and Earth vs Flying Saucers come to Blu-ray.
There is a 4-movie collection available now, but not only is it relatively expensive right now, it also includes The 7th Voyage of Sinbad which I already own. Well, maybe I'd get this if price drops real low.
Thanks again.
Post by: Jimmy on March 30, 2013, 01:01:42 AM
I think I'll wait and see if (...) Earth vs Flying Saucers come to Blu-ray.Don't put your hopes too high on this, Sony doesn't release catalog titles anymore. So unless this title was licensed to Twillight Time or Olive Films it won't happen...
They don't bother with titles like Christine, The Blob, The Blue Lagoon or even a major title like Philadelphia so imagine for a movie made 66 years ago...
Post by: Achim on March 30, 2013, 01:53:27 AM
Post by: GSyren on March 30, 2013, 01:17:03 PM
| Title | Emergency!: Season 2, Episode 2 |
| Year | 1972 |
| Director | Georg Fenady |
| Stars | Robert Fuller, Julie London, Bobby Troup, Randolph Mantooth, Kevin Tighe |
| Overview | The station adopts a stray dog, which they name Boot. The firemen rescue a boy from a hole; he turns out to be an abused child. Roy and Johnny rescue another boy whose head is stuck in a basement window. Dr. Early extracts a child's arm from a steering wheel. At a brush fire, Boot helps locate an injured hiker, then leaves with a hook and ladder truck. |
| My thoughts | Well, I hadn't planned on reviewing TV episodes. It's been some time since I watched this set, but I suddenly realized that this episode contained John Travolta's very first acting stint (on TV or film, that is). It's just a bit part and I don't think I recognised him the first time I saw this episode. It's not a very exciting episode, actually one of the weaker in the season, in my opinion. But it was fun to see the 18 year old Travolta. Over all I really liked this series, and I've got all seasons on DVD. There were many quite exciting episodes. This wasn't one of them. I'd give the series as a whole 4 stars out of 5, but this episode rates only 2. |
Post by: DSig on March 30, 2013, 04:32:52 PM
Title The Wrecking Crew (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/I38E60174A9AAAB25f.jpg) Year 1969 Director Phil Karlson Stars Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, Sharon Tate, Nancy Kwan, Nigel Green Overview Teamed with beautiful British agent Freya Carlson (Sharon Tate), Matt Helm (Dean Martin) is assigned to retrieve one billion dollars in gold, stolen by international crime czar Count Massimo Contini (Nigel Green). Determined to keep his ill-gotten gain, the Count orders two gorgeous assassins (Elke Sommer and Nancy Kwan) to dispatch Helm once and for all. My thoughts The sixties was the decade when the Bond spoofs bloomed. The Matt Helm series (4 movies) was neither the best nor the worst. I never quite understood where the producers got the idea that Dean Martin would make a good secret agent, even in a spoof. But it didn't turn out quite as badly as one might have feared. The films range from silly to imbecile, with The Ambushers being the worst of the lot. So at least The Wrecking Crew, the last of the 4, was a step up.
On the plus side there is the ladies. Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan and Tina Louise are just fine, but it is Sharon Tate who steals the show. Sadly this was her next to last movie before being so brutally murdered by "The Manson Family" in 1969. Without her this would have been a weak 2.5 stars, at best.
The film is full of silly impossibilities. The portable helicopter - an idea clearly stolen from Bond - couldn't possibly fit in a car trunk. And the mountain road that ends at a cable car station in the fell like mountains. In Denmark, where the highest mountain is 170 meters! Well, you really have to be in a forgiving mode to enjoy this. But if you are, then it is passable.Rating (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)
It did seem cooler back when the first one came out .. though Dean Martin, to me, was never good for much other than straight man for Jerry Lewis :)
Post by: GSyren on March 30, 2013, 06:25:54 PM
It did seem cooler back when the first one came out .. though Dean Martin, to me, was never good for much other than straight man for Jerry Lewis :)He was quite good together with Jerry. But it wasn't until I say the documentary Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis that I realized just how big the two were back in the day. Amazing...
Post by: DSig on March 30, 2013, 07:38:34 PM
Post by: GSyren on April 02, 2013, 08:35:04 AM
| Title | Cool Hand Luke |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GNUfz7J6L._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1967 |
| Director | Stuart Rosenberg |
| Stars | Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J. D. Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas |
| Overview | His crime: nonconformity. His sentence: the chain gang. Paul Newman plays one of his best-loved roles as Cool Hand Luke, the loner who won't – or can't – bend to the arbitrary rules of his captivity. A cast of fine character actors, including George Kennedy in his Oscar®-winning** role of Dragline and the indelible Jo Van Fleet as Luke's mother, give Newman solid support. And Strother Martin is the Captain who taunts Luke with the now-legendary line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate." No failure here. With rich humour and vibrant storytelling power, Cool Hand Luke succeeds resoundingly. **1967: Best Supporting Actor. |
| My thoughts | This is an excellent film. It has a great script. It has lots of excellent actors, many of whom has gone on to become famous later. So why did this film leave me indifferent? I really don't know. Maybe it was the downbeat ending. But I have seen many film noir with downbeat endings and liked them, so that doesn't make any sense. Maybe it was because I couldn't relate to the main character? Maybe it was just that I was in the wrong mode? I just don't know. Maybe the famous quote "What we have here is failure to communicate" applies to me? This should really be a 4 star film, but for me it was just a weak 3 stars. But don't let that put you off. By all accounts, this is an excellent film. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Achim on April 03, 2013, 06:25:01 AM
Maybe the famous quote "What we have here is failure to communicate" applies to me?I always thought that line came from a Civil War movie... (Probably because it opens the song Civil War by Guns 'n' Roses.)
Post by: DSig on April 04, 2013, 03:06:46 AM
:oMaybe the famous quote "What we have here is failure to communicate" applies to me?I always thought that line came from a Civil War movie... (Probably because it opens the song Civil War by Guns 'n' Roses.)
Post by: GSyren on April 04, 2013, 10:02:17 AM
| Title | Die letzten Tage von Pompeji (The Last Days of Pompeii) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5186R8NfSAL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1984 |
| Director | Peter R. Hunt |
| Stars | Ned Beatty, Brian Blessed, Ernest Borgnine, Nicholas Clay, Lesley-Anne Down |
| Overview | This costume series portrays aspects of life in Pompeii, a coastal luxury resort near Naples catering for the very rich of imperial Rome, mainly before but culminating in the eruption of the Vesuvian volcano, which wipes it from the face of the earth. The main characters include Diomed, a common upstart merchant whose self-made riches from trade allow him to consider running for political office against sitting city magistrate Quintus and an impoverished aristocratic marriage for his daughter Temple; the cultivated Greek Glaucus; the gladiator Lydon; the noble-born Antonius and his sister Ione, the evil Isis-priest Arbaces who is after (their) money and power; the persecution-fearing Christian slaves Petrus, his true love Chloe and their secret leader Olinthus. |
| My thoughts | I enjoyed the 1935 film The Last Days of Pompeii, so I thought I might enjoy this one. A lot of people praised it on IMDb, too. But it was a bit of a letdown for me. There are several reasons; 1) It's originally a three part mini-series. It would probably have been better if it was presented as such here, but it was presented as one 4 1/2 hour film (albeit split on two discs). It would probably have been easier to digest in smaller chunks. 2) Mixing great actors with mediocre ones is a risky business. It takes a really good director to pull it off successfully. Peter Hunt isn't good enough. 3) The whole things seems to be a whole bunch of subplots in search of a story. For me it basically became a four hour waiting period until the volcano erupts. 4) The gladiator sequences may have been exciting three decades ago, but has been done so much better since. On the plus side, Ernest Borgnine was great, as ever. Franco Nero too. It was fun to see Fulci favorite Catriona MacCall in a non-horror role. The destruction of Pompeii was quite well done for a TV production, even though the sequence wasn't all that thrilling. To sum it up - not all bad, but way too long. Three stars is generous. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Achim on April 04, 2013, 05:00:45 PM
:bag::oMaybe the famous quote "What we have here is failure to communicate" applies to me?I always thought that line came from a Civil War movie... (Probably because it opens the song Civil War by Guns 'n' Roses.)
Post by: Halo2 on April 05, 2013, 09:32:05 AM
:bag::oMaybe the famous quote "What we have here is failure to communicate" applies to me?I always thought that line came from a Civil War movie... (Probably because it opens the song Civil War by Guns 'n' Roses.)
Try this one:
Windage and elevation Mrs. Langdon.
Post by: GSyren on April 06, 2013, 03:05:38 PM
| Title | Do Not Disturb |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51b%2BLzE%2BOkL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1965 |
| Director | Ralph Levy |
| Stars | Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Hermione Baddeley, Sergio Fantoni, Reginald Gardiner |
| Overview | Screen legend Doris Day stars opposite Rod Taylor in this fun-packed romantic romp. American couple Mike and Janet Harper must relocate to London for Mike's job as a wool executive. Arriving in Blighty the happily married pair soon start to encounter marital problems. When Mike starts at the new office he has his head turned by a new secretary and Janet, who is not getting the attention she feels she deserves, is taken in by the charms of an amorous antiques dealer, leading to jealousy issues with hilarious consequences. Is the marriage doomed or will the couple see the error of their ways? |
| My thoughts | I have to confess: I love Doris Day! I have bought pretty much every DVD with her that I have been able to find. That said, this is not her best film. She and Rod Taylor don't have the same chemistry as she and Rock Hudson. The studio backlot may be ok as a French street, but it's rather unconvincing as the English countryside. The story is pretty contrived in parts, but I guess many comedies are. Still, the film has its moments. There's a bit of an in-joke when on of the French kids learns that she is American and asks her if she knows Rock Hudson. And the title tune is pretty catchy, song by... guess who. Britt Ekland is supposed to have an uncredited appearance, but I didn't spot her. I'd give Doris a four, but for the film a weak three is generous, so all in all it's 3 1/2 at best. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Piffi on April 06, 2013, 03:19:05 PM
I think you would enjoy that one.
Post by: GSyren on April 06, 2013, 05:11:58 PM
Post by: Piffi on April 06, 2013, 06:11:07 PM
I too am a big Doris fan. But i dont have so much movies of her yet.
Post by: GSyren on April 06, 2013, 08:37:51 PM
Post by: DSig on April 07, 2013, 03:03:11 AM
Post by: GSyren on April 07, 2013, 08:59:59 AM
You mentioned two of the films that's missing in my DD collection; Please Don't Eat the Daisies and The Thrill of it All.
Now I've got to go out and hunt for them again.
I've seen them, of course. I think TCM has shown both of them. They aren't really among my most favorite DD movies, but that doesn't mean that I can overlook that they're missing in my DVD collection. :hmmmm:
Post by: GSyren on April 08, 2013, 02:03:51 PM
| Title | The Blob |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ABcmRuIxL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1958 |
| Director | Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr. |
| Stars | Steve McQueen, Aneta Corseaut, Earl Rowe, Olin Howlin, Steven Chase |
| Overview | A CULT CLASSIC OF GOOEY GREATNESS, The Blob follows the havoc wreaked on a small town by an outer-space monster with neither soul nor vertebrae, with Steve McQueen playing a rebel teenager who tries to warn the residents about the jellylike invader. Strong performances and ingenious special effects help The Blob transcend the schlock sci-fi and youth delinquency genres from which it originates. Made outside of Hollywood by a maverick film distributor and a crew whose credits mostly comprised religious and educational shorts, The Blob helped launch the careers of McQueen and composer Burt Bacharach, whose bouncy title song is just one of this film's many unexpected pleasures. |
| My thoughts | I briefly considered comparing this to the 1988 remake, but I quickly realized that it would be totally unfair. The remake had a vastly larger budget and 30 years of technical advancement behind it. I think you have to look at a film like this with some degree of nostalgia. I love old fifties B-movies, much because of the simplicity with which they were made. It's a little bit like watching a theater performance. You have to let your imagination fill in what the production cannot show. Maybe this is something that the younger audiences have never learned, being fed on megabucks CGI effects? Anyway, The Blob is Steven (sic) McQueens first starring movie role (not his very first movie role as sometimes has been claimed). At 27, he is really way too old to play a teenager, but he gives a good performance, giving us at least a glimpse of what is to come in his career. The film focuses a little too much on the teenagers vs. the unbelieving adults (especially the police) and too little on the title menace. The blob effects may be simple, but for its time quite inventive. The ending is a bit of a letdown, as in so many of these fifties movies. You find that the monster has a weak spot, and voila – monster defeated, film over. Dramatically not very satisfying. Some reviewers see a communist subtext in the film. Some reviewers see subtexts in everything. Personally I subscribe to the sometimes-a-spaceship-is-just-a-spaceship theory (meaning that not every spaceship is a phallus symbol, not that here is a spaceship in this movie), and sometimes a monster threatening to take over a small town is just a monster. The choice of title song is a bit of a mystery. It's a rather peppy pop tune (written by Burt Bacharach). It doesn't set an appropriate tone for a monster movie. But it is catchy... In the final analysis, this isn't a terribly good movie, but it has an undeniable charm. If you belong to the generation that grew up with Famous Monsters of Filmland, you'd probably like it. For those “youngsters” who missed out on that, well, the 1988 remake may perhaps be more satisfying (but give this one a chance anyway). Regarding the Blu-Ray release, I can honestly say that this is the best this movie has ever looked on home video. It has two commentary tracks, which I presume are the same as on the DVD. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: DSig on April 12, 2013, 05:41:19 PM
I remember back in the old days we even had these things call "books". Now I know this is hard to believe but these "books" had what we called "paper". And on this "paper" were printed words (almost like this new fangled internets thing) :)
Post by: GSyren on April 15, 2013, 09:30:44 AM
| Title | Move Over, Darling |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DOYHYJ2AL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1963 |
| Director | Michael Gordon |
| Stars | Doris Day, James Garner, Polly Bergen, Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark |
| Overview | Move Over, Darling is a wonderful romantic comedy starring screen legend and number one box office star of the time, Doris Day. Five years after his wife Ellen (Doris Day) disappears in a plane crash, lawyer Nick Arden (James Garner) declares her legally dead. He embarks on a new life by marrying wife number two Bianca and the newlyweds set off on honeymoon. On the same day Ellen, having been rescued from a desert island by the Navy, arrives back home to be told the news. She immediately heads for the happy couple's resort where things are about to get complicated. Nominated for a Golden Globe®, Move Over, Darling is a delightful fast-paced comedy romp starring one of the most popular and successful American superstars of the post-war era. |
| My thoughts | My Doris Day marathon continues. This time with a remake of the 1940 comedy "My Favorite Wife" that starred Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. If you're looking for a Doris Day musical, look somewhere else. Apart from the title song over the opening credits, the only time you'll hear Doris sing is when she sings a lullaby to her children. As a comedy, this film is pleasant enough. However, James Garner is no Cary Grant. The story is rather farfetched. Doris has been shipwrecked and has lived together with one other survivor on a deserted island for five years. She has been rescued by the Navy and arrives back home the very same day that her husband has had her declared legally dead, and has remarried. Confusion ensues... The original is really a better film that this one, so unless you're a Doris Day fan, you're better off watching "My Favorite Wife". But then again, everyone is a Doris Day fan, right? |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: GSyren on April 15, 2013, 10:02:52 AM
Thelma Ritter
A truly wonderful supporting actress. Often nominated for an Oscar, but never a winner.
Shame on you, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences!
:voodoo:
Post by: DSig on April 15, 2013, 04:53:52 PM
Quote
During her career, Ritter was nominated for an Oscar six times, giving her the distinction of being one of the three actresses (tied with Deborah Kerr and Glenn Close) most nominated for the award in an acting category without a win. The current record for all actors is Peter O'Toole with eight nominations without a win, followed by Richard Burton with seven nominations. Both Kerr and O'Toole received honorary awards from the Academy, however. In 1954, Thelma Ritter co-hosted the Oscar ceremony, notably trading wisecracks with Bob Hope.
She was always a hoot. She was wonderful in How the West Was Won (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_West_Was_Won_(film)) and the funny Hole in the Head (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hole_in_the_Head).
Post by: GSyren on April 16, 2013, 02:08:43 PM
She was wonderful in How the West Was Won (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_West_Was_Won_(film)) and the funny Hole in the Head (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hole_in_the_Head).Well, I haven't got A Hole in the Head :suicide: ;)
So I guess that's another one for the wishlist. Sigh. Well, at least it's not another TV series...
Post by: Achim on April 17, 2013, 06:16:22 AM
The "How the West Was Won" Blu-ray comes with "smile box" version (at least the US release), kind of neat. It's not really a very good film, as there is too many threads going on and not a straight though-line, but it is a guilty pleasure of mine and always a fun watch.She was wonderful in How the West Was Won (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_West_Was_Won_(film)) and the funny Hole in the Head (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hole_in_the_Head).Well, I haven't got A Hole in the Head :suicide: ;)
So I guess that's another one for the wishlist. Sigh. Well, at least it's not another TV series...
You should get a region free BD player, Achim. Then you don't have to worry.To avoid hijacking I branched further discussion off to here (http://www.dvdcollectorsonline.com/index.php/topic,8121.msg163706.html#msg163706).
Mine is an Oppo, which was rather expensive, but there are a lot cheaper models available that you can get modded nowadays. The only thing to remember is that they cannot determine region automatically for BDs (only for DVDs), so you have to switch region with the remote.
Post by: samuelrichardscott on April 17, 2013, 04:58:03 PM
A TV show you might like is Hollywood Treasures. It follows an auction specialist company as they track down and sell movie memorabilia and there are some fantastic episodes with Golden Age gear.
Post by: GSyren on April 19, 2013, 08:38:27 PM
| Title | Three Steps to the Gallows (US: White Fire) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51H3GxUNjtL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1953 |
| Director | John Gilling |
| Stars | Scott Brady, Mary Castle, John Blythe, Gabrielle Brune, Colin Tapley |
| Overview | Made in 1953 and directed and scripted by John Gilling, this Tempean Production is a great piece of 1950’s crime drama. American cargo ship Officer Stevens (Scott Brady), finds out that his brother is the frame-up victim of a smuggling gang and is due to be executed for murder. In order to clear his brother’s name, Gregor becomes acquainted with nightclub performer Yvonne Durante (Mary Castle) and her diamond-smuggling associates. Can Stevens save his brother and bring the criminals to justice? Also starring Ferdy Mayne with some excellent 1950’s London Locations. |
| My thoughts | What's Rita Hayworth and the major from Faulty Towers doing in a an old British crime drama from 1953? Oh, wait, it isn't Rita Hayworth. It's Mary Castle. But by George, she looks incredibly like Rita Hayworth. And as for the major, well it is Ballard Berkeley, but a lot younger, of course. Still, quite recognizeable. It's a case of "who can you trust", and pretty much from the start there is one person where I wondered if he was really trustworth, but there's another that I didn't see coming. There is nothing special about this film, really, but I like these old black-and-white thrillers. And I have always loved London, so it's always fun to see films that are shot in real London locations. Good old Ferdy Mayne is in there, too, but ever since I say "The Fearless Vampire Killers" I always expect to see fangs. The film is supposed to be digitally restored and remastered. And I suppose it is. For the most parts it looks very good, but in some places (probably the reel endings) it is rather worn. But not enough that it should stop you from getting a copy if you are interested in this type of film. I quite liked it (or possibly I was just in the right mood). It kept me from spending the entire afternoon watching the hunt for the Boston Marathon killers on CNN... |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: GSyren on April 20, 2013, 05:19:49 PM
| Title | Seedpeople |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fIf52weIL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1992 |
| Director | Peter Manoogian |
| Stars | Sam Hennings, Andrea Roth, Dane Witherspoon, Bernard Kates, Holly Fields |
| Overview | The sleepy little town of Comet Valley has been invaded by plants from outer space. Intent on taking over the Earth, the space plants have found a way to pollinate humans, thus turning them into walking seed carriers. Can the resourceful residents fight off the alien invaders, or is the planet doomed to become an alien garden? |
| My thoughts | From an idea by [executive producer] Charles Band. Well, let me guess what ideas good old Charlie had: * We can take the story from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, add some monsters and a little blood, and nobody will see the connection. Fail! * We let John Carl Buechler build the monsters. He'll do a terrific job of it. Fail! * It'll be as good as the original. Heck, it'll be even better. Epic fail! It's not the worst movie I've ever seen. But that's not saying much, because I've seen some real turkeys. But there's hardly anything good about it either. It's silly without being funny. Story, acting, directing, everything is just mediocre. If you want to see Invasion of the Body Snatchers, see the original. Or even any of the official remakes. The '78 remake is almost as good as the '56 original. The '93 remake by Abel Ferrara is so-so, but hey, it's got a young Gabrielle Anwar. This one is pretty much just a waste of time. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: GSyren on April 22, 2013, 10:46:13 PM
| Title | The Alphabet Murders |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MXGYNRMJL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1965 |
| Director | Frank Tashlin |
| Stars | Tony Randell, Anita Ekberg, Robert Morley, Maurice Denham, Guy Rolfe |
| Overview | The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates a series of murders in London in which the victims are killed according to their initials. The first victim is A.A. the second B.B. and so on. Poirot is assisted in his investigations by Captain Hastings and Inspector Japp. |
| My thoughts | Ok, this is a bit of a cheat, because I don't think this one is available on DVD. I saw it on TV the other day, and I thought it was interesting, because it's a bit of an oddity as far as Tashlin goes. Tone Randall as Hercule Poirot? Directed by Frank Tashlin? I wonder what Agatha Christie thought about this? Randall is playing Poirot like something out of The Pink Panther. This could have been funny, but not as an Agatha Christie mystery. Robert Morley is the best thing in this mess, but even he cannot quite save the film. Margaret Rutherford has a five second cameo as Miss Marple, identified as such only by Ron Goodwins famous theme from "Murder She Said" (a surprise top ten hit in Sweden a few years after the film). |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg) |
| Title | The Glass Bottom Boat |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mnjwIhapL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1966 |
| Director | Frank Tashlin |
| Stars | Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Arthur Godfrey, John McGiver, Paul Lynde |
| Overview | Doris Day entered her eighth consecutive year as a Top-10 Box-Office Star when she boarded The Glass Bottom Boat, a hilarious blending of romantic comedy and the era's burgeoning spy-movie genre. Day plays a Girl Friday at a hush-hush aeronautics think tank. When colleagues suspect she's an espionage agent, Jennifer chaotically sets out to clear her name. Looney Tunes alumnus Frank Tashlin directs with a cartoonist's sensibility – or zany insensibility – embracing everything from spy guises to push-button chaos in a futuristic kitchen. With top comedians Arthur Godfrey, Paul Lynde, Edward Andrews, John McGiver, Dom DeLuise and Dick Martin in tow, The Glass Bottom Boat is loaded top to bottom with seethrough fun. |
| My thoughts | Have I mentioned that I love Doris Day? This is one of my favorite Doris Day movies. It's a really silly comedy. Unlike The Alphabet Murders it never pretends to be anything else. The title is a bit of a misnomer, because the film has very little to do with the glass bottom boat. The Swedish title, literally translated, was "Spy in Panties". Not that we see very much of any panties, either, but it's a little more appropriate. Not much singing, but the title song is good. It's sung in the movie as well, as a duet with Doris' dad (and we get a couple of lines of Que Sera, Sera as a bonus). Rod Taylor is quite ok in this one, better than in the previous year's Do Not Disturb, in my opinion. Perhaps because this is no remake, so there is nobody to compare him to. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: GSyren on April 22, 2013, 11:09:57 PM
| Title | The Court Jester |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KkLZX%2BRJL._SX500_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1956 |
| Director | Melvin Frank |
| Stars | Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker |
| Overview | In this swashbuckling comic farce, star Danny Kaye plays kind-hearted entertainer Hawkins who disguises himself as the legendary king of jesters, Giacomo. Hawkins infiltrates the court of the evil villain Basil Rathbone, but when a sorceress hypnotises him, royal chaos ensues. Giacomo now believes he is also an infamous assassin, and alternates between his identities at the snap of a finger. Between swordplay and wordplay, Danny Kaye displays his fancy footwork... and his comic genius. With a stellar supporting cast, including Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury and Mildred Natwick, Kaye sings and dances among dueling knights and damsels in distress. Through it all, this jester proves he's one of the original kings of comedy. |
| My thoughts | What can I say? This is a brilliant film. It's been a while since I saw it, but I've seen it several times, and it's just as funny every time. It is, in my opinion, one of Danny Kaye's funniest films, rivaled only by The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. There are great songs, great gags, great parody. It's... great! Danny Kaye was an incredibly gifted artist. He could do serious roles just as well as comedic ones. A favorite of mine in the serious category is The Five Pennies (with Louis Armstrong and Barbara Bel Geddes). But it is in his comedies that his real genious shines through. If you haven't seen this one, you have missed something really special. I almost wish I could see it for the first time again... |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: DSig on April 24, 2013, 12:29:06 AM
Post by: GSyren on April 27, 2013, 10:44:32 PM
Hi, my name is Gunnar, and I'm a TV show junkie... (Ok, not quite as bad as Pete, maybe, but that's not much of a consolation ;) )
Post by: Dragonfire on April 28, 2013, 05:38:17 AM
No no no...we do not want the show to be cancelled. Bite your tongue.
I know I've posted about the show some here. I love it.
Post by: GSyren on April 28, 2013, 07:40:26 AM
Post by: GSyren on April 28, 2013, 02:50:15 PM
| Title | The Hammer Vault: Treasures from the Archives of Hammer Films |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51O4tXAhmWL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 2011 |
| Author | Marcus Hearn |
| Overview | This book tells the story of Hammer Films through previously unseen treasures from the companys archive. Beginning with the companys incorporation documents from 1934, and ending with promotional material from the 2011 release The Resident, The Hammer Vault presents original correspondence, lobby cards, script pages and rare photographs alongside a commentary from the people who made some of the companys greatest films. |
| My thoughts | What's this? A book review? In a DVD forum? Yes, well it is about films, so I hope I am forgiven. If you're into Hammer Films, then this book might be of interest to you. As the overview describes, it contains previously unseen archival material, mostly publicity stuff and lobby cards (or "front of house cards" as they are apparently known in the UK). But also some interesting behind-the-scenes photos and other material. It starts with The Quatermass Xperiment and goes through all (I think) of Hammer's films after that, up to the recent Let Me In. Most films get a two page spread, some only get one page, but they are fairly large pages (31 x 25 cm). There is some text on each film, but as you can imagine the book doesn't go into any depth on any of the films. And it is totally UK centric. Understandable, since all the material comes from a UK company, but it doesn't even mention that some of the films were retitled for their US releases. So no mention of "Horror of Dracula", for example. I thought I knew most Hammer films by name, at least, but I found several that I hadn't heard of before. Not any horror films, though. If you're looking for an introduction to Hammer films, this probably isn't your best bet. While it will give you a good overview of Hammer's output, you can find that in other books that won't cost you £20. If you want in-depth discussions on the films, this definitely isn't it. If you're a Hammer fan and want to get previously unknown tidbits, well here's your chance. I had a bit of a hard time deciding how to rate this book. I like it a lot, but it has rather limited appeal, and is a bit expensive. So 3,5 out of 5 is a compromise. For myself only, I would probably rate it higher, but I wouldn't want to mislead anyone. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Dragonfire on April 29, 2013, 03:29:13 AM
Post by: DSig on April 29, 2013, 04:15:37 AM
All right, who was the dirty rat who put me on to Castle? Not only am I going to have to watch all of Season 1, there will be at least four more seasons that I'll be bound to buy. And who knows what will happen if ABC doesn't have the sense to drop Castle after Season 5?The only thing wrong with Castle is they went through a weird arc of Beckett trying to figure out who killed her mother and some deep conspiracy ... other than those shows <G> it is a very fun series to watch. As always I am sorry the *hooked up* as it relieves that tension. But still watching ...
Hi, my name is Gunnar, and I'm a TV show junkie... (Ok, not quite as bad as Pete, maybe, but that's not much of a consolation ;) )
Post by: GSyren on April 29, 2013, 07:20:12 PM
Well, the developer curse struck me. You know, that's when you start thinking "Well, this is all right, but everything is hardcoded. It really should be more flexible, more configurable, so you're not locked to one specific layout".
So, even though I didn't really need anything else, it became a matter of pride to prove to myself that I could do something better. So I spent a few rainy days (well, I didn't look too closely, maybe it was just windy) tinkering with Visual Studio and WPF and Visual Basic (yes, I don't like C#) and now version 1 is ready.
So... if anyone wants to try my super duper program - DvdpBuilder - drop me a PM and I'll let you know where you can download it. Yes, I could post the d/l link here, but I just like to know who is playing with my toy :)
Post by: GSyren on May 01, 2013, 08:44:51 AM
| Title | The Ballad of Josie |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zer29CYnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 1967 |
| Director | Andrew V. McLaglen |
| Stars | Doris Day, Peter Graves, George Kennedy, Andy Devine, William Talman |
| Overview | HOLLYWOOD SWEETHEART DORIS DAY lights up the screen with her timeless sparkle in this light-hearted western. Upon the death of her husband, feisty rancher Josie is determined to make a success of her sheep farm in smalltown Wyoming, much to the outrage of her male counterparts. Determined to prove her equality and defend her land, she stirs up a woman's rights riots, and even a little romance along the way. |
| My thoughts | Apparently this is a film that Doris didn't want to make, but one which her husband Martin Melcher signed her up for. Despite this, Doris does a pretty good job, but it's just not a very good script. It seems that the scriptwriters couldn't decide if they were writing a comedy or a straight western, so the result is rather a mish-mash. Their recipe is something like this: Take the standard sheep farmer vs. cattle farmer controversy. Add a good portion of womens lib. Sprinkle with some silly comedy moments. Unfortunately it doesn't come out very well. Not even Peter Graves or George Kennedy can save it from being rather bland. And talk about unimaginative casting! They've got William Talman playing a district attorney. After being defeated time after time by Perry Mason for nine seasons, couldn't they have given mr. Talman something else for his final movie role? And how about Andy Devine as a judge? Seriously? This is also one of the few of Doris' movies where she doesn't sign at all. Well, ok, a couple of lines over the end credits, but that doesn't count. Still Doris is the saving grace for this movie. She is the only reason I rate it 3.5 / 5. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: GSyren on May 01, 2013, 09:56:46 AM
| Title | Blitz |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lGaZKoEoL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Year | 2010 |
| Director | Elliott Lester |
| Stars | Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen, Zawe Ashton, David Morrissey |
| Overview | Uncompromising and utterly un-PC cop Brant (Jason Statham - The Expendables) is teamed up with an unlikely partner in Sgt Porter Nash (Paddy Considine - The Bourne Ultimatum) as they hunt down vigilante cop killer Barry Weiss (Aidan Gillen - The Wire). Time is running out for the next victims in line, as Brant combs the streets of London for the unrelenting and merciless Weiss. Also starring David Morrissey (Red Riding) as the hack journalist who bites off more than he can chew. This gripping thriller is from a screenplay by Nathan Parker (writer of Moon) and based on the best selling novel by acclaimed crime writer Ken Bruen. |
| My thoughts | Jason Statham will never win an Oscar. But he's fun to watch if you like action movies. The problem here is that there isn't that much action. There is some bloodshed, and sure, Statham kicks some ass, but not a whole lot of action otherwise. On the plus side, there is the nice photography. Nice London locations that doesn't use a lot of tourist spots that we've seen meny times before. Paddy Considine is good as a gay cop, and Aidan Gillen plays a cop-killer psycho quite well. (click to show/hide) With that caveat, Blitz is still an entertaining movie. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: GSyren on May 02, 2013, 05:39:43 PM
A technical review of 20 Million Miles to Earth.
I'm a fan of Ray Harryhausen, and I consider his animation in 20 Million Miles to Earth among the best he has done. It's not as complicated as some of his later works, like the seven skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts, but it is extremelt fluid and lifelike. Some other stuff in this movie isn't as brilliant, so here are some of the good, the bad and the ugly in 20 Millions Miles to Earth:
0:05:10 The rocket is nose down, yet the insides are right way up.
0:09:00 When the fishing boat is leaving the rocket, the two saved austronauts are nowhere to be seen inside the boat.
0:09:56 The general speculates that the rocket is now "20,000 leagues under the sea". It is a common misunderstanding that the title of Jules Verne's book refers to the depth at which the Nautilus was sailing. Actually it refers to the distance sailed under the sea. A league is three nautical miles. So 20,000 leagues is over 100,000 kilometers. The diameter of the earth is less than 13,000 kilometers...
0:22:16 The Ymir hatches. This is a brilliant piece of animation. The way that the Ymir breaks out of its gelatinous "egg" looks absolutely lifelike. There is no sign of any trickery. I have no idea how Harryhausen accomplished this. Possibly he poked the Ymir's front leg from behind in order to make it break through, but there is absolutely nothing that shows.
0:23:58 When dr. Leonardo places the Ymir in the cage, the bars in front of the Ymir must be part of the animation setup, and the rest of the cage is clearly part of the background plate and full size. The matching of the miniature and the fullsize cage is absolutely perfect.
0:26:41 In this sequence the close-ups of Colonel Colder, General McIntosh, Doctor Uhl and some others are shot against backprojection screen. In the long shots on location in Italy they are played by second unit stand-ins. Looks ok, but the distance they are shot at is a clue that they are stand-ins. It's just far enough that you can't really make out their faces.
0:29:51 The general reveals that this is "man's first interplanetary voyage". The script doesn't reveal if man has been to the moon. The moon isn't a planet, so possibly man has visited the moon. However, it seems terribly unlikely that the first interplanetary voyage would be to Venus rather than to Mars (even if this is fiction).
0:35:20 The Ymir breaks out of the cage on the trailer. Great matching of miniature cage and full size cage. When the Ymir leaps from the trailer it looks very much as if the full size cage has been used, and part of the Ymir has been matted. It's so quick that it's hard to tell.
0:38:05 The sequence with the Ymir and the lone lamb is obviously meant to show that the Ymir is not agressive or blood thirsty. However the scene fails because the lamb does not react at all to the Ymir. It doesn't even look at it. It's way too obvious that the Ymir isn't really there.
0:38:49 A minor continuity error; the horse is tethered, then it's free, then it's tethered again
0:39:05 A bunch of chicken are very obviously thrown into the scene.
0:43:48 The fight between the Ymir and the farmer. When the Ymir jumps the farmer, it's the live action farmer. For the rest of the fight the farmer is an animation puppet. If you look closely you can see the difference, but the animation of the farmer is really very good.
0:49:58 Another minor thing: Since the Venus project is run by the Air Force, we must assume the the General is also Air Force. Yet when he order up helicopters, they are Marine helicopters. Except when the soldiers jump out of the helicopter. That helicopter is marked US Army. I doubt that you can get different parts of the US military forces to cooperate that quickly.
0:52:47 The Ymir is attacked with flame throwers. Now, the flames are part of the background plate, yet we see them pass in front of the Ymir. That's a neat trick from Harryhausen. He pulled a similar trick in It Came from Beneath the Sea. When asked about that trick in a recent interview, Harryhausen said he didn't remember how it was done. Perhaps not, or perhaps he didn't want to reveal all his secrets.
0:59:28 The press conference ends. All reporters rush out. Not one of them has a question for the general. Did you ever see a real press conference on anything important where the reporters don't shout all kinds of questions?
1:04:36 Dr. Uhl says to the reporters "The beast has no heart and it has no lungs". And yet we see very clearly how the creature's chest rises and falls as it breaths.
1:06:50 The fight between the Ymir and the elephant. Just like the fight with the farmer, this is a piece of superb animation. Animating a fantasy creature is one thing. Animating a human or an animal that we recognise is quite another thing. Harryhausen knows exactly how an elephant moves and replicates it perfectly in his animation. It's the small details that makes all the difference, such as the swing of the tail, for eample. Every little such detail means one more movement to keep track of during animation.
1:08:30 During the struggle the Ymir tips the elephant across a car. It crushes very realistically. When the elephant steps on the mangled car to get up, it gives just a little bit. Another very small detail that helps to sell the scene.
1:13:38 The Ymir breaks through the Ponte Sant'Angelo bridge. Perfect match between the animation miniature in the foreground and the real bridge in the background plate.
1:15:09 The Ymir appears behind some columns. The soldiers run in front of some other columns. Impossible to tell real colums from fake ones, even though you know that the columns in front of the Ymir must be part of the animation setup. Moments later the Ymir topples the columns, including the ones that we saw the soldiers run in front of. These must now be miniatures, and the real colums hidden somehow.
1:15:40 The sequence with the columns is marred by some pieces of column dropping in front of some soldiers. The pieces show fringing that reveal all too clearly that they are matted in. One piece is even partially transparent.
1:19:44 Shots of Ymir on top of the (real) Colosseum. Quite effective.
1:20:19 A closer shot of the Ymir, now on a miniature part of Colosseum. This miniature is too clean and smooth to match the real Colosseum.
Note: The time stamps are from the Region A blu-ray. They should be the same for any blu-ray and for any NTSC DVD. Not for PAL DVDs, though, because of the 4% PAL speed-up.
So, despite some flaws, this is quite an enjoyable film. The animation is consistently good. The script is ok. Not great, but ok. William Hopper (Perry Mason's detective friend Paul Drake) was a dependable, but hardly stellar, actor. Nathan Juran may have been a B movie director, but he went on to direct 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The First Men in the Moon for Schneer and Harryhausen, so they must have found him to be ok.
Post by: GSyren on May 05, 2013, 10:00:55 PM
| Title | Hammer Films: A Life in Pictures |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GyBUrqQnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) | |
| Author | Wayne Kinsey |
| # of pages | 224 (Hardcover) |
| Purchased at | Amazon UK for £22.39 |
| My thoughts | Just like the previous book I reviewed, The Hammer Vault, this book has lots of pictures and not much text. But unlike The Hammer Vault, this book has no publicity material. Some sections are devoted to their stars, with pictures of them in different roles. Most of the book deal with their films though, and contain lots of behind-the-scenes photographs. Most of the pictures are black and white, but there are 8 pages of color photographs. Not a whole lot of text, as I said, but what there is is often quite interesting. There is very little overlapping between the two books, so they make perfect companions. |
| Rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on May 14, 2013, 11:56:36 AM
| Title | Life of Pi |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IMIeU9OkL._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Year | 2012 |
| Director | Ang Lee |
| Stars | Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Tandon, Gautam Belur, Adil Hussain |
| Overview | Embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this visual masterpiece from Oscarr winner Ang Lee*, based on the best-selling novel. After a cataclysmic shipwreck, young Pi Patel finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with the only other survivor - a ferocious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Bound by the need to survive, the two are cast on an epic journey that must be seen to be believed. |
| My thoughts | You are probably going to disagree with me on this... After all the rave about this film, I was quite disappointed with it. To be sure, it's a marvellous technical achievement, and the acting and direction is excellent. I just didn't like the story. Unlike most viewers, I see in the moral of the story (or rather the extension of the moral of the story) just what is one of the biggest problems in the world. The film tells one, admittedly beautiful, story. Then at the end, we get another, not so beautiful story, and we are asked "Which story do you prefer?". Well, that's religion in a nutshell. And on the surface there's nothing wrong in believing in a beautiful fairy tale, as long as you accept that other people may believe in something else. The problem arises when you get so absorbed in your chosen story that you are willing to kill people just because they don't share your story. Don't get me wrong, though. There is nothing in the story that encourages hating people. It's just the idea of chosing to believe in a basically unbelievable story that rubs me the wrong way. So, if you are a cynic and an agnostic, like me, maybe you'll react as me. If not, chances are that you'll love this film. Please don't hate me for my views, though. I'm giving this film 3.5 out of 5 for its technical excellence. |
| Rating | (http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/star_blue_256.jpg)(http://gsyren.ownit.nu/Images/half_blue_256.jpg) |
Post by: Achim on May 15, 2013, 06:11:58 AM
Also, the people bending the chosen story to then abuse it against other are usually in the minority of any religion. But let's not go there.
In the least can always work as simply a beautiful film, which I guess your 3-1/2 stars represent :)
Post by: GSyren on May 19, 2013, 12:16:04 PM
| Title | The Living Daylights (5-039036-050746, Disc ID: 5065-9218-93D7-42E4) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IYjJd4rcL._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Director | John Glen |
| Actors | Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies |
| Produced | 1987 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 131 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Commentary, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish |
| My thoughts | I didn't much care for this film when I first saw it in the cinema in the summer of '87. Maybe there were too many changes at once. Bernard Lee had been gone for a few films, but now we not only had a new Bond, but a new Miss Moneypenny as well. The only remaining reoccuring character was good old Q, Desmond Llewellyn. Also, the plot didn't seem too well thought out. The goals and motivations of the villain were rather confusing, and Joe Don Baker was far too hammy to make a good Bond villain. Jeroen Krabbé had some good moments and some not so good. Maryam d'Abo was far too much of just a damsel in distress for my taste. Most of this still stands, but 25+ years later I've come to appreciate Timothy Dalton much more than I did back then. I'm not sure why I didn't like him then, because it's obvious to me how much better suited he was to play Bond than Roger Moore. I have absolutely nothing against Roger Moore, he was great in many roles, especially The Saint, but he was far too flip as Bond. Much of that is probably the writers' fault. Having read all the Bond books, and growing up with Sean Connery as Bond, I should have appreciated Dalton more than I did. One thing that always bothered me was the death of Saunders. That scene seems very abruptly cut. We never see exactly what happens to him. Does the door crush him, or is it the explosion itself that kills him? We don't get to see his dead body, either. I wonder if the scene was cut to get a PG rating, or if the scene was just botched so it became unusable. I cannot imaging that they didn't shoot more than we see. Still, despite its faults I really enjoyed it this time. Dalton was good, the action was good, and maybe I was just in the right mood this time. Almost as good as the best of the Connery films. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on May 19, 2013, 01:10:29 PM
| Title | A Man Called Django! (011301-660060) |
| (http://i.sdcd.us/c/500/9/8/3/7/2047389.jpg) | |
| Director | Edoardo Mulargia |
| Actors | Anthony Steffen, Stelio Candelli, Glauco Onorato, Donato Castellaneta, Esmeralda Barros |
| Produced | 1971 in Italy |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| My thoughts | A rather typical spaghetti western. Not one of the best, but certainly not one of the worst either. Revenge theme, have we seen that before...? English dubbing is adequate. Acting, well this kind of movie doesn't really challenge the actors, so it's ok I guess. Fine enough when you're in the mood for this kind of stuff. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on May 19, 2013, 02:24:11 PM
| Title | Django and Sartana's Showdown in the West (011301-660060) |
| (http://i.sdcd.us/c/500/9/8/3/7/2047389.jpg) | |
| Director | Demofilo Fidani, Diego Spataro |
| Actors | Jack Betts, Franco Borelli, Simone Blondell, Benito Pacifico, Calso Faria |
| Produced | 1970 in Italy |
| Runtime | 83 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| My thoughts | Someone has called Demofilo Fidani "The Ed Wood of spaghetti westerns". That's not fair. He (with co-director Spataro, together using the alias "Dick Spitfire" here) is nowhere near as inept as Ed Wood. And consequently doesn't achieve the same level of "so bad it's good". This is just rather dull. It becomes almost comical at times, because the stunt arranger goes overboard and turns every guy that is shot into an acrobat. Nobody just falls down dead in this movie. Gordon Mitchell is the token American, and plays a deliciously crazy gang leader that talks to himself in a mirror. And even plays cards with himself. Unfortunately we never get to see who wins... :) Summed up in one word: "Meh" |
| My rating | 2,5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on May 28, 2013, 12:59:00 PM
| Title | The Evil of Frankenstein (025192-833328) | ||||
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BKQBC1P2L._SY300_.jpg) | |||||
| Director | Freddie Francis | ||||
| Actors | Peter Cushing, Peter Woodthorpe, Duncan Lamont, Sandor Elès, Katy Wild | ||||
| Produced | 1964 in United Kingdom | ||||
| Runtime | 87 minutes | ||||
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono | ||||
| Subtitles | English, Spanish, French | ||||
| Overview | Once hounded from his castle for creating a monstrous living creature, Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) returns to his ancestral home in Karlstaad, determined to continue his experiments into the creation of life. High in the mountains, Frankenstein and his faithful assistant, Hans, stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in ice. He is brought back to life, but Frankenstein is forced to employ a hypnotist, Zoltan, to complete the process. Unbeknown to Frankenstein, Zoltan now controls the creature and has plans to use him to rob and pillage the local villages. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell, or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator? | ||||
| My thoughts | After reading my newly purchased Hammer books I decided that it was time to revisit the Hammer Frankenstein franchise. Since I quite recently viewed Curse of Frankenstein on blu, I thought I'd start with Revenge. My plan was thwarted when I found that I didn't own Revenge. I used to have it on VHS, but I threw out all my VHS tapes a couple of years ago. That omission is about to be corrected (along with Frankenstein Created Woman). So instead I went for the next one, The Evil of Frankenstein. As it turns out, skipping Revenge (for now) turns out not to be such a big deal, because for some reason Hammer chose to do something of a reboot. The script for Evil totally ignores the two previous films. Despite that, the film is quite entertaining. Peter Cushing is great as always. But he is actually not very evil. “The Evil of Zoltan” would have been a much more accurate, though much less commercial, title. Peter Woodthorpe is quite good as the mesmerist Zoltan. Katy Wild has the rather unenviable task of portraying the deafmute beggar girl, but she pulls it off quite well. The monster is this time portrayed by a wrestler from New Zealand named Kiwi Kingston. He only appeared in one other film, “Hysteria”, also from Hammer. Previously Hammer couldn't use a monster makeup that resembled Karloff's because Universal wouldn't allow it, but this time the film was going to be distributed in the US by Universal, so that ban was lifted, and the monster's makeup does somewhat resemble the original design that Jack Pierce had created from Boris Karloff in 1931. Opinions vary greatly about the effectivity of this design. Personally I'm not too fond of it. The makeup is not the only thing that was inspired by the Universal films. The monster is found in a block of ice, just like in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). And in the end, the laboratory blows up, reminiscent of the ending in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). As in almost all Hammer films, the production design is impeccable. Bernard Robinson could do wonders with very little money, making the Hammer films he worked on look much more expensive than they actually were. I missed one thing, though. It doesn't feel like a “real” Hammer film unless it has either Michael Ripper or George Woodbridge in some small role. Ripper was sort of the UK equivalent of Dick Miller. Put him in a minimal role and he would shine. Woodbridge wasn't quite as versatile, but you would often see him as a jovial policeman or innkeeper. However, Peter Cushing more than makes up for the lack of Ripper and Woodbridge. Did that man ever turn in a bad (or even a mediocre) performance?
So, even though not perfect, this film was very enjoyable. Highly recommended if you like Hammer's horror films. | ||||
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on June 01, 2013, 02:47:29 PM
| Title | The Revenge of Frankenstein (5-035822-065130) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51W5872HFDL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Terence Fisher |
| Actors | Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Eunice Gayson, Michael Gwynn, John Welsh |
| Produced | 1958 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 86 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Arabic, Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Hindi, Norwegian, Swedish, Hebrew, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Turkish |
| Overview | PETER CUSHING reprises his famous role as Baron Victor Frankenstein in the Hammer horror classic THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Rescued from the guillotine by his devoted dwarf Fritz (Oscar Quitak), the Baron relocates to Carlsbruck, where he becomes a celebrated society physician, Dr. Stein. But under the guise of charity work, the good doctor continues his gruesome experiments, this time planning to transplant Fritz’s brain into his latest creation: a normal, healthy body (Michael Gwynn). When Hammer released 'The Curse Of Frankenstein' in 1957, it was a great success for the studio and made an international star out of Peter Cushing. In 1958 Hammer produced this sequel 'The Revenge of Frankenstein' with Cushing once again in the title role. The critics were delighted with both the film and it's star "Cushing is the new Karloff" 'N.Y. Daily News.' |
| My thoughts | The Curse of Frankenstein ends with Frankenstein being condemned to death and lead out to the guillotine. But we never get to see the actual beheading. Were the people at Hammer really smart or just cheap? I don't know. But it was a good thing, because Curse was a huge success (with the public, but many critics hated it). So they wanted to make a sequel, of course, but they had killed off Frankenstein. Or had they? Well, it turns out that the good (?) baron wasn't killed after all. I don't think I've revealed too much saying that, because it would have been difficult to have another Frankenstein film without him. But I won't go into any more detail in case you haven't seen the film. This time Frankenstein creates a much better looking monster. It does, in fact, not look like a monster at all. It looks pretty much like an ordinary human being. But of course circumstances work against Frankenstein this time around as well, and bad things happen. Michael Gwynn plays the “monster”. Peter Cushing repeats his role as Frankenstein going under the pseudonym Dr. Stein. Francis Matthews plays Frankenstein's apprentice, Dr. Hans Kleve. Eunice Gayson, best known as Sylvia Trench in Dr. No and From Russia with Love, plays Margaret Conrad who comes to work in Dr. Steins surgery. And we see Hammer regulars Michael Ripper and George Woodbridge in minor roles (and for once George is anything but jovial). Gwynn and Cushing are excellent. Ripper and Woodbridge are good as always. Matthews and Gayson are OK, but not outstanding. But it's just as much the people behind the camera that make this such an enjoyable film. Director Terence Fisher, Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, Director of Photography Jack Asher, Production Designer Bernard Robinson and Makeup Artist Phil Leaky all return from Curse, and do an outstanding job. All in all a very enjoyable film, I think. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on June 09, 2013, 02:01:39 PM
| Title | Taxi 3 (5-060034-576013) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Bq59183eL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Gérard Krawczyk |
| Actors | Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal, Bernard Farcy, Bai Ling, Emma Sjöberg |
| Produced | 2003 in France |
| Runtime | 84 minutes |
| Audio | French Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, French Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English (forced) |
| Overview | When the police are outsmarted time and time again by thieves calling themselves the Santa Claus Gang, all under the watchful eyes of a reporter (Bai Ling), Daniel and his super-taxi pitch in to save the day. Written and produced by the legendary Luc Besson (director of The Fifth Element, Leon and producer of The Transporter 1 and 2), Taxi 3 skillfully oscillates between action and comedy, with some ingenious gags and impressive stunts thrown in along the way. Starring the original Taxi cast: Samy Naceri as Daniel the fearless taxi driver, Frédéric Diefenthal as Emilien, Bernard Farcy as Captain Gilbert and Marion Cotillard (Big Fish) as Lilly, plus a memorable cameo by Sylvester Stallone! |
| My thoughts | 15 years ago, the first ”Taxi” was a big hit, written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Gérard Pirès. And of course a hit needed a sequel. Or two. Or three. None of them could live up to the original (no surprise there). Hard to say if this was because of Besson's writing or because he couldn't/wouldn't get Pirès to direct them, instead giving the helm to Gérard Krawczyk for the sequals. The second sequel, “Taxi 3”, opens with a somewhat amusing cameo by Sylvester Stallone (uncredited) being driven to the airport by Daniel (Samy Naceri). Actually “somewhat amusing” is about the best that can be said of the humor in this film. There are some nice car stunts, but they are not terribly exciting. The film is just mediocre, and the same can be said of this DVD. Original French dialog with forced English subtitles. No extras except a trailer. Acceptable time killer on a rainy day, but nothing more. |
| My rating | 2.5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on June 26, 2013, 04:31:40 PM
| Title | That Man from Rio (8-809154-130562). Original title: L'Homme de Rio |
| (http://s23.postimg.org/b1mswuwq3/That_Man_From_Rio.jpg) | |
| Director | Philippe de Broca |
| Actors | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Françoise Dorléac, Jean Servais, Roger Dumas, Daniel Ceccaldi |
| Produced | 1964 in France |
| Runtime | 111 minutes |
| Audio | French Dolby Digital Mono, Russian Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English, Korean |
| Overview | An eight-day pass, a kidnapping, and a greedy group of South American Indians provide the basic ingredients of this madcap adventure. A French air force pilot has the pass and plans to use it to see his girl friend in Paris. He gets there just in time to see a gang of South American Indians, who believe that the girl knows the location of a set of statues that can pinpoint the location of a fabulous jungle treasure, kidnapping her. He follows them to the Brazilian jungle and many riotous adventures ensue. Eventually the lovers manage to escape and return to France just before the pilot's pass expires. |
| My thoughts | From looking at the cover image you might think that That Man from Rio is a Bond spoof. It isn't. It's more of a romantic adventure in the Indiana Jones style, with a bit of Tintin thrown in. Philippe de Broca made several great movies, many with Belmondo. My favorites, apart from this one, are Cartouche and Le Magnifique. Especially the latter. Belmondo plays a soldier on leave in Paris. He sees his fiancee being kidnapped and follows the kidnappers to Brazil. There he goes through various adventures to try to free her. Belmondo is very good, and so is Françoise Dorleac as the fiancee and Jean Servais as the professor. Dorleac (elder sister of Catherine Deneuve) died way too young in a car crash in 1967. The film has some humourous moments. My favorite is when a little shoeshine boy in Rio offers to steal a car for Belmondo, and asks what color he would like. Belmondo answers sarcastically ”Green with pink stars”. The next scene shows Belmondo driving a green car with pink stars. This film wasn't easy to find on DVD. Eventually I found a seller on Amazon UK that sold a Korean release that had the original French audio and English subtitles. The picture quality is only just acceptable, but I'm still happy to have found this. If this had been anamorphic widescreen with good quality I would have given it 4 out of 5. As it is, it's just barely a 3. The DVD is R0/NTSC. If you want to see a really great de Broca / Belmondo collaboration, try to find a copy of Le Magnifique. It's also hard to find, but there is a French R2/PAL release that has French, English and German audio. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: Dragonfire on June 27, 2013, 06:08:08 AM
Post by: Achim on June 27, 2013, 06:11:26 AM
I also seem to vaguely remember cartouche (period piece, right?) but I am not quite so sure about Le Magnifique. I'd like to add one of those to my collection, but they are indeed hard to find.
Post by: GSyren on June 28, 2013, 09:40:30 AM
Belmondo plays a writer of spy novels. In the film his vision of the action gets mixed with his everyday real life. As one of the reviewers on IMDb tells:
Quote
I did enjoy the surreal slips between the film itself and then the book being created within the film. The first one I think was on a beach as the housecleaner blithely waltzes through soldiers storming the sands, vacuuming only to enter a door and voila. Additionally latter battles between the author and his protagonist and/or protagonista mostly worked for me. Though they dipped in shtick.I completely agree.
Le Magnifique is available on Amazon.fr both on Blu-ray and DVD. Unfortunately the BD is French audio only and no subtitles (as far as I have been able to determine). The DVD releases have French, English and German audio. If your equipment can handle R2/PAL, then this is a purchase that I strongly recommend. Or if you're fluent in French and can play Region B blu-rays. I'd love to have this on BD, but my French just isn't up to it... :-[
Post by: GSyren on June 29, 2013, 10:53:28 PM
| Title | Who Framed Roger Rabbit (8-717418-389642) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QcagXvg1L._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Director | Robert Zemeckis |
| Actors | Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye |
| Produced | 1988 in United States |
| Runtime | 104 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Commentary, Norwegian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish |
| Overview | On Blu-ray™ for the first time ever, this digitally remastered edition of Who Framed Roger Rabbit practically jumps off the screen with its brilliant picture, rich sound — and dangerous curves. It's 1947 Hollywood and Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), a down-on-his-luck detective, is hired to find proof that Marvin Acme, gag factory mogul and owner of Toontown, is playing hanky-panky with femme fatale Jessica Rabbit, wife of Maroon Cartoon superstar, Roger Rabbit. When Acme is found murdered, all fingers point to Roger, who begs the Toon-hating Valiant to find the real evildoer. Complete with hours of bonus features — including three digitally restored Roger Rabbit Shorts, this multi-Oscar® winner (Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, Special Achievement In Animation Direction, 1988) is pure magic in Hi-Def Blu-ray™. |
| My thoughts | You've all seen this film, right? If you haven't, shame on you! It's a brilliant film. Not only is it funny, but the interaction between the cartoons and the real world objects is done in a most amazing way. Looking at it on Blu, the minor technical flaws that has always been there shows up more a bit clearly than on the old DVD. This is especially noticeable in some of the darker scenes. That has led some reviewers to feel that the picture quality on the BD is actually inferior to the DVD. That's unfair. For the most part the pq is better. Not drastically better, but better. But perhaps not so much better that a double dip is really warranted. The extras seem to be pretty much the same as the old 2-disc Vista Series DVD from '03, so if you've got that one the BD doesn't have that much to offer. Looking at Roger Rabbit today one has to remember that it was made in the eighties. 1986 thru 1988 to be precise. Yes, they spent a long time making this film. Would it have looked different if it had been made today? Perhaps. But you can't compare WFRR to CGI efforts like Toy Story. You couldn't make WFRR with CGI. The whole point would be lost. The film as such I rate as 4.5 / 5, but I'm deducting half a point for the pq flaws. It's still a really cool film, so if you don't have it in your collection already, now is the time to buy it, on BD or DVD. The extras reveal a lot of how hard the film was to make, so if you've only seen this in the cinema, you have missed quite a bit. Highly recommended. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on June 29, 2013, 11:23:28 PM
Post by: Achim on June 30, 2013, 03:01:00 AM
Belmondo plays a writer of spy novels. In the film his vision of the action gets mixed with his everyday real life. As one of the reviewers on IMDb tells:That sounds awesome! And it sounds like I have seen it before, you know, like, 30 years ago (*gulp*).QuoteI did enjoy the surreal slips between the film itself and then the book being created within the film. The first one I think was on a beach as the housecleaner blithely waltzes through soldiers storming the sands, vacuuming only to enter a door and voila. Additionally latter battles between the author and his protagonist and/or protagonista mostly worked for me. Though they dipped in shtick.I completely agree.
Quote
Le Magnifique is available on Amazon.fr both on Blu-ray and DVD. Unfortunately the BD is French audio only and no subtitles (as far as I have been able to determine). The DVD releases have French, English and German audio. If your equipment can handle R2/PAL, then this is a purchase that I strongly recommend. Or if you're fluent in French and can play Region B blu-rays. I'd love to have this on BD, but my French just isn't up to it... :-[I'd want the original version of course, but I too need at least English subtitles (I should check the German Amazon again in the future, German subtitles are ok as well obviously. Last time I looked I didn't see it there.)
Post by: GSyren on June 30, 2013, 07:14:02 AM
Post by: DSig on June 30, 2013, 09:29:57 PM
Post by: Dragonfire on July 01, 2013, 02:58:25 AM
Post by: GSyren on July 01, 2013, 11:28:13 PM
| Title | Django, Prepare A Coffin (5-027035-010229) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lM7VRJQZL._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ferdinando Baldi |
| Actors | Terence Hill, Horst Frank, George Eastman, José Torres, Pinuccio Ardia |
| Produced | 1968 in Italy |
| Runtime | 92 minutes |
| Audio | English PCM 2-Channel Stereo, Italian PCM 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Django the drifter returns in this classic Sixties Spaghetti Western from Ferdinando Baldi (Texas Addio, Comin At Ya!), starring Terence Hill (They Call Me Trinity) as the wandering gunslinger, hired as executioner to a corrupt local politician who is framing innocent men, sending them to hang in an evil scheme to take hold of their land. But Django has other ideas... |
| My thoughts | Django, Prepare a Coffin (aka Viva Django) was the sequel to the original Django. Franco Nero couldn't play Django this time, because he was busy in Hollywood doing Camelot. Instead the producers chose a relatively unknown young actor named Mario Girotti, who had just taken the stage name Terence Hill. Two years later Hill would become famous in "My Name is Trinity" (aka "They Call Me Trinity"). In this film, Django works as a hangman, but he saves the lives of innocently convicted men (and a woman) by staging fake hangings. The films doesn't make it clear if he actually hangs any guilty villains. He organizes a gang with these men in order to avenge the killing of his wife, who was shot during the robbery of a gold transport. This is not a comedy western like the many he did together with Bud Spencer. This is quite violent. In fact, when this was first shown in Sweden in 1969, it was with 11 cuts totaling over 7 minutes. Now we can see it uncut, though. And in the aspect ratio in which it was shot, 1.66:1. IMDb claims it was 2.35:1, but that is wrong. It seems, though, that it was shown in several countries matted to 1.85:1. The picture quality of this Blu-Ray disc is good, but not stellar. At times it shows its age. The disc comes with Italian and English audio. As with most spaghetti westerns of this era, both language tracks are dubbed, since they used actors of many different nationalities all speaking their own language. As far as I can determine, the Italian track uses Hill's own voice. The English dub doesn't quite sound like the voice I remember from the Hill/Spencer films, so it seemed a little off to me. The extras consist of a Viva Django trailer and an eight minute interview with Kevin Grant, author of Django Explained. I haven't seen Tarantino's Django Unchained yet. I guess it's time to get that on and see how it compares to this and to the original Django. |
| My rating | 3.5 out of 5 |
Post by: Piffi on July 01, 2013, 11:40:07 PM
I think you will enjoy it!
Post by: Achim on July 02, 2013, 06:31:55 AM
I haven't seen Tarantino's Django Unchained yet. I guess it's time to get that on and see how it compares to this and to the original Django.[/td][/tr][/table]If comparison is your motivation, then you don'y have to hurry. Django is only used by Tarantino in name and that is a character we know almost nothing about (that's how remember the original, anyway). Actually, he even doesn't carry through with the latter, as we are provided with a back story.
I quite like Django Unchained as well, but it's clearly a Tarantino flick.
Post by: GSyren on July 02, 2013, 09:08:17 AM
| Title | The Chronological Donald: Volume Four: 1951-1961 (786936-768268) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Y56GAaYqL.jpg) | |
| Director | Jack Hannah et al |
| Actors | Clarence Nash, |
| Produced | 1951 in United States |
| Runtime | 344 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | In this final volume, our chronicle of Donald's solo-starring shorts wraps up with some of his rarely seen, feather ruffling adventures from 1951 through 1961. And, for the first time on DVD, Donald's CinemaScope cartoons are presented in their original widescreen format. This collection of classics includes two of Donald's Academy Award®-nominated Best Shorts — Rugged Bear (1953) and No Hunting (1955); a retrospective of Donald's career in comic books; and a storyboard presentation for an unproduced Donald Duck cartoon pitched by famed Disney animator Eric Goldberg. From bit player to superstar, Donald gave voice to the frustrations of everyone and in the process endeared himself to the world. Featuring exclusive introductions by film historian LEONARD MALTIN, this is a timeless collection from generations past for generations to come. Disc 1 - The Shorts: 1. Dude Duck (1951) 2. Corn Chips (1951) 3. Test Pilot Donald (1951) 4. Lucky Number (1951) 5. Out of Scale (1951) 6. Bee On Guard (1951) 7. Donald Applecore (1952) 8. Let's Stick Together (1952) 9. Trick or Treat (1952) 10. Don's Fountain of Youth (1953) 11. The New Neighbor (1953) 12. Working for Peanuts (1953) 13. Canvas Back Duck (1953) Disc 1 - From the Vault: 14. Uncle Donald's Ants (1952) 15. Rugged Bear (1953) Disc 2 - The Shorts: 16. Donald's Diary (1954) 17. Dragon Around (1954) 18. Grin and Bear It (1954) 19. The Flying Squirrel (1954) 20. Grand Canyonscope (1954) 21. Bearly Asleep (1955) 22. Beezy Bear (1955) 23. Up A Tree (1955) 24. Chips Ahoy (1956) 25. How to Have an Accident In the Home (1956) 26. Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959) 27. Donald and the Wheel (1961) 28. The Litterbug (1961) Disc 2 - From the Vault: 29. Spare the Rod (1954) 30. No Hunting (1955) 31. How to Have An Accident at Work (1959) |
| My thoughts | So, after five years I finally got around to viewing this, the final Chronological Donald. In the 1950s I grew up reading “Kalle Anka” (that's Donald Duck in Swedish) and watching the animated shorts in the cinema. Not so much on TV, because we did not yet own a TV set. I did occasionally sneak in to our neighbor to watch Disneyland, though. I was a bit confused over the fact that there were (at least) three radically different Donalds. The one I liked the most was the one created by Carl Barks. Of course, at the time I didn't know about Barks. And then there were the daily comic strips drawn primarily by Al Taliaferro. And then of course we had the cartoons. “Who's got the sweetest disposition? One guess, guess who!” Matinee time! Sundays at 1 and 3 pm were the standard times for matinees. Kids would queue around the block to get into the local cinema. And upon hearing the Donald Duck theme song we all knew we were in for a treat. Life was good! It is, of course, impossible to replicate that feeling sitting alone in your living room in front of a 40” flatscreen TV half a century later, but I still get a buzz every time I hear that tune. While I may prefer the slightly older cartoons, any Donald Duck cartoon still feels like a treat, no matter that I've seen them all (or at least most of them) before. The few widescreen Donalds seem wrong, though. Donald belongs in an academy aspect ratio frame. In the cinema we never got any introductions by Leonard Maltin, obviously. Here we do, and I must say I really appreciate his intros on any Disney DVD. The only thing is – if you watch just a few cartoons at a time, you really don't want to hear the same intro every time you put the DVD into the player. It's almost as annoying as forced trailers. Sure, you can skip forward past Leonard, but I really wish that these intros would have been on the menus rather than being played automatically every time. But that's about my only real complaint. If you didn't buy this title when it was released back in 2008, you're shit out of luck now. Like most of these Walt Disney Treasures it's out of print, and this one can set you back $200 now. But maybe you can get lucky and find some seller who don't know what it's worth. Anyway, it's a great two-disc set, and I'm so glad I bought it when I did. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on July 02, 2013, 08:21:11 PM
| Title | Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (043396-265738) |
| (http://www.lebluray.com/image/max/earth-vs-the-flying-saucers-blu-ray.jpg) | |
| Director | Fred F. Sears |
| Actors | Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, John Zaremba |
| Produced | 1956 in United States |
| Runtime | 83 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Arabic, English, French, Japanese, Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Overview | Aliens are everywhere, and they're attacking planet Earth in one of Ray Harryhausen's most amazing stop-motion sci-fi classics. Dr. Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) works for Operation Sky Hook, a governement task force sending rockets into space to probe for future space flights. But when the rockets begin mysteriously disappearing, Dr. Marvin investigates along with his wife Carol (Joan Taylor), only to find the rockets are being intercepted by an army of space aliens who give humanity an ultimatum: loyality or death! As the aliens begin attacking cities and landmarks across the Earth - including an unforgettable assult on Washington D.C. - it's up to Dr. Marvin and his wife to figure out how to stop these diabolical creatures before it's too late. |
| My thoughts | I hate to say it, but Earth vs. the Flying Saucers is possibly my least favorite Harryhausen movie. I might even have liked it more if Harryhausen hadn't been involved in it. The reason is that I think Harryhausen's efforts were pretty much wasted on the movie. There was nothing in the saucers themselves that needed or warranted animation. The spinning motion could easily have been accomplished by other mechanical means. The saucers crashing into various buildings and monuments was interesting, but such crashes usually means falling debris, which is extremely difficult to get to look realistic using stop motion. It almost always screams "fake", even when Harryhausen does it. In addition, the aliens don't seem to have any kind of plan. They just fly around Washington shooting randomly at various buildings, waiting for the humans to pick them off with their hastily constructed weapons. So, I'm sorry, but I have a real hard time getting excited about this film. I know many others love it, but i just don't. |
| My rating | A magnanimous 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on July 06, 2013, 09:45:59 PM
| Title | Neverland (5-039036-050388) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Jaw1ZbYeL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Nick Willing |
| Actors | Keira Knightley, Charlotte Atkinson, Charles Dance, Anna Friel, Bob Hoskins |
| Produced | 2011 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 162 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | The legend of Peter Pan begins. After accidently opening a magical gateway, young ragamuffin Peter (Rowe) and his friends are transported to a magical world filled with danger and mystery at every turn. This strange new world pushes their bravery and friendship to the limsits as a remarkable series of events set Peter on the path to becoming the Boy Who Never Grew Up. Featuring thrilling action and a superb A-list cast, Neverland explores the origins of Peter Pan and Captain Hook and puts a brilliantly original twist on a truly classic tale. |
| My thoughts | This two-part mini-series is a prequel to Peter Pan. It's a lot darker than the Disney version of Peter Pan, so it might be better to consider it a prequel to the 2003 Jason Isaacs movie. Anyway, I liked the way they had imagined back stories for all the characters. It's not entirely flawless, though. Q'orianka Kilcher as Aaya (aka Tiger Lily) seemed rather wooden, and some of the CGI betrayed the productions TV roots. It was real fun to see Bob Hoskins doing Smee twenty years after doing the same role in Hook. Rhys Ifans was good as James Hook - before he lost his hand and became Captain Hook. The film plays a bit of a trick on the viewer by showing the pirates with a female captain with a hook. So the first impression is "What? A female Captain Hook?" But she's actually Captain Elizabeth Bonny (played by Anna Friel), and she's about to be replaced by James Hook. Charlie Rowe is quite good as Peter Pan. Actually, he is never refered to anything but just "Peter". He does play a flute, but not a pan flute, so I'm not sure where the Pan name comes from. Reactions to this Peter Pan prequel has been varied. Some people didn't like it at all, but I quite enjoyed it. Perhaps it gets to be a bit much if you watch it in one sitting. I watched the two parts one day apart, and that worked fine for me. I would say it's highly recommended. (Should I have posted this in "TV on DVD" reviews? Well, I consider mini-series and TV movies to be movies. I know that people on DVD Profiler forums don't agree with me, but for me only TV shows belong in the Television genre. So there!) |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on July 12, 2013, 10:07:58 AM
| Title | They Came From Beyond Space (5-055201-820204) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514ufBFZSjL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Freddie Francis |
| Actors | Robert Hutton, Jennifer Jayne, Zia Mohyeddin, Bernard Kay, Michael Gough |
| Produced | 1967 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 82 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Aliens have developed a way of transforming brain power into pure energy, at the expense of their physical form. Needing new bodies to house the incredible force, the aliens invade planet earth to export human beings. No one is immune from the invasion except for scientist Dr. Curt Temple whose skull, as the result of an accident, is reinforced with a silver plate. |
| My thoughts | The title suggest a really cheesy movie. It's not quite as bad as it may sound. I actually quite liked it. But you would have to remember that this is a low budget sixties sci-fi movie made by Hammer-wannabe Amicus Productions. They even borrowed one of Hammers best directors, Freddie Francis. The basic concept isn't bad. The script by Milton Subotsky doesn't quite make it justice. Subotsky clearly isn't of the same caliber as Hammer's Jimmy Sangster. And I can't quite decide if the ending is a good peaceful message or just a wimp-out. Robert Hutton in the lead role isn't bad at all. And Michael Gough is... well, he is Michael Gough. Somehow he's always enjoyable even when he hams it up. So, if you're expecting action and effects on the scale of todays movies, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you like a good old sci-fi movie you might do worse than this. One caveat though, the music that accompanies the (few) fight scenes is terribly annoying. Just someone going at it at a snare drum. I give it a weak 3 out of 5. If they had put Michael Ripper in a supporting role I might have given it another half point. Yes, I'm a Ripper fan (Michael, that is, not Jack). Oh, another warning - the cover art has absolutely nothing to do with this film. Totally wishful thinking :-( |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on July 15, 2013, 08:04:36 PM
I was channel surfing and I happened upon Rio Bravo on TCM. It was about the last half hour, and it's a movie that I like very much. In no small part is this thanks to Walter Brennan. His character Stumpy is brilliant. John Wayne, Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson are very good, too. The one who often get panned is Ricky Nelson, and yes, he's way too young to play his character, but I think he did a pretty good job of it, all considered.
So I wasted half an hour watching a non-anamorphic version of a film that I have a perfectly good version of on DVD. Some films just grab me and won't let go. Now I just have to make sure I stay away from TCM when they show Where Eagles Dare, which they do again and again...
:slaphead:
Post by: Dragonfire on July 15, 2013, 11:10:22 PM
Post by: DSig on July 16, 2013, 01:51:45 AM
Oops, I did it again!<G> yeah there are several that I really try hard not watch while channel surfing .. especially on regular channels as I ususally have the disc .. why put up with the commercials??? but some films I just get sucked into like you.
I was channel surfing and I happened upon Rio Bravo on TCM. It was about the last half hour, and it's a movie that I like very much. In no small part is this thanks to Walter Brennan. His character Stumpy is brilliant. John Wayne, Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson are very good, too. The one who often get panned is Ricky Nelson, and yes, he's way too young to play his character, but I think he did a pretty good job of it, all considered.
So I wasted half an hour watching a non-anamorphic version of a film that I have a perfectly good version of on DVD. Some films just grab me and won't let go. Now I just have to make sure I stay away from TCM when they show Where Eagles Dare, which they do again and again...
:slaphead:
And i agree ... Walter Brennan was always a hoot. I really loved him in To Have, and To Have Not (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Have_and_Have_Not_%28film%29) I can't think of anyone who could have played the character better. I like most everything he did. "You ever been stung by a dead bee?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSgqrrWyF0Y)
Post by: GSyren on July 16, 2013, 05:24:02 PM
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SR1DXJM8L._SY300_.jpg) | Mio min Mio (Mio in the Land of Faraway) This is a story written by Astrid Lindgren (author of Pippi Longstocking and many other childrens books). It's a Swedish/Russian/Norwegian coproduction, and unfortunately not very easy to find. It's interesting for several reasons. It's a good (but not a great) film on its own. Many people have pointed out that it has some similarities to The Lord of the Rings. It's possible that Lindgren was inspired by Tolkien, I don't know. It's also interesting because it's Christian Bale's first movie role. And Christopher Lee is in it, too. Plus I love the title song "Mio My Mio" written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (of ABBA). This one is in English, so it's "Pete safe" |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/716A37B9C5L._SY300_.gif) | Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) If you're only going to see one Ingmar Bergman film, I would vote for this. If for nothing else, then for the iconic scene with the man playing chess with the grim reaper. It is perhaps not an easy film to watch, but it's so worth it if you're the least bit interested in film. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51M2rKwd-kL._SY445_.jpg) | En kärlekshistoria (A Swedish Love Story) Directed by Roy Andersson, this is probably the sweetest story of young love that I have seen. It's available in the UK on DVD, but I don't think it as been released in the US. Absolutely worth looking out for. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AT4NZ60QL._SY300_.jpg) | Evil Ed (Evil Ed) Well, he he, if you're into splatter movies, this is the best known Swedish splatter movie. That's not saying much, though, because we have produced very few. I'm sure there are others, but this is the only one I'm aware of. Not too easy to find anymore. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514jtVYHo3L._SY300_.jpg) | Fanny och Alexander (Fanny and Alexander) From the description of the Criterion Collection (and I couldn't have said it better myself): Quote Through the wide eyes of ten-year-old Alexander (Bertil Guve), we witness the great delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family—a sprawling, convivial bourgeois clan living in turn-of-the-century Sweden. Intended as Ingmar Bergman’s swan song, Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander) is the legendary filmmaker’s warmest and most autobiographical film, a triumph that combines his trademark melancholy and emotional rigor with immense joyfulness and sensuality.You can get the 5 hour TV version, which was Bergman's prefered version, or the theatrical 3 hour version. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41G6S1PWF8L._SY300_.jpg) | Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring) Together with The Seventh Seal, this is probably the most important of Bergman's films. It's a story of rape, death and revenge in the 14th century. I've heard that Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left is supposed to be a remake of The Virgin Spring. I haven't seen Last House, but I can say that The Virgin Spring isn't a horror story, even though the story is horrific. It's a drama. A very gripping drama. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HEdgrjvJL._SY300_.jpg) | Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) I don't think I need to say much about this. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, this is a rather different vampire tale. Far removed from Bram Stoker's Dracula, this is about a 12 year old (forever) vampire in contemporary Stockholm (a suburb named Blackberg, to be precise). If you have seen the US remake Let Me In (which is not bad at all), you should see the original. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eUX3GgSzL._SY445_.jpg) | Mannen på taket (Man on the Roof) Based on the Sjöwall/Wahlöö thriller "Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle" (The Despicable Man from Säffle), this is arguably the best police thriller ever made in Sweden. Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt, who was actually best known as a comedian, is superb as detective Martin Beck. The film starts with a very bloody murder of a policeman in a hospital bed and ends with the chase of a rooftop sniper. Director Bo Widerberg is probably best known abroad for the love story Elvira Madigan with the very beautiful Pia Degermark in the title role. However, most people seem to rank Man on the Roof as Widerberg's best picture. The Swedish R2 DVD has English subtitles. Available from ginza.se for SEK 49 (c:a Euro 5.65) plus postage within the EU. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51c2o%2BLxnGL._SY300_.jpg) | Mitt liv som hund (My Life as a Dog) Although Lasse Hallström had made quite a few films in Sweden (among them ABBA, The Movie), it was My Life as a Dog that catapulted him to fame. The weird thing is that although I rated it 4.5 out of 5 when I saw it seven years ago, I can hardly remember anything about it. Maybe there is something in there that I don't want to remember...? |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NaQPruVuL._SY445_.jpg) | Millennium-trilogin (The Millenium Trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / The Girl who Played with Fire / The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) You may have seen Fincher's remake of the first film, but you should really see the full original trilogy. It started as a six part mini-series. The "Extended Version" is actually the full mini-series as shown on TV, 9 hours in total. I only saw the theatrical versions. I liked them all a lot, but the first film is the best. All are worth seeing, though. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ak1OK5uGL.jpg) | The Ninja Mission (The Ninja Mission) Here's another one that is hard to find. And maybe not worth looking for... Mats Helge (Olsson) can be said to be Sweden's answer to Ed Wood. Well, maybe not quite that inept, but not far from it. He has directed 14 movies between 1975 and 1994. I've seen two of them. This one is the better of the two, but that doesn't mean much. These films falls into the "so bad it's good" classification. For turkey lovers only! |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51z6L5wnP6L._SY300_.jpg) | Sommaren med Monika (Summer with Monika) Now here's a Bergman film that you don't need to be a masochist to watch. While it's a bit of a sad tale, it doesn't show any trace of the dark demons that haunted Bergman in his later works. It's actually a subtle and beautiful film. Harriet Andersson is beautiful and sexy, but not in any cheap way. Truly recommended. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BMEk6LgGL._SY300_.jpg) | Så som i himmelen (As It Is in Heaven) Once again I find myself in need of a quote, from Amazon: Quote Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2005 Academy Awards®, As It Is In Heaven is the story of Daniel, a successful international conductor who returns to his childhood village in Sweden. Soon thereafter, the local church choir seeks him out to solicit his advice. He can't refuse, and nothing in the village is the same again. As the amateur choir develops and grows, he is drawn to the people of his old hometown, makes friends and finds love... A beautiful and engaging film, As It Is In Heaven is a wonderful story about life and love that is sure to inspire and delight.From the title you might think that this is a religious movie. Yes, it's about a church choir but you don't have to be religious to appreciate it. I would say it's uplifting. |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AJRZP7mTL._SY445_.jpg) | Utvandrarna / Nybyggarna (The Emigrants / The New Land) Two films based on the books by Vilhelm Moberg. This is the story of a group of people who, in the middle of the 19th century, found living in rural Sweden so impossible that they decided to emigrate to the land of opportunity, The United States of America, and how they settled in Minnesota. These are truly gripping films with an outstanding cast, lead by Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman. Unfortunately I don't think these are available on DVD with English subtitles. |
Post by: DSig on July 16, 2013, 07:02:37 PM
<lot of bits snipped>If you want the full blunt traumatic force of Ingmar Bergman, then 'The Seventh Seal' is the one to see. Be sure to have tranqs available <G> or large glass of Makers Mark. But is kind of the 'holy grail' for film lovers.
Millennium-trilogin (The Millenium Trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / The Girl who Played with Fire / The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest)
You may have seen Fincher's remake of the first film, but you should really see the full original trilogy. It started as a six part mini-series. The "Extended Version" is actually the full mini-series as shown on TV, 9 hours in total. I only saw the theatrical versions. I liked them all a lot, but the first film is the best. All are worth seeing, though
And 'The Millenium Trilogy' i could not agree more. Although I liked the American remake .. it was the pace and not the content/acting that made it *better* to me. The original is really a must see. The first film, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is to me the best of the three BUT the other two really tie together the characters and their stories. It gives the first one reason and meaning. An I always love it when the powerful get it stuck to them for a change :)
Post by: Achim on July 17, 2013, 06:16:21 AM
Evil Ed (Evil Ed)Saw it at a Film Festival ;D It's splatter, but more on the funny side... It seems to be OOP :(
Well, he he, if you're into splatter movies, this is the best known Swedish splatter movie. That's not saying much, though, because we have produced very few. I'm sure there are others, but this is the only one I'm aware of. Not too easy to find anymore.
Quote
Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring)Yes, I believe Craven's film is indeed supposed to be a horror remake of Virgin Springs. That is why I have a certain interest in that one. I guess it would be like watching The Hidden Fortress to see the origins of Star Wars...
Together with The Seventh Seal, this is probably the most important of Bergman's films. It's a story of rape, death and revenge in the 14th century. I've heard that Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left is supposed to be a remake of The Virgin Spring. I haven't seen Last House, but I can say that The Virgin Spring isn't a horror story, even though the story is horrific. It's a drama. A very gripping drama.
Quote
Mitt liv som hund (My Life as a Dog)I own this too.
Although Lasse Hallström had made quite a few films in Sweden (among them ABBA, The Movie), it was My Life as a Dog that catapulted him to fame. The weird thing is that although I rated it 4.5 out of 5 when I saw it seven years ago, I can hardly remember anything about it. Maybe there is something in there that I don't want to remember...?
Quote
Millennium-trilogin (The Millenium Trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / The Girl who Played with Fire / The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest)I guess at some point I just gotta...
Post by: GSyren on July 21, 2013, 05:12:23 PM
| Title | The Mummy (085392-203420) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BHP4j72-L._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Terence Fisher |
| Actors | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, Eddie Byrne, Felix Aylmer |
| Produced | 1959 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 88 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, French Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English, French |
| Overview | In Hammer Studios' vivid 1959 Technicolor reincarnation of The Mummy, screen horror icon Christopher Lee wraps on the moldy gauze bandages and emerges as the tormented Kharis, an avenger stalking the hills and bogs of Victorian England to track down archaeologist John Banning (Peter Cushing) and other desecrators of his beloved Princess Ananka's Egyptian tomb. "Lee looks tremendous, smashing his way through doorways and erupting from green, dreamlike quagmires in really awe-inspiring, fashion" (David Pirie, Time Out Film Guide). Awe-inspiring, too, was the box-office success of this third Hammer reinvigoration – after The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula – of a classic screen monster. |
| My thoughts | Anytime you put on a Hammer movie with their two greats, Michael Ripper and George Woodbridge, you know you're in for a treat. And this one also got some fellows by the name of Cushing and Lee. ;) I remember well the first time I saw this film in the cinema. That iconic poster (same art as the DVD cover) sure looked promising. I was a little bit disappointed that the mummy didn't actually walk around with a great gaping hole in his body, though. But apart from that, I loved it. Seeing it again this many years later, I'm a bit surprised how obvious it is that "Egypt" is really a studio set. I guess I'm not quite as easily fooled any more. Not that I think that I actually ever believed that they had gone to Egypt to film. Just as in The Curse of Frankenstein, Christopher Lee doesn't get to speak as the monster. He does speak, however, in the flashback as Kharis before he gets mummified. Actually, you never see him getting mummified. He's just wrapped in gauze and made to stand in a hidden compartment in the tomb. I'm not sure how that kept him from decaying. Must be some kind of magic. Or - a curse? It's said that Kharis is put there to guard the tomb. But in order to wake him one has to read from the scroll of life. That doesn't seem to be a very effective way of guarding. What if the people opening the tomb just took the scroll and didn't read it out loud...? Well, I guess you shouldn't look for too much logic in a film like this. But all that means nothing. The film has all the Hammer style you've come to expect from the early Hammer horror films. And Cushing and Lee are great as always. Not to mention... (so I won't, again). A strong 4 out of 5. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: DSig on July 21, 2013, 06:55:11 PM
And with Peter Cushing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cushing) and Christopher Lee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee), a definite trademark of the 50's-early 60's ... how great are they. Many a film has been blessed with their presence. I am really glad that younger audiences might have grown to know "Christopher Lee" from seeing films like "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" and even "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I wish that Peter Cushing was still around .. a great talent lost
Post by: GSyren on July 21, 2013, 09:09:18 PM
like all Hammer Films (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_Films) it has a unique feel to it.Well, I'd say all Hammer films made at Bray. I think Hammer left part of its soul when they moved away from there.
I do agree that Peter Cushing was a great talent. He'd be 100 years old if he was still with us, so he probably wouldn't be working much. But Christopher Lee is 91 and still going strong, so who's to say. Of course, George Burns made it to 100, but I think he stopped acting at the tender age of 98.
Post by: GSyren on July 22, 2013, 08:34:05 AM
| Title | Cracking Up (883316-248751) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41IVflAP2lL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Jerry Lewis |
| Actors | Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, Herb Edelman, Foster Brooks, Zane Busby |
| Produced | 1983 in United States |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Cracking Up is a crazy quilt of sight gags, one-liners, caricatures, slapstick and quirky vocal mannerisms. In short, it’s marvelous mayhem of the kind which has gained Jerry Lewis admirers the world over. Lewis plays a hapless misfit who seeks psychiatric help after bumbling a suicide attempt. His shrink sessions reveal a flashback history about a klutzy childhood and a family history of (what else?) ineptitude, affording Lewis to play a smorgasbord of roles, including a 6-year-old boy, a 15th-century coachman, a good-ol’-boy sheriff and a bearded guru. The wackiness soars to new heights when our nutcase patient takes a transcontinental flight on the cheapest airline he can find. But there’s no scrimping on the laughter. Cracking Up is zany proof that nobody does funnymaking filmmaking better than Lewis. |
| My thoughts | I have two theories regarding Jerry Lewis: - Jerry Lewis is an aquired taste - You have to be in the right mood when watching one of his movies (well, maybe you don't, but I do) After watching Cracking Up my conclusion is that I haven't aquired enough of a taste for Jerry Lewis, or I wasn't as much in the mood as I thought. I just didn't find Cracking Up all that funny. Yes, it does have some funny bits, but in typical JL fashion he often milks them far too long. The film doesn't really have much of a story, it's basically a number of skits tied together with a flimsy frame story. I guess this film was an attempt to re-ignite a career that was going downhill. Cracking Up was preceded by duds like Which Way to the Front, Hardly Working and Slapstick (Of Another Kind), not to mention The Day the Clown Cried, which apparently was so bad that Lewis refused to release it, and doesn't even want to talk about it. Well, I guess that Cracking Up is a step up from those films, but not a huge step. |
| My rating | A weak 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on July 23, 2013, 08:58:16 PM
| Title | The Tower (5-030305-516116) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51n4HjtWH9L._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Kim Ji-hoon |
| Actors | Seol Kyeong-gu, Son Ye-jin, Kim Sang-kyeong, Kim In-kwon, Do Ji-han |
| Produced | 2012 in South Korea |
| Runtime | 117 minutes |
| Audio | Korean Dolby Digital 5.1, Korean Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | The Tower is this year's visually stunning, high rise rollercoaster. When disaster strikes at the top of a 108 floor skyscraper, the lives of thousands are put in danger. Faced with catastrophe, the city's fireman must overcome the odds and find a way to safety for those trapped. As chaos reigns and the building nears collapse will the ultimate sacrifice have to be made…? |
| My thoughts | What do you get if you take The Towering Inferno, add some World Trade Center, spice it up with lots of CGI, and move it all to Korea? You get The Tower. But is it any good? Well, some people think so. Personally I feel about the same as when I saw Peter Jackson's take on King Kong. Too much of everything. Why? Because they can. It's well done, though. So if you like lots of CGI and lots of mindless action, this is for you. Me, I would have prefered more originality and less of everything else. Not bad, but not quite my cup of tea. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on July 24, 2013, 11:40:30 PM
Back in Time (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1193589543/back-in-time)
Post by: Achim on July 25, 2013, 06:36:01 AM
Personally I feel about the same as when I saw Peter Jackson's take on King Kong. Too much of everything. Why? Because they can.I just rewatched Peter Jackson's King Kong the other day. That film, is not aging well at all. At first viewing one is pretty much in awe of the high level standard of the special effects (which also age surprisingly bad), but latest at the second viewing it comes down to the film itself.
I must rewatch the original soon...
Post by: Jimmy on July 25, 2013, 08:20:44 AM
I wasn't, in fact I was bored to death. Common even King Kong 76 is more entertainning than that overlong film.
I just rewatched Peter Jackson's King Kong the other day. That film, is not aging well at all. At first viewing one is pretty much in awe of the high level standard of the special effects.
Trade it for Tromeo and Juliette, so at least I got something 200 times better for it... I even think that Pete never watch it and that trade was four years ago.
Post by: GSyren on July 25, 2013, 02:03:41 PM
Quote
Adolf Hitler (Actor), General Heinz Guderian (Actor), Third Reich (Director)(I'm not even sure what smiley - if any - is appropriate here...)
Post by: DSig on July 25, 2013, 05:07:52 PM
Yeah .. sometimes it is like reading wikipedia. If it is on the Internet it has to be right lol
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on July 25, 2013, 05:36:21 PM
Do they get their data from dvdProfiler? <G>
Obviously not, since IMDb is a 100% subcompany of Amazon.
I'm just not sure who is providing whom with data.
Post by: GSyren on July 28, 2013, 08:25:15 PM
| Title | Faster (5-051162-283676) |
| (http://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/movie/blu-ray/image0/faster_blu-ray-12256979-frntl.jpg) | |
| Director | George Tillman, Jr. |
| Actors | Dwayne Johnson, Mauricio Lopez, James Gaines, Tom Berenger, Jan Hoag |
| Produced | 2010 in United States |
| Runtime | 94 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Catalonian Dolby Digital 5.1, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, Finnish, Hindi, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai |
| Overview | After 10 years in prison, Driver (Dwayne Johnson) has focused on one thing – hunting down the people responsible for brutally murdering his brother. Now a free man with a terrifying purpose, he sets out to find and kill all those on his list. But on his heals are two men who will do anything to stop him – a veteran cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and a hitman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who finds his match in this worthy opponent. Now, the hunter is also the hunted. |
| My thoughts | Like many of today's action stars, Dwayne Johnson is not much of an actor. But then again, films like Faster don't require a great range of emotions. Actually. it basically just needs on - hate. And Dwayne does that OK. The story is pretty simple. "The Driver" (Johnson) wants to hunt down and kill the gang that killed his brother. He also wants to find the as yet unknown man who put them up to it. That man has hired a killer to stop The Driver. Films like this needs a balance. The reveal at the end - who the top man is - shouldn't come totally out of the blue. But on the other hand it shouldn't be so obvious that it totally ruins the surprise. The director doesn't quite pull this off. The hint is not subtle enough. The films isn't just mindless action, though. Billy Bob Thornton does quite a good job as the drug addicted cop on The Driver's tail. Jennifer Carpenter has a small role, but even that is too much for me. I just don't like her at all. She had some good moments in Dexter, but not here. So, all in all a fair action/revenge movie that didn't quite work for me. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: DSig on July 29, 2013, 04:58:04 PM
Quote
Like many of today's action stars, Dwayne Johnson is not much of an actorThanks for that .. you made me smile this morning :)
My daughter and I were talking the other day about the *action* genre of film and who will really be able to take it on as the current AGING stars slow down. Bet there will just be more and more CGI and no talents doing them. Similar to 'reality tv' :o
Post by: GSyren on July 30, 2013, 09:37:48 AM
Bet there will just be more and more CGI and no talents doing them. Similar to 'reality tv'Reality TV? Go wash your mouth with soap, David! ;)
Post by: GSyren on July 30, 2013, 05:36:39 PM
Post by: GSyren on July 31, 2013, 03:04:03 PM
| Title | The Beast of Hollow Mountain (8-427328-750219) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q-QXEfOHL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Edward Nassour, Ismael Rodriguez |
| Actors | Guy Madison, Patricia Medina, Carlos Rivas, Edward Noriega, Julio Villarreal |
| Produced | 1956 in United States |
| Runtime | 79 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | French, Spanish |
| Overview | An American cowboy living in Mexico discovers his cattle is being eaten by a giant prehistoric dinosaur. |
| My thoughts | Willis O'Brien, the man behind the animation and effects in King Kong, had an idea for a film with cowboys and dinosaurs. He never got to make that film, but his idea spawned two films; The Beast of Hollow Mountain and The Valley of Gwangi. Beast was first out, and is definitely the lesser of the two. And it's the one with the least dinosaur footage. Aside from a very short sequence, we're almost at the one hour mark of the 1:19 runtime before any real dinosaur action takes place. Before that it's a pretty routine cowboy movie. The animation isn't very good. It would be a compliment to even call it second rate. The only exception is a few walking and running sequences that - according to Neil Pettigrew in his book "The Stop Motion Fimography" - is made with replacement animation. That entails making a set of fixed models that represent a walking/running cycle and using them one at a time over and over. This makes for a smooth animation, but looks a bit fake since there is no variation at all, every steep looks the same. The Beast of Hollow Mountain was supposedly the first stop motion film to be shot in CinemaScope and color. Using back projection in color adds a level of problems, and several scenes show problems with color matching and fuzzy backgrounds. When Ray Harryhausen was asked to do 7th Voyage of Sinbad in color two years later, he hesitated and only gave in after much experimentation. Possibly he had seen the trouble they had in Beast. If you have the chance, you should watch The Beast of Hollow Mountain followed directly by watching The Valley of Gwangi, and you will appreciate the greatness of Ray Harryhausen's animation. While Gwangi is certainly not a perfect movie, it's definitely better than Beast. The Beast of Hollow Mountain is not easy to find on DVD, and if you're not a stop motion fan, it's hardly worth the trouble. The DVD I found is a Spanish region free PAL release. It's not anamorphic. The picture quality is just acceptable, and with one exception the print used is free from damage. It's certainly better than watching it online, though. |
| My rating | 2.5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on August 07, 2013, 09:51:23 AM
| Title | Oz the Great and Powerful (8-717418-393489) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/613tvjCzM6L._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Director | Sam Raimi |
| Actors | James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 130 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Italian DTS 5.1, Russian Dolby Digital 5.1, Other Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English, Italian, Other, Lithuanian, Russian, Greek, Estonian, Latvian |
| Overview | Disney's fantastical adventure Oz The Great And Powerful, from the director of the Spider-Man trilogy, follows Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics. When Diggs is hurled away to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot – until he meets three witches (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams), who aren't convinced he's the great wizard everyone's expecting. Reluctantly drawn into epic problems facing Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it's too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity – and even some wizardry – Oscar transforms himself into the great Wizard and a better man as well. |
| My thoughts | There have been Oz movies before and after 1939, but up til now the MGM version has been the definitive Oz movie. Oz the Great and Powerful is not just an adaption of one or more of L. Frank Baum’s books, but very clearly meant as a prequel to the 1939 movie. That’s both a strength and a weakness. The 1939 movie isn’t really about the Wizard of Oz. It’s about Dorothy. This film is about the wizard. And also about the three witches. It totally ignores the other protagonists of the 1939 film, though; the scarecrow, the tinman and the cowardly lion. But the bigger problem - for me anyway - is the wizard himself. Not having read the Baum books I cannot decide if he is true to the books, but that’s a bit beside the point. Since this is so clearly a prequel, it’s important that we can look at him and say, yes he could grow into the wizard we know from the 1939 film. And I just can’t see that. Many have critizised James Franco’s portrayal of the wizard. And to some extent I agree with them. But the problem goes deeper than that. The problem is in the script. The wizard’s personality clashes way too much with the wizard we all know and love. This film carries over at least two traditions from the 1939 film; it open in black and white, and figures from the ”real” world are carried over to Oz. But both these are failures, in my opinion. The transition from b&w to color is not nearly as inventive as in the original. And the figures carried over are too subtle. Two of them reappear in voice only, since their Oz characters are animated. And there is yet another problem. Unlike the Baum books, the 1939 film clearly indicates that Dorothy’s adventure is all a dream. And if that’s the case, then this story makes no sense. In a way I prefer the 1985 ”Return to Oz”, because it goes back to Baum’s books and doesn’t pretend to have any connection to the 1939 film. But despite all this I still like this film. For all its faults it still has a lot of charm, and it is technically impressive. I like the fact that a lot of the sets were built for real, so the actors didn’t just have to walk around empty greenscreen stages, like in many other films today. It does make a difference. All in all, far from the perfect prequel to the 1939 film (as if that’s even possible). But still quite an entertaining film. Recommanded with reservations. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: Achim on August 08, 2013, 06:15:28 AM
The 1939 movie isn’t really about the Wizard of Oz. It’s about Dorothy. This film is about the wizard. And also about the three witches.I always thought there was four witches, two good ones and two bad ones, resp. one for North, South, East and West each. :headscratch:
Post by: GSyren on August 08, 2013, 09:16:54 AM
I always thought there was four witches, two good ones and two bad ones, resp. one for North, South, East and West each. :headscratch:Seems logical, doesn't it? Maybe there were four witches in the books, but there are only three in the 1939 film, and also in this one. And of course in the 1939 film we only see the feet (or defeat, if you like 8)) of one of the bad witches after Dorothy's house lands on her.
Post by: GSyren on August 08, 2013, 03:00:57 PM
| Title | Bunny Lake is Missing (5-035822-932937) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518koi0W44L._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Otto Preminger |
| Actors | Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley, Lucie Mannheim, Noël Coward, Delphi Lawrence |
| Produced | 1965 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 103 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | When Ann Lake (Carol Lynley, The Poseidon Adventure) goes to pick up four year old Bunny at her new preschool in London, she's told that no child by that name is enrolled there... Superintendent Newhouse (Academy Award® winner Laurence Olivier, Best Actor, 1948, Hamlet; The Boys From Brazil) of Scotland Yard is assigned to the case. His suspects include: Steven Lake (Keir Dullea, 2001: A Space Odyssey), the child's protective uncle; Horatio Wilson (Noël Coward, The Italian Job - 1969), the Lake's decadent landlord; and Aida Ford (Martita Hunt, Anastasia), the school's eccentric ex-headmistress, but he soon learns that no one has actually seen the child and there is absolutely no proof that Bunny ever existed. Ann maintains the child's been kidnapped, but Newhouse begins to suspect that the hysterical young woman may just be insane. Bunny Lake is Missing is director Otto Preminger's (Anatomy of a Murder) controversial masterpiece of terror and suspense. |
| My thoughts | If you only read the one line plot description on IMDb - A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed - you might well think that the film was Flightplan with Jodie Foster. The premise isn’t that new, though. But apart from that, these films have very little in common. In this film, young mother Ann Lake has moved to London from Boston, and has left her four year old daughter for her first day at school. Since she was a bit late, there was nobody to hand over her daughter to, but the cook promised to keep an eye on Bunny. But when Ann comes to collect her daughter, Bunny is nowhere to be found, and none of the staff remembers seeing her and the cook has quit and left the school. Going further into the story would be too much of a spoiler. I felt that the story didn’t really make sense in some places, and for me, the only surprise at the ending was how ”off” it seemed. There are many good performances, though. The most pleasing one is Sir Laurence Olivier as a police superintendent. Carol Lynley as Ann Lake and Keir Dullea as her brother are ok, but it’s hard to shine in the company of so many great British actors; Anna Massey, Martita Hunt, Finlay Currie and Noël Coward, just to mention a few. The pop group The Zombies get a credit, even though they’re only seen on TV (from ”Top of the Pops”, I believe), and one astute reviewer noted that even though we hear parts of three of their songs, the one that would have been most appropriate, ”She’s not there”, isn’t among them. Uneven but interesting would be my verdict. Recommended, though. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on August 26, 2013, 12:04:38 PM
| Title | Safety Last! (715515-106511) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514YjX8U4lL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor |
| Actors | Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother, Noah Young, Westcott B. Clarke |
| Produced | 1923 in United States |
| Runtime | 74 minutes |
| Audio | Music Only PCM 2-Channel Stereo, Music Only PCM Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | The comic genius of silent star Harold Lloyd is eternal. Chaplin was the sweet innocent, Keaton the stoic outsider, but Lloyd—the modern guy striving for success—is us. And with its torrent of perfectly executed gags and astonishing stunts, Safety Last! is the perfect introduction to him. Lloyd plays a small-town bumpkin trying to make it in the big city, who finds employment as a lowly department-store clerk. He comes up with a wild publicity stunt to draw attention to the store, resulting in an incredible feat of derring-do on his part that gets him started on the climb to success. Laugh-out-loud funny and jaw-dropping in equal measure, Safety Last! is a movie experience par excellence, anchored by a genuine legend. |
| My thoughts | The featurette calls Harold Lloyd ”The Third Genius” (the other two being Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton). It’s a crying shame that so many people today haven’t heard of Harold Lloyd. He made lots of films and was one of the most successful actors of the silent era. Safety Last! is his best known film, and it’s absolutely great. The scenes of Harold climbing the building are remarkably well done. You might think they were done using rear projection, but they were not. That technique had not been perfected yet. And even if it had, Lloyd probably wouldn’t have used it. One small problem that the film holds, in my opinion, is that you know from the outset that Lloyd is going to get into peril on the ouside of the building, so the build-up - as funny as it is - feels like it’s dragging just a bit. You want to get to the exciting part. But the build-up is necessary in order to explain why Harold is climbing the building, so just sit tight and enjoy the gags. The climbing sequence is brilliantly devised and executed. How many different unforseen obstacles can you encounter climbing a building wall? Well, lots. And they just get worse as Harold gets higher. So, how does this 90 year old film look? It looks fantastic. There may be a few very minor blemishes, but short of a full scale restoration it’s hard to imagine that it could look any better. I’m usually not that fond of silent movies. But there are a few that I just love. There’s the 1924 Thief of Bagdad. There’s Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. There’s Buster Keaton’s The General. There are a few others, too. But I think that my number one favorite is Safety Last! |
| My rating | 4.5 out of 5 |
Post by: DSig on August 26, 2013, 03:42:51 PM
Post by: Achim on August 27, 2013, 06:02:15 AM
Mine arrived yesterday :)
Title Safety Last! (715515-106511) My thoughts The featurette calls Harold Lloyd ”The Third Genius” (the other two being Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton). It’s a crying shame that so many people today haven’t heard of Harold Lloyd. He made lots of films and was one of the most successful actors of the silent era. Safety Last! is his best known film, and it’s absolutely great.
The scenes of Harold climbing the building are remarkably well done. You might think they were done using rear projection, but they were not. That technique had not been perfected yet. And even if it had, Lloyd probably wouldn’t have used it.
I have know Harold since I was a little kid. I have always preferred his style over Chaplin (I bought some of his Criterion releases) and Keaton (I The General and might go for Steamboat Willie later on), although my favorites were always Laurel & Hardy, who are sadly underrepresented on DVD let alone Blu-ray.
Did the featurette also explain how the clock effect was achieved? While no rear projection was involved, Lloyd was not in complete danger...
Post by: GSyren on August 27, 2013, 08:13:58 AM
Did the featurette also explain how the clock effect was achieved? While no rear projection was involved, Lloyd was not in complete danger...Oh yes, it was explained in detail. Not quite as dangerous as it looks, no, but risky enough. I didn't want to go into any detail because it's a bit of a spoiler for those who may not have seen the film yet.
Quote
my favorites were always Laurel & Hardy, who are sadly underrepresented on DVD let alone Blu-rayAgreed, but they were not stars of the silent era. Have you checked out this one?
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41diR49p5AL._AA160_.jpg)Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection (http://www.amazon.com/Laurel-Hardy-Essential-Collection-Stan/dp/B005BYBZKY/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1377583735&sr=1-1&keywords=laurel+and+hardy+complete+collection)
Post by: Achim on August 28, 2013, 06:11:15 AM
Oh yes, it was explained in detail. Not quite as dangerous as it looks, no, but risky enough. I didn't want to go into any detail because it's a bit of a spoiler for those who may not have seen the film yet.The video I have seen may actually have been on Criterions website or their YouTube channel; so probably the exact same thing you saw :bag:
Quote
Agreed, but they were not stars of the silent era. Have you checked out this one?No, hadn't seen it. I have added it to my wish list. Released 2011, so not even old...
Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection (http://www.amazon.com/Laurel-Hardy-Essential-Collection-Stan/dp/B005BYBZKY/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1377583735&sr=1-1&keywords=laurel+and+hardy+complete+collection)
Weren't they active throughout the transition from silent to sound, just like Chaplin? Maybe with Chaplin more grounded in silent and laurel and Hady more in sound...? (I seem them all more of comedy stars of that "era" in general, maybe limited to b/w films.)
Post by: GSyren on August 28, 2013, 10:18:34 AM
Maybe with Chaplin more grounded in silent and laurel and Hady more in sound...?Yes, that's what I meant. L&H certainly did some silent shorts, but the main body or their work was in sound.
I know that Babes in Toyland, and possibly some other of their films, has been colorized, but I don't think any of their films were actually shot in color.
Post by: Achim on August 28, 2013, 05:35:01 PM
It actually seems to be Sweden (?) where a decent amount of Blu-rays is available...
They used to be on German TV a lot when I was a kid. One of the few things the whole family enjoyed to watch.
Post by: GSyren on August 28, 2013, 08:18:23 PM
Not their most well known titles, perhaps; A-Haunting We Will Go, The Bullfighters, The Dancing Masters, The Big Noise, Jitterbugs and Great Guns.
Post by: Achim on August 29, 2013, 06:05:37 AM
FWIW, I sent a suggestion to Criterion to consider Laurel & Hardy.
Post by: GSyren on August 30, 2013, 09:32:16 AM
| Title | The Man with the Golden Gun (Disc ID: 7654-3EAA-D664-374B) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IYjJd4rcL._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Director | Guy Hamilton |
| Actors | Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Hervé Villechaize |
| Produced | 1974 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 125 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Commentary, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Czech |
| Overview | James Bond has been marked for death, and he'll need all his lethal instincts and seductive charm to survive in this action-packed adventure! Roger Moore returns as Agent 007 and faces off in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with assassin Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee). Featuring a wild automobile chase though Bangkok and Bond's stunning confrontation with an entire martial-arts school. The Man with the Golden Gun delivers nonstop excitement! |
| My thoughts | This is my next to last Bond on blu-ray from the Bond 50 box, and one of my least favorite Bond movies. While both Roger Moore and Christopher Lee are quite good, there are several reasons why I don’t particularly like this movie. First of all, I never really liked Moore for Bond. I read most of the Bond books during Connery’s reign, and I just didn’t think Moore was the right person to play Bond. Secondly, the script had too many silly jokes. Clifton James as Sheriff J. W. Pepper was bad enough once, making him return here was adding insult to injury. Nick Nack was pretty silly, too. If it hadn’t been for Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough, I would have said that Britt Ekland was the worst Bond girl ever. Fortunately Maud Adams was very good, so we Swedes don’t have to be totally ashamed. To top it off, the filmmakers had to ruin a great car stunt - the 360 flip - by adding a silly sound effect. The only Bond films I liked even less were Moonraker and Quantum of Solace. Moonraker because it was even sillier than TMWTGG, and QoS because it bored me to the point that I fell asleep. Maybe I need to rewatch that one, but I don’t think it will happen any time soon. For all its faults, at least this movie wasn’t boring. But neither was it terribly memorable. The thought that lingered in my mind after watching it was ”Did Bond ever honor his promise of 20,000 baht to the little boy?” |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: DSig on August 30, 2013, 08:48:54 PM
But I never thought that Bond should be campy. The books never were and the character should not be. Although I kind of hate to say it ... being a Connery fan first and always ... Daniel Craig has been doing a great job. He gets beat up real good ... like an english version of John McClane :D
But having seen Dr. No when it first came out I have been and always will be a Connery-Bond kind of guy
Post by: Kathy on August 30, 2013, 09:05:03 PM
Post by: GSyren on August 31, 2013, 12:35:47 AM
Post by: Achim on August 31, 2013, 02:36:52 AM
When I grew up I got to know Onnery first, which may be part of why I like him the most.
Lazenby is the worst Bond in one of the best Bond films.
So far Moore clearly has the largest share of duds. But I really liked For Your Eyes Only; IIRC it was the first Bond I saw at the cinema.
Dalton is good, but the material he's given fails. License To Kill is a good movie, but not a good Bond film.
I have never seen any of the Brosnan's films.
Craig is great, although Quantum of Solace severely lacked... Skyfall is one of the best Bond films thus far for me as well.
Post by: GSyren on August 31, 2013, 01:35:56 PM
My favorite Brosnan Bond movie is Goldeneye. And not just because it has another Swedish Bond girl - Izabella Scorupco - although she is quite good. And hot. And there's Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp. That's a character name that I think Ian Fleming would have approved. ;)
Post by: DSig on August 31, 2013, 04:42:37 PM
Post by: GSyren on August 31, 2013, 07:46:37 PM
But you have to give Jaws credit a great bad guyIn The Spy Who Loved Me, yes. In Moonraker, no.
Post by: GSyren on September 06, 2013, 08:50:23 AM
| Title | Subspecies (5-037899-047194) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51cyyG1rP9L._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ted Nicolaou |
| Actors | Angus Scrimm, Anders Hove, Irina Movila, Laura Tate, Michelle McBride |
| Produced | 1991 in United States |
| Runtime | 83 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | As ancient Transylvania struggles into modern times, old myths and superstitions blur with reality. Two American students, Michelle and Lillian, join their Romanian friend Mara in the Carpathian Mountains to study the legends of vampires. While the three innocents explore the mysterious village culture and rituals, a suppressed evil rises again and casts its shadow upon the land. Unknowingly snared in a centuries-old family feud, the girls fall into the clutches of Radu: a diabolical vampire prince whose madness and bloodlust know no bounds. To claim his birthright – the ancient Bloodstone – Radu kills his father and hunts his noble half brother Stefan. With Stefan's help, the girls fight for their lives against Radu and his minions – the Subspecies – an army of hellish creatures born of his own flesh. Will they survive to see the sunrise or will Radu curse them to eternal night? |
| My thoughts | I have mixed feelings about Subspecies. On the plus side - and this is a big plus for me - it's vampires done right. Radu (Anders Hove) is evil through and through. With his long fingers he looks quite a bit like Nosferatu. And the story itself isn't bad. And they put the Romainian locations to good use. So far, so good. But there are quite a few things on the minus side. Most prominently the subspecies. These small creatures were initially done by actors in red suits. But these sequences were deemed not fantastic enough, so David Allen was tasked with replacing them with puppets. The big problem was that he had no background plates that were shot with this in mind, so he had to use whatever footage from the Romainan shoot that could possibly be used. The result is that the title creatures don't actually do very much, storywise. And the quality of these special effects is variable, to say the least. Then there is Angus Scrimm. Wait, was Scrimm in the picture? Oh, right, he's the vampire king that gets knocked off right at the start of the film. And for that he gets top billing. That doesn't leave a whole lot in the acting department. Oh, Anders is probably a capable actor, but this film doesn't really focus on his acting but more on his looking scary. Which he does. The females look good, and that's fine, but none of them have any particular acting skills. A check of their resumes on IMDb confirm my suspicions. None of them have more than 10 titles to their name. The films generated three direct-to-video sequels. I haven't seen any of them, but I wonder if any of them actually featured the titular subspecies. I rather suspect they didn't. They did feature Anders Hove as the vampire Radu, though. So, in conclusion, a bit of a disappointment, but not without interest. Recommended if you prefer Nosferatu and Christopher Lee's Dracula to True Blood. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on September 06, 2013, 04:44:58 PM
I was never a great fan of Ingmar Bergman. It pains me a little to confess to this. As a Swede and a film lover it feels almost like treason not to totally embrace our foremost film director. Maybe I started too soon and/or with the wrong film. I was sixteen when The Silence opened, and since it was very controversial and I was very curious, of course I went to see it. And I didn’t like it at all. It took me a LONG time before I felt comfortable watching another Bergman film. So far I’ve seen Summer with Monika, The Sevent Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Virgin Spring and Fanny and Alexander. And The Magic Flute, but that doesn’t really count.
I’ve seen parts of other films on TV, but I feel that they’re just not for me. I have my own demons to wrestle. Not as many as Bergman, perhaps, but I don’t want to take on his as well. I may go for some of his earlier films that are not so dark, we’ll see.
I do get upset when people put down Bergman and his films, though. On IMDb someone wrote about Wild Strawberries that it was ”Second worst film of all time, after The Seventh Seal”. I’m ok if someone says ”I didn’t like it” or ”I didn’t get it” or something like that. But anyone with half a brain should understand that films don’t get reputations like these have if they are bad. That statement is so disrespectful. Personally, I didn’t like 2001, but I certainly wouldn’t attribute that to the film being bad.
Post by: GSyren on September 06, 2013, 04:51:26 PM
| Title | Wild Strawberries (715515-106818) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510SrEtR6lL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ingmar Bergman |
| Actors | Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, Folke Sundquist |
| Produced | 1957 in Sweden |
| Runtime | 93 minutes |
| Audio | Swedish PCM Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Traveling to accept an honorary degree, Professor Isak Borg—masterfully played by veteran director Victor Sjöström—is forced to face his past, come to terms with his faults, and make peace with the inevitability of his approaching death. Through flashbacks and fantasies, dreams and nightmares, Wild Strawberries dramatizes one man's remarkable voyage of self-discovery. This richly humane masterpiece, full of iconic imagery, is a treasure from the golden age of art-house cinema and one of the films that catapulted Ingmar Bergman to international acclaim. |
| My thoughts | Bergman had many strengths. Not only was he a great director, but he wrote all of his films himself, and he surrounded himself with the best people in the business, both in front of the camera and behind it. Wild Strawberries is no exception. First of all I would like to explain the original title ”Smultronstället”. A literal translation would be ”The wild strawberry place”. However the word has a special significance. Translated from Swedish Wikipedia: Quote The word Smultronställe has been used since the early 1900s to describe a place that you like to come back to and that is not so easy for others to find. A Smultronställe is a place where you feel good and can relax, a place that you can go to when you're stressed and have too much to do. Examples would be a café with special style, a clearing in the woods or a place, not so well known, that has a nice view. So, although wild strawberries (smultron) are a part of the story, the title means much more than that. When the old man (Victor Sjöström) remembers his childhood, the place where he grew up is his Smultronställe. I don’t like to analyze films, so I won’t even try with this one. I can just say that I liked it a lot. Perhaps in part because I too am getting old. Not as old as the man in the film (he’s 78, I’m 66), but old enough to realize that most of my life lies behind me, and I too can look back and be sentimental. Another reason is Bibi Andersson. I always liked her. Possibly in part because she reminds me very much of my first love who was also blond, beautiful and called Bibi. You never quite get over the first one, do you? This is a beautiful film, and rather more accessible than some of Bergman’s later works. It may not be my all time favorite, but it certainly ranks among the top 20. The Criterion release also features a 90 minute interview with Ingmar Bergman by Finnish writer/producer/director Jörn Donner. It’s really interesting, and nearly as good as the film itself. Very highly recommended! |
| My rating | 4.5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on September 08, 2013, 03:19:48 PM
| Title | The Good, The Bad, The Weird (030306-185293) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51OuBaRTaLL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Kim Jee-woon |
| Actors | Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Yoon Jae-moon, Ryu Seung-soo |
| Produced | 2008 in South Korea |
| Runtime | 130 minutes |
| Audio | Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Korean PCM 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English, Spanish |
| Overview | From acclaimed South Korean writer/director Kim Jee-woon (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, A BITTERSWEET LIFE) comes the wild western saga of three strangers – a bounty hunter (Jung Woo-sung of THE WARRIOR), a ruthless assassin (Lee Byung-hun of G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA) and a bumbling thief (Song Kang-ho of THE HOST and THIRST) – chasing a stolen treasure map across 1930's Manchuria. But in a lawless frontier where bandits, gangsters, and the Japanese army all battle for control, which double-crossing gunslinger will blast his way to victory? From its spectacular opening train robbery to the final white-knuckle showdown, experience the international action smash that Quiet Earth calls "Outta this world...A brilliantly executed ballet of violence and adventure that'll have you picking your jaw up off the floor many times before the credits roll!" |
| My thoughts | This has languished in my unwatched pile for some time. Well, three years, actually. One reason that it took this long is probably that it takes a little more concentration to watch a film that’s subtitled in a language that is not your first language. And if the film is over 2 hours long, it’s not something I start watching just on the spur of the moment. But I’m glad that I finally got around to watching it. A Korean western style movie is not something you come across very often. I call it ”western style” because it’s not a western in the strictest sense, since it doesn’t take place in the west. It’s set in Manchuria in the 1930s. The mix of the western style and the 1930s vehicles and weapons feels a bit anachronistic. The films is on occasion rather confusing. In the big shoot-outs it’s hard to tell who is with who and sometimes also why they are there in the first place. It’s also very violent. A bit too violent for my taste. But even though it’s over two hours long, it never gets boring. It’s almost non stop action. The actors are very good, and the director certainly has style. This has whet my appetite for more of his films. I’ll have to look up what else is available on DVD/BD with English subs. So, when you’re in the right mood, this is a very enjoyable film, despite a few cons. Definitely recommended. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on September 12, 2013, 12:09:47 PM
The new UK Bluray release of Brides of Dracula has been criticised because of the framing. It is framed 2.0:1. The old DVD release was framed 1.66:1.
I know that many of Hammer's films were shot with different framings in mind, so they could be shown both 1.66 and 1.85. I don't think they were ever intended to be shown 2.0:1 though. The interesting thing is that although the BD image is cropped at top and/or bottom, it does show a tiny bit more on the sides.
(http://s11.postimg.org/gocqgxfqr/Old_DVD.jpg)
2005 DVD (Hammer Horror Series)
(http://s8.postimg.org/3ni0jiemd/Blu_Ray.jpg)
2013 Bluray from Final Cut Entertainment's BD Combo
So this is a sort of Pan & Scan, but vertically. So does this impact the viewing of the film negatively? If you are very familiar with how the film should look, probably. If not, then chances are you wouldn't react. But still I don't understand why they did this. Why not at least settle for 1.85 or 1.78?
Still, the BD has better picture and sound quality, so that is a plus. So, is this an upgrade for you? Depends on how much of purist you are. Even the DVD that comes with this combo looks better than the old DVD, but not by that much. The BD is locked to Region B, so it is probably not interesting to people in the US, unless they have a region free Bluray player.
Hopefully there will be a Region A release with better framing.
Post by: GSyren on September 21, 2013, 01:47:27 PM
| Title | X The Unknown (5-019322-061632) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NQTCH4RZL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Leslie Norman |
| Actors | Dean Jagger, Edward Chapman, Leo McKern, Anthony Newley, Jameson Clark |
| Produced | 1956 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 77 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Mysterious events surround the sudden appearance of a gaping fissure in Scotland: soldiers on manoeuvres nearby develop a debilitating sickness and a small boy is later engulfed by an eerie presence. The child subsequently dies of first-degree radiation burns, similar to those that killed one of the soldiers. Mankind is at the mercy of a seemingly unstoppable organism that melts the flesh of those in its path. Atomic energy specialist Dr Adam Royston (Dean Jagger) and his colleague McGill (Leo McKern) investigate the deadly phenomenon, which they trace to the depths of the fissure. As the death toll rises, Royston devises a daring plan to snare the creature in a lethal radioactive trap... X the Unknown was only the second of Hammer's horror productions, but contained some of the most grisly and disturbing special effects seen in any of the company's films. This DVD features the original uncut British theatrical print of X the Unknown and bonus material featuring the film's screenwriter Jimmy Sangster. |
| My thoughts | I was reading in my Hammer books about X The Unknown and I felt that it was time to watch it again. Some people call this Science-Fiction, others call it Horror. I would lean towards Horror, because as far as the ”science” goes, the script is just about as scientifical as Dracula or Frankenstein. That doesn’t make it a bad film, though. It seems that writer Jimmy Sangster thought it would be interesting with a ”monster” that didn’t come from outer space, but rather from inner space. And if you just ignore that the science is bogus, it’s a rather exciting story. For most of the film you don’t get to actually see the ”monster”. There is a crackling sound and some weird lights and peoples horrified reactions. And when you finally see it, it kind of resembles The Blob. Except it eats energy and not people. The film was supposed to be directed by Joseph Losey, but it’s american star, Dean Jagger, flat out refused to work with Losey because Losey was blacklisted by the House of Unamerican Activities (senator McCarthy’s witchhunt on communists). So Leslie Norman was called in as a last minute replacement. Except for a codirector credit in 1939, Norman only had one previous directorial credit, the thriller The Night My Number Came Up (1955). Apparently Norman was not well liked by the cast and crew, and the shoot was not a happy one. But in spite of that, the film is quite good. Hammer had had a success the year before with The Quatermass Xperiment starring Brian Donlevy. And they wanted a follow-up. But Professor Quatermass was Nigel Kneale’s creation and Sangster couldn’t use the name withoug Kneale’s approval. So instead we have Dr. Royston, played by Jagger. Leo McKern is also good as Inspector McGill from the Atomic Energy Commission. And of course my Hammer favorite Michael Ripper has a small part as an army sergeant. On first viewing I gave this film 3/5, but now when I watched it again I actually liked it a bit better. Highly recommended if you’re a Hammer fan. Still recommended if you’re not. |
| My rating | 3.5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on September 22, 2013, 05:10:01 PM
Yesterday evening I decided I felt for some comedy and and a detective story. So I picked up Laverne & Shirley, season 3, and Honey West, the one and only season. So I watched ep 4 of L&S - Robot Lawsuit.
(http://s12.postimg.org/3ztlt1vyx/L_S.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/3ztlt1vyx/)
Then I watched the next unwatched episode of Honey West, ep 25 - The Fun-Fun Killer. And to my surprise I found that this one was about a robot as well.
(http://s12.postimg.org/jmkv6f9qx/image.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/jmkv6f9qx/)
As far as I know, these are the only robot episodes of these two shows, and I just happened to get to them the same evening. ???
Post by: Piffi on September 22, 2013, 05:16:19 PM
Post by: GSyren on September 22, 2013, 06:23:17 PM
Post by: Piffi on September 22, 2013, 06:42:47 PM
Post by: GSyren on September 23, 2013, 12:06:13 AM
Post by: Piffi on September 23, 2013, 12:15:47 AM
Post by: GSyren on September 23, 2013, 08:00:49 AM
Post by: GSyren on September 24, 2013, 01:28:20 PM
| Title | Willow (5-039036-050005) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q9sFQoUrL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ron Howard |
| Actors | Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, Jean Marsh, Patricia Hayes |
| Produced | 1988 in United States |
| Runtime | 126 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish |
| Overview | Journey to the far corners of your imagination with Willow, for the first time ever on Blu-ray! Now fully digitally restored, this release features a dazzling array of extras, including new, never-before-seen exclusive content. From legendary filmmakers George Lucas and Ron Howard comes a timeless fantasy tale in which heroes comes in all sizes...and adventure is the greatest magic of all. When young Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) finds an abandoned baby girl, he learns she is destined to end the reign of the wicked Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). In order to protect the child, Willow must team up with a rogue swordsman (Val Kilmer) and overcome the forces of darkness in the ultimate battle of good versus evil! |
| My thoughts | One of the benefits of getting old and forgetful is that you can rewatch old movies and experience them again for the first time. Well, I may not be quite that senile yet, but it’s eleven years since I last saw Willow, and I only remembered a few bits and pieces, so it was really good to see it again. This time in high definition. So, what can I say about Willow? It’s just over two hour long. I’m kind of old fashioned, and I usually prefer my movies to confirm to the old hour-and-a-half standard. That said, Willow didn’t feel overlong. So Ron Howard must have done something right. Some of the CGI that amazed me back in the late eighties felt rather ”meh” now. Those morphs felt a bit like ”Look what we can do!”, and that’s just old school now. But I can glady overlook that. Some people have criticised Willow because the story is too much like Star Wars. Or the story is too much like Lord of the Rings. Well, boohoo. How many films have a storyline that is totally unique? Don’t overthink it, just enjoy it! It may not be the greatest fantasy film ever, but it’s good enough. So there! The blu-ray release looks stunning, and sound stunning, too. Apparently not all of the extras from the old DVD has been carried over, most notably a commentary track by Warwick Davies. Despite this I give this release of Willow a big thumbs up! |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on September 24, 2013, 03:18:25 PM
Post by: GSyren on September 26, 2013, 10:11:28 AM
| Title | Home on the Range (5-017188-814812) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XHXQEHNKL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Will Finn, John Sanford |
| Actors | G. W. Bailey, Roseanne Barr, Bobby Block, Steve Buscemi, Carole Cook |
| Produced | 2004 in United States |
| Runtime | 73 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, Other Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Overview | DISNEY'S 44th ANIMATED CLASSIC Round up the family and get ready for a whole lotta fun with Disney's hilarious animated comedy HOME ON THE RANGE. When a greedy outlaw schemes to take possession of the "Patch Of Heaven" dairy farm, three determined cows, a karate-kicking stallion named Buck and a colourful corral of critters join forces to save their home. The stakes are sky-high as this unlikely animal alliance risk their hides and match wits with a mysterious band of bad guys. Experience an all-new moo-vie adventure with stunning animation, lovable characters and original songs performed by k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw and The Beu Sisters and written by the Academy Award®-winning* composer of Beauty And The Beast and Aladdin. *Alan Menken, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, 1991; Best Original Song, Best Original Score, 1992. |
| My thoughts | I’m a Disney animation fan. I own every traditional animation theatrically released feature on DVD except The Wild, and also most computer animated features except the Tinker Bell sequels. I have some, but far from all, of their animated direct-to-video features. That said, I held off buying Home on the Range until quite recently, mostly because of the bad reviews. Finally it was so cheap that I felt I had to give it a try. It’s certainly not Disney’s finest hour, but I don’t think it’s as bad as some reviewers have made it out to be. Perhaps it would have been better suited as a direct-to-TV release. I think the bad reviews were to a large degree because the expectations were too high. I watched it with very low expectations, and I liked it just fine. The look of the film is a little too stylized for my taste. It actually looks a bit like TV animation. But once I got past noticing that, it didn’t bother me too much. There are some great voice talents, like Judi Dench and Steve Buscemi. The story is passable, but not great. There is one gag that had me in stitches, but that the kids are very unlikely to get. It’s the Little Caesar reference ”Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?” So, not one of Disney’s most memorable efforts, but not a total waste either. Approached with low expectations it is quite enjoyable. Maybe it’s time for me to buy The Wild, too? |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on September 26, 2013, 04:04:25 PM
| Title | Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (5-051895-219577) |
| (http://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/movie/blu-ray/image3/journey_2_journey_to_the_mysterious_island_blu-raynordic-20987190-frntl.jpg) | |
| Director | Brad Peyton |
| Actors | Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Luis Guzman, Vanessa Hudgens |
| Produced | 2012 in United States |
| Runtime | 94 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, French, Finnish, Norwegian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish |
| Overview | The new family adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island begins when seventeen-year-old Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist. Unable to stop him from tracking the signal to its source, Sean's new stepfather, Hank (Dwayne Johnson), joins the quest that will take them first to the South Pacific, and then to a place few people have ever seen. Or lived to tell about. It's a place of stunning beauty, strange and threatening life forms, volcanoes, mountains of gold and more than one astonishing secret. Together with Gabato (Luis Guzmán), the only helicopter pilot willing to risk the trip, and Gabato's beautiful, strong-willed daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens), they set out to find the island, rescue its lone human inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island underwater and bury its treasures forever, in this follow-up to the 2008 worldwide hit Journey to the Center of the Earth. |
| My thoughts | This is another of those movies that I wasn’t sure about, so I waited until I could get it relatively cheap. This is also a case of setting my expectations low. I like Jules Verne. I have read The Mysterious Island, although it was long ago. I also read the Illustrated Classic when I was a kid, and I have seen the 1961 Harryhausen film, the 2005 Hallmark TV version and the 1995 TV series. None of them follow Verne’s book very closely, and this one certainly doesn’t either. Being quite recent, it’s no big surprise that this movie has the better special effects. But good special effects does not equal a good movie. We have seen this over and over. Is Josh Hutcherson a good actor? If he is, he certainly doesn’t show it in this movie. Dwayne Johnson can be good in action movies, but isn’t good here. And Michael Caine is pretty much wasted. The less said about Luis Guzmán, the better. And you know something must be wrong in a movie when Vanessa Hudgens comes off as the least irritating character... The script varies between silly and ludicrous, but at least it seldom gets boring. So, if you can put your brain in neutral for an hour and a half (at least it’s not overly long), then it can be an acceptable time killer. But hardly anything more than that. If you want a good Mysterious Island, go with Harryhausen. It’s not Verne’s Mysterious Island, but in spite of Harryhausen’s creatures it’s probably the closest you get. The TV series is also quite entertaining, but it certainly isn’t Verne. Still, either of them is better than this mess. Definitely avoid the Hallmark version, though! |
| My rating | 2.5 out of 5 |
Post by: Achim on September 27, 2013, 04:42:32 AM
So, what can I say about Willow? It’s just over two hour long. I’m kind of old fashioned, and I usually prefer my movies to confirm to the old hour-and-a-half standard. That said, Willow didn’t feel overlong. So Ron Howard must have done something right.Coincidentally, just yesterday I heard someone quite Roger Ebert: "A bad movie will never be too short and a good movie can never be too long."
Post by: GSyren on September 27, 2013, 08:14:19 AM
Roger Ebert: "A bad movie will never be too short and a good movie can never be too long."Well, I would counter that by saying that a too long movie isn't a good movie. So I guess Ebert and I agree, but from different viewpoints.
Post by: Jimmy on September 27, 2013, 09:05:03 AM
Well, I would counter that by saying that a too long movie isn't a good movie.What? Nocento runs for more than five hours and it's an excellent movie, this is just one exemple but for me a long movie is one who take the time to tell its story. Do you think an hour and a half version of The Godfather or Once Upon a Time in America or Casino or GoodFellas would have been any good...
Post by: GSyren on September 27, 2013, 11:58:09 AM
I think you misunderstood me. "A good movie is never too long" and "A too long movie isn't a good movie" are the basically same thing from two different perspectives. Perhaps you were mislead by my statement that I usually prefer movies to be about an hour and a half. The key word there is usually. The Godfather isn't too long. Neither is Once Upon a Time in America or Casino or GoodFellas. I can't comment on Nocento because I haven't seen it.Well, I would counter that by saying that a too long movie isn't a good movie.What? Nocento runs for more than five hours and it's an excellent movie, this is just one exemple but for me a long movie is one who take the time to tell its story. Do you think an hour and a half version of The Godfather or Once Upon a Time in America or Casino or GoodFellas would have been any good...
But if I'm watching a movie and I start thinking "Isn't this over soon?" then it's too long, and by my definition not a good movie, no matter what other merits it may have.
Post by: Jimmy on September 27, 2013, 04:21:11 PM
You're right any movie that feels too long isn't a good movie. Even one that runs for less than one hour can be long if it's a bad one
Post by: Achim on September 30, 2013, 06:37:29 AM
But if I'm watching a movie and I start thinking "Isn't this over soon?" then it's too long, and by my definition not a good movie, no matter what other merits it may have.I don't even think that's a different perspective to Ebert... Seems exactly the same to me. ;)
Post by: GSyren on September 30, 2013, 11:27:06 AM
I don't even think that's a different perspective to Ebert... Seems exactly the same to me. ;)Well, it's a reversal of cause and effect. "Good = not too long" vs "Too long = not good". But the end result is the same.
Post by: GSyren on October 04, 2013, 10:08:19 AM
| Title | Kommissar X - Jagd auf Unbekannt (4-020628-952471) |
| (https://gfx.videobuster.de/archive/resized/h550/2013/02/image/jpeg/3085558d932f22ed027afac54b523a59.jpg) (http://bmv-medien.de/shop/images/big/Kommissar-X.jpg) | |
| Director | Gianfranco Parolini |
| Actors | Tony Kendall, Brad Harris, Maria Perschy, Christa Linder, Ingrid Lotarius |
| Produced | 1966 in Germany |
| Runtime | 88 minutes |
| Audio | German Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | German |
| Overview | Wo Privatdetektiv Jo Louis Walker alias Kommissar X auftaucht, kommen selbst die härtesten Ganoven mächtig ins Schwitzen. Gefürchtet in internationalen Gangsterkreisen und unschlagbar mit seinem Kumpel Tom Rowland, Chef der Mordkommission Manhattans. Die Jagd auf Unbekannt führt Kommissar X auf die Spur des seit längerem verschwundenen Kernphysikers Bob Carrell. Was steckt hinter dessen Verschwinden? Welche teuflischen Pläne sollen mit Hilfe des genialen Forschers verwirklicht werden? Wird es Kommissar X und Tom Rowland gelingen, den entscheidenden Schlag gegen ein mörderisches Syndikat zu führen? Unter der Regie von Frank Kramer (Gianfranco Parolini) entstand diese mit Tony Kendall und Brad Harris exzellent besetzte, höchst rasante Gangsterjagd, die tief in die Abgründe skrupellos agierender Verbrecherorganisationen blicken lässt. Basierend auf einer der erfolgreichsten Kriminalromanserien bildete dieser Film den Auftakt einer siebenteiligen Filmreihe, die sich rasch zu einem regelrechten Publikumsmagneten entwickelte. |
| My thoughts | The latest issue of Video Watchdog (#175) had a very interesting and thorough review of a German box set of Kommissar X movies. The box was ridiculously expensive, but I was so intrigued that I decided to splash out EUR 200 for this 7 DVD box. Kommissar X is obviously inspired by the James Bond books and movies. Having grown up with Bond (both books and movies) and various Euro-spy movies (like OSS 117) I have a soft spot for this kind of movies. Judging from the first film, these are pretty much in the same league as many of the other Bond wannabe movies. The quality of the DVDs are superb, though. I don’t know if the transfers were made from the original negative, but it looks like they may have been. And they’re in the correct aspect ratio. The movies have both German and English audio. And - strangely enough - German subtitles, but no English subtitles. Why anyone who speaks German would want to watch the English dub with subtitles instead of the original German dialog is beyond me. I would have liked to watch the film with the original German audio, but my German isn’t good enough to watch it without subtitles. The English dubbing is ok, but not perfect. The box set contains all six Kommissar X movies from the sixties, but unfortunately not the one made in 1971. It also contains a 2012 documentary called Die X-Männer schlagen zurück. I find it hard to give this DVD a suitable rating. The film itself is perhaps 3.5 out of 5, but the great picture quality deserves a better rating, so I’ll give it a 4. I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the movies. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on October 06, 2013, 02:10:59 PM
| Title | Count Dracula (5-014503-248628) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61M-69K1a%2BL._SL1225_.jpg) | |
| Director | Philip Saville |
| Actors | Louis Jourdan, Frank Finlay, Susan Penhaligon, Judi Bowker, Jack Shepherd |
| Produced | 1977 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 150 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | In this eerie, erotic and highly acclaimed adaptation of Bram Stoker's horror classic, Louis Jourdan brings a subtle menace and dark sensuality to his memorable portrayal of Count Dracula. One of the most faithful screen versions ever of the original novel, the story begins with Jonathan Harker visiting the Count in Transylvania to help with preparations to move to England. It is in the Count's castle that Jonathan becomes a prisoner and discovers Dracula's true nature. After Dracula makes his way to England, Harker becomes involved in an effort to track down and destroy the Count, eventually chasing the vampire back to his castle. A true gothic classic, 'Count Dracula' contains many scenes shot on location - such as London's Highgate Cemetery and Whitby Abbey - adding extra atmosphere to an already powerful production. |
| My thoughts | I may have come to this with too great expectations. It has very good reviews on IMDb, and I didn’t feel that it lived up to its reputation. Since this TV movie was part of a series called ”Great Performances”, let us start with the performances. Louis Jourdan as Dracula - I usually like Jourdan, and he’s not bad, but not freightening either. It’s not really fair to compare him to Christopher Lee, because their characters are written completely different, but the comparison is inevitable, and not to Jourdans favor. Frank Finlay as Van Helsing - as with Jourdan, Finlay is a good actor, and again the comparison may not be entirely fair, but when I think of Van Helsing I think of Peter Cushing, and Finlay can’t measure up. Judi Bowker as Mina Westenra - I’m not fan of Bowker. I think she was the least interesting actor in Clash of the Titans, and she’s not very interesting here. She gets a little better in the second half, but not enough to satisfy me. Susan Penhaligon as Lucy Westenra - I am a fan of Susan Penhaligon, and she starts out fine, but I don’t think she cuts it as a vampire. Many reviewers have said that this is the version closest to Bram Stoker’s book. Others mean that the 1992 Coppola version has that distinction. Well, in my opinion, being faithful to the literary source doesn’t always make for a better movie. I would say that Hammer’s [Horror of] Dracula is a lot better movie than this is, even though that one departs a lot more from the book. Then there were some weird photographic effects that looked totally out of place. And the cinematorgraphy in general was only adequate. BBC probably didn’t have a very large budget for this film, but neither did Hammer in 1958, and they made it look so much better. To sum up, not a total waste of time, but - for me, at least - nowhere near the ultimate Dracula. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on October 06, 2013, 10:32:59 PM
I just stumbled across this:
(http://www.millcreekent.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/325x443/17f82f742ffe127f42dca9de82fb58b1/8/9/89181_3h_no_text.png) (http://www.millcreekent.com/products/packs/100-greatest-terror-classics.html)
Click the image to see the list of movies.
Now, I know these are all old PD movies, and probably in the sorry condition that PD movies usually are. But if you're into old horror movies and you don't own most of these, it can still be a pretty good deal. You can get it for less than half price ($21.43) at ImportCDs.com (http://www.importcds.com/movies/2653062/100-greatest-terror-classics). That's about 27 cents per film if you include US postage in the calculation. Slightly more if you're overseas.
Post by: GSyren on October 06, 2013, 10:53:36 PM
(http://www.millcreekent.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/325x443/17f82f742ffe127f42dca9de82fb58b1/1/1/11160_3l.png)
Post by: Jimmy on October 06, 2013, 11:07:53 PM
The Brain That Wouldn't Die: Shout Factory just released an uncut version of it taken from the original film negative.
Doctor Jekyll and the Werewolf: Released by Code Red DVD and this film isn't in the public domain.
Don't Answer the Phone!: not in the public domain but Mill Creek legally own the Crown International library (better release were done for this film by BCI and Scorpion Releasing)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920): Kino Lorber will release it on blu-ray in january (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F878JW6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00F878JW6&linkCode=as2&tag=cognitrespon-20)
The Dungeon of Harrow: was just released some month ago by Vinegar Syndrome using film materials and not a VHS tape.
Grave of the Vampire: This is the cut TV version. Retromedia released a more complete version some months ago (the original negative is in the MGM vault since they own the TV rights)
The House by the Cemetery: This is not in the public domain at all.
The Little Shop of Horrors: Shout Factory released it some years ago using a film print.
Satan's Slave: not in the public domain but Mill Creek legally own the Crown International library (a better release was done for this film by Scorpion Releasing)
The Vampires' Night Orgy: Released by Code Red DVD and this film isn't in the public domain
Post by: Piffi on October 06, 2013, 11:26:11 PM
Post by: GSyren on October 06, 2013, 11:42:41 PM
But at 27 cents a piece you can afford to double dip on those that are available in better releases, if they are films you like. Of the 100 I already own 42, so not quite so exciting for me personally, but I may still consider a purchase.
Post by: GSyren on October 08, 2013, 07:09:47 PM
| Title | Friday the 13th (7-321937-111724) |
| (http://s2.discshop.se/img/front_large/34922/fredagen_den_13_e.jpg) | |
| Director | Sean S. Cunningham |
| Actors | Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Jeannine Taylor |
| Produced | 1980 in United States |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | A group of fun-loving teenagers take jobs at a recently re-opened summer camp, unaware of the circumstances that had led to its closure: the drowning of a young boy named Jason and subsequent murder of two counsellors over twenty years before. No sooner has the camp re-opened for business than the killing begins again, as the teens are picked off one by one. |
| My thoughts | I had planned on a Friday the 13th marathon, watching parts 1 through 8 one day at a time. But when I started I realized that I was missing part 6, so I ordered it from Amazon UK. But since that usually takes about a week, I may have to pause for a few days after part 5. But let’s start at the beginning... Friday the 13th isn’t a very good film. But it’s a film that has had a significant influence. It is a film that anyone who is interested in films should have seen. So if - against all odds - anyone who reads this hasn’t seen it, I urge you to stop reading and get the film, one way or the other. One of the strange things about Friday the 13th is that although it sparked the Jason mythology, it’s not really part of that mythology. Jason isn’t in the movie. Well, except that short scene at the end. And that may or may not be just part of a nightmare. Nothing in the film indicates that Jason has any special or supernatural properties, so that scene seems like a dream to me. Jason is just a kid that drowned, and his drowning drove his mother round the bend. The unstoppable Jason doesn’t turn up until part 2 (and the hockey mask in part 3). So this is pretty much just a rather ordinary slasher movie. The thing that really sets it apart is Tom Savini’s makup effects. And to some extent Harry Manfredini’s music. Sean Cunningham is a mediocre director and the actors are mainly young wannabes. Of the kids, pretty much only Kevin Bacon ever amounted to anything. If the sequel hadn’t invented the unstoppable Jason, this film would have been just another of the eighties slasher, and wouldn’t have been any more well remembered than, say, The Burning or The Prowler (both also with Savini effects). So, a mediocre slasher, but one that was made famous thanks to its sequels, more than anything else. Still, in order to appreciate the success of the Friday the 13th franchise, you need to start here. So my rating reflects the film’s impact and Savini’s effects more than the quality of the film itself. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on October 09, 2013, 12:45:59 PM
| Title | Friday the 13th - Part 2 (7-393805-103964) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HWTVDAJBL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Steve Miner |
| Actors | Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King, Kirsten Baker, Charno Stu |
| Produced | 1981 in United States |
| Runtime | 83 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, French Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, German Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Italian Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Other, Dutch, Swedish |
| Overview | Just when you thought it was safe to go back to camp...here's even more heart-pounding terror. Five years after the horrible bloodbath at Camp Crystal Lake, all that remains is the legend of Jason Vorhees and his demented mother, who had murdered seven camp counsellors. At a nearby summer camp, the new counsellors are unconcerned about the warnings to stay away from the infamous site. Carefree, the young people roam the area, not sensing the ominous lurking presence. Ony by one, they are attacked and brutally slaughtered. Suspense and screams abound in this compelling thriller. |
| My thoughts | Is part 2 better than the first film? Most people seem to think so, and I tend to agree. Steve Miner may not be a great director, but he is certainly better than Sean Cunningham. Acting-wise it’s a toss-up. Still mostly young wannabes who never made any real impact. The makeup effects are done by Carl Fullerton this time. He’s competent enough, but not as innovative as Rick Baker was. Or perhaps not allowed to be. The film starts with a somewhat lengthy recap of the first film. This seems rather unneccessary until you come to the end of part 2 where Ginny tries to impersonate Jason’s mother. Actually, I think the audience would understand what Ginny was doing without immediately recognizing Betsy Palmer as Mrs. Voorhees. Personally I think part 2 would have been better without the references to the first film. At least the recap just helped me to realize how unlikely it would be for Jason to have evolved from that scrawny kid to a big hulking killer in the five years that supposedly had passed between the two films. That said, this part is more effective than the first. Not quite as innovative makeup effects. And the signature hockey mask is still to come. As part two, not as much a milestone in horror cinema. So I’ll judge this one on it’s entertainment merits alone. And that puts it half a point below part one. |
| My rating | 3.5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on October 10, 2013, 11:37:28 AM
| Title | Friday the 13th: Part 3 (097361-405940) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81cD55x62bL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Steve Miner |
| Actors | Terry Ballard, Richard Brooker, Gloria Charles, Anne Gaybis, Rachel Howard |
| Produced | 1982 in United States |
| Runtime | 95 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital Mono, French Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English, French, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Overview | It's spine-tingling horror in a whole new dimension as Friday the 13th Part 3-3D: Deluxe Edition comes to DVD! A carefree summer becomes a deadly nightmare for another group of naive counselors who choose to ignore Camp Crystal Lake's gruesome legacy. They find themselves in a bloody game of cat-and-mouse with the maniacal Jason, who stalks their every move...and ruthlessly kills them off one by one. |
| My thoughts | Quite frankly I’m shocked at how many people praise this movie, because to me it was really a letdown. Sloppy writing, clichés, continuity errors, reused ideas and pointless 3D poke-it-at-the-audience shots ad nauseam. Where to start? Well, at the beginning. Another pointless flashback to the previous film. And to add insult to injury they finished the flashback with a new continuity error. Jason removes the machete from his shoulder while in the shack. Back in part two he still had the machete in his shoulder when he crashed trough the window after the incident in the shack. If Ginny had come back in part 3 this flashback would have made some sense storywise, but she doesn’t. Then we have Jason. This film supposedly starts the day after part two. So how come Jason looks completely different than in part 2? And what’s his motivation for all the killings? In part 1 mrs. Vorhees killed the camp counselors because Jason had drowned while some previous counselors at that camp were making out instead of watching the children. In part 2 Jason killed the counselors to avenge his mother. Now he is suddenly killing random unconnected people that he never bothered about before, without any explanation. As in parts 1 and 2, there is a crazy old man warning off the kids. But unfortunately they killed off Crazy Ralph in the last film, so they had to find another crazy old man. Really? The opening credits has no credit for makeup effects this time. Probably because they spent so much on 3D that they couldn’t afford any known makeup man. And the result shows. Stabbed from below bed/hammock? Savini did it better in part 1. Guy run through with a pitchfork? Savini did it better in The Prowler the year before. And talking about these murders... If you get into a hammock, wouldn’t you notice a corpse hanging above you or a great big Jason under the hammock? Slopp writing! And the pitchfork? Jason approaches with a five pronged pitchfork and in the next scene the guy is run through with a four pronged one! Sloppy continuity! Knife thrown and misses nearly. Guide wire visible. Spear shot from speargun. Guide wire visible. Head squeezed so eye pops out. Fake looking head and wires visible. Sloppy effects! Chris jumps into the van and tries to drive away from Jason. After less than 100 yards runs out of gas. Talk about tired chiché! And they saved the ”best” for last. Chris gets away in a canoe and in the morning a zombiefied mrs. Vorhees jumps out of the water (now with her head attached to her body again) and drags Chris down. Where did they get the inspiration for that brilliant scene? To be fair, Steve Miner manages to build up some tension occasionally, but you’d have to turn off your brain completely in order to actually enjoy this movie. So 2.5 (+ .5 for the hockey mask). |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on October 11, 2013, 09:05:16 PM
| Title | Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (5-014437-100337) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91jovUjuCSL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Joseph Zito |
| Actors | Erich Anderson, Judie Aronson, Peter Barton, Kimberly Beck, Tom Everett |
| Produced | 1984 in United States |
| Runtime | 88 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono, French Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, Italian Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Arabic, Bulgarian, Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Slovenian, Swedish, Croatian, Hebrew, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, Romanian, Czech, Turkish |
| Overview | The body count continues in this vivid thriller, the fourth — but not final — story in the widely successful Friday the 13th series. Jason, Crystal Lake's least popular citizen, returns to wreak further havoc in Friday the 13th — The Final Chapter. After his revival in a hospital morgue, the hockey-masked murderer fixes his vengeful attention on the Jarvis family and a group of hitherto carefree teenagers. Young Tommy Jarvis is an aficionado of horror films with special talent for masks and makeup. Has the diabolical Jason finally met his match? |
| My thoughts | The final chapter? Wishful (?) thinking. Well, after part 3 (which I did not watch in 3D, in case anyone wondered, because any color film looks like crap in anaglyphic 3D) I didn’t have very high expectations for part 4. And maybe that was a good thing. I liked it better than part 3. Tom Savini is back doing the makeup effects, so that helped. Unfortunately much of his effects got cut from the film in order to avoid an X rating. But what remains is still better that what we got in part 3. If the cast of part 3 was bland, at least we have one actor in this one that stands out - Chrispin Glover. Not necessarily in a good way, though. Does he ever play a normal person? Can he play normal? And then there is Corey Feldman. He has his moments. His character gets a little too weird for me in the final moments, though. Joseph Zito seems to be a fairly competent director. He has made some fun action movies, like Missing in Action with Chuck Norris and Red Scorpion with Dolph Lundgren. And I guess he does ok here. Watching these films in such a short order, I get rather jaded when it’s basically the same thing happening in each of them. The killer (Mrs. Vorhees in part 1, Jason in part 2 - 4) sneaks around killing off young people in secluded surroundings. It starts to get difficult to tell the films apart. I’m going to to have to take a break and watch a good film before going on. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on October 11, 2013, 10:02:29 PM
| Title | Vertigo (5-050582-958317) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81F7pGg1tQL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Actors | James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones |
| Produced | 1958 in United States |
| Runtime | 128 minutes |
| Audio | Japanese DTS 5.1, English DTS 5.1, French DTS 2-Channel Stereo, Italian DTS 2-Channel Stereo, German DTS 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish DTS 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic |
| Overview | James Stewart and Kim Novak light up the screen in this spellblinding classic of deception and betrayal. Scottie Ferguson (Stewart), a recently retired detective, is hired to shadow a friend's tragically suicidal wife, Madeleine Elster (Novak). After he saves her from drowning in the San Franscisco Bay, Scottie's interest in the beautiful but icy blonde shifts from business to romance. But when tragedy strikes again, Scottie must overcome the vertigo that haunts his dreams in order to unravel the secrets of the past and find the key to his future. |
| My thoughts | Ok, this is a good movie. I promised myself to watch one before going on with the Friday the 13th movies, remember. It’s actually a great movie. Some say it’s the best. I wouldn’t quite agree, but it’s probably in the top ten for me. Of Hitchcock’s movies I actually like North by Northwest better. But hey, this is a great movie. There are two great females in this movie, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. I was never a fan of Dallas, so for me this is the one I remember Barbara Bel Geddes for. This and The Five Pennies. And maybe Panic in the Streets. Kim Novak is quite good, but I rather prefer her in lighter roles, like Bell, Book and Candle or Kiss Me, Stupid. Hitchcock’s first choice for the female lead was Vera Miles, but she was unavailable because she was pregrnant. Hitchcock had worked with her before, and she got another chance to work with him in Psycho. James Stewart is excellent, of course. When is he not? This is his fourth outing with Hitchcock, so I guess Hitch must have liked him, too. The story has an interesting twist. I’m not going to give it away, in case anyone is unfamiliar with the film. Since much of the film hinges on this twist, you don’t see it in quite the same way when you have seen it before, like I had. Still it’s hugely entertaining to rewatch it. Especially on blu-ray where it looks better than ever. I was surprised to notice a continuity error that seemed quite glaring to me. When Madeleine (Novak) runs into the church she flings the door open without closing it. When Scottie (Stewart) follows seconds later, the door is closed. And that sequence is even repeated as a flashback later. I know no film is perfect if you study it closely enough, but this just seemed to stand out. No matter, Hitchcock is always good, and this is Hitch at his best. And this blu-ray release is Vertigo at its best. This is a must-see! |
| My rating | 4.5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on October 13, 2013, 03:08:29 PM
| Title | The Informers (5-060105-721212) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51LBsEl4RKL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ken Annakin |
| Actors | Nigel Patrick, Margaret Whiting, Katherine Woodville, Colin Blakely, Derren Nesbitt |
| Produced | 1963 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 100 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | 'The Informers' sees Scotland Yard battle organised crime in this tough 1960s drama, a forerunner to the 1970s TV series 'The Sweeney'. Following a number of high profile robberies, Superintendent Bestwick (Harry Andrews) decrees that his officers should adopt new scientific police methods and Chief Inspector Johnnoe (Nigel Patrick) is ordered to break contact with his network of snouts. However, when his best informant Jim Ruskin is murdered whilst on the trail of the gang responsible for a number of bank robberies, Johnnoe follows his detective instincts rather than orders. Following up Jim's earlier tip off, Johnnoe encounters two mobsters, Bertie Hoyle (Derren Nesbitt) and his wily cohort Leon Sale (Frank Finlay). When Hoyle's attempt to bribe Johnnoe fails the criminals fit him up with the help of Maisie, a cheap tart. Having been suspended, but released on bail, Johnnoe again ignores orders as he attempts to clear his name. With the help of the Ruskin family he tries to track down the murderers of his informer, solve the robberies and gain revenge on the criminals who framed him. |
| My thoughts | A good old British police thriller from the early sixties. Lots of familiar faces; Nigel Patrick, Derren Nesbitt, Roy Kinnear, Harry Andrews, Allan Cuthbertson and Frank Finlay. Like so much other police drama from the UK, this relies more on good acting than on good action. Ken Annakin seemed to be able to direct almost any genre, from war epics like The Longest Day and Battle of the Bulge, to comedies like Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or family fare like Swiss Family Robinson and The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking. And he does very well here, too. Not a terribly well known film, it seems. Only 78 votes on IMDb, but a 7.3 score, which seems quite fair. If you’re into old b&w police dramas, you certainly could do worse than watching this one. |
| My rating | 3.5 out of 5 |
Post by: Kinoniki on October 16, 2013, 04:00:37 PM
Post by: GSyren on October 17, 2013, 09:52:42 AM
Now I'm sure it was a bad idea for me to watch eight Friday the 13th movies mor or less in a row. They are so much alike that I can't think of much to write about them. But I'll give a try, keeping it short and sweet.
A New Beginning
Jason is dead, long live... Roy? No, he doesn't. But Tommy Jarvis returns, now as a troubled ”teenager” (played by a 25 year old).
Jason Lives
Jason gets resurrected. Now we're definitely into the supernatural. And we're introduced to the old cliché of ”teenager alerts grownup to a danger, but doesn't get believed”.
The New Blood
Jason meets Carrie. Supernatural killer meets girl with telekinetic powers. Well, at least it's a new twist. And Kane Hodder gets to play Jason for the first time. He'll do it three more times. Well, four if you count 2001 Maniacs.
Jason Takes Manhattan
Jason takes a boat-trip. Manhattan is more or less a parenthesis. How do you get from Crystal Lake to Manhattan by boat? And didn't they rename Crystal Lake in one of the earlier films? First feature film for Kelly Hu. I think she succeeded in spite of this, not because of this...
That's it. I'm done. I won't even try to see Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X or Freddy vs. Jason.
Post by: GSyren on October 17, 2013, 10:19:06 AM
| Title | Fast & Furious 6 (5-050582-919448) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91QK7Pzc2HL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Justin Lin |
| Actors | Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 131 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital Dolby Surround |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | When a Russian Military Convoy is taken down in Moscow, AGENT HOBBS, (Dwayne Johnson) goes to the only man who can help him find his target - DOMINIC TORETTO (Vin Diesel). Toretto only agrees to help when he discovers LETTY (Michelle Rodrigues) is alive and working with Hobbs no. 1 target - OWEN SHAW (Luke Evans) a Special Ops mercenary running an equally brilliant crew. Toretto's elite outfit including BRIAN O'CONNER (Paul Walker) and all the ENTIRE ORIGINAL CREW pursue Shaw and his crew in a series of heart-stopping heists across Europe, each chase outgunning the other for size, scale and sheer excitement. |
| My thoughts | I saw the first Fast and Furious, but skipped parts 2 through 5. I hadn't really planned on seeing Fast 6 either, but all the hoopla about it got me curious. And as it turns out I quite enjoyed it. You can't take a film like this too seriously. It's just action for actions sake. But that's ok. There are just a couple of moments that are a little too much WTF for my taste. The worst one is Dom's superleap to save Letty from falling to her death. That's one where I just go ”Oh, give me a break”! It's not that the rest of the film was in any way plausible, but I could ignore most of the impossibilities. There were just these few moments where I went ”oh no”. It was nice that most of the car stunts were made for real. There is something about practical effects that almost always make them look better than CGI effects, even if you can't put your finger on what it is. I would have given this a 4 if it wasn't for those WTF moments. |
| My rating | 3,5 out of 5 |
Post by: Jimmy on October 17, 2013, 04:47:53 PM
That's it. I'm done. I won't even try to see Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X or Freddy vs. Jason.Jason Goes to Hell is very different than anything else in the franchise, it doesn't make sense but maybe you could like it. At worse if you hate it Erin Gray is in the cast, so that would give you a chance to see her.
Jason X is more or less the same but in space, I like it but I doubt you will if you don't like the first eight.
Freddy vs. Jason is piece of crap and a waste of time...
Post by: GSyren on October 17, 2013, 06:55:18 PM
Erin Gray, huh? Yeah, I remember her from Buck Rogers, and I have seen her guest starring in some TV shows.
Hm, maybe I'll give Jason Goes to Hell a chance eventually, but not right now. :axed:
Post by: GSyren on October 22, 2013, 02:33:01 PM
| Title | Venetian Bird (5-060105-721755) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51diuaH4N6L._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ralph Thomas |
| Actors | Richard Todd, Eva Bartok, John Gregson, George Coulouris, Margot Grahame |
| Produced | 1952 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Private detective Edward Mercer (Richard Todd) is sent to Venice to find war-time Italian partisan Renzo Ucello (John Gregson) and reward him for aiding the escape of a wealthy American during World War 2. On his arrival in Venice all is not what it seems and Mercer soon attracts the attention of both the Italian police, and shady underworld characters. Discovering that Ucello was apparently killed during World War 2, Mercer believes his search is at an end. However the Police take a special interest in his investigation believing that Mercer is somehow involved in a plot to assassinate a leading politican. Cold war intrigue is everywhere as the assassination plot unfolds and the identity of the sniper is a shock to the authorities! |
| My thoughts | This is a nice little thriller where the protagonist is framed for murder and has to run from the police to find proof that he is innocent. Yes, we seen it before. But that doesn't mean that it can't be thrilling. Unusual settings is one way to vary the familiar theme, and this time they choose Venice. We see some famous places, and some location shots that could be pretty much anywhere (perhaps even on a studio backlot). There are many well known British actors in this film, playing Italians. That works for some, but I had a hard time imagining Sid James or Miles Malleson as being Italians. The story is slightly reminiscent of The Third Man. Without the zither music. The film music here is by Nino Rota, but is mostly forgettable. But still, the film has a nice mood and Richard Todd isn't bad in the lead role. I enjoyed it, but it doesn't come high on my must-rewatch list. And don't ask me to explain the title... |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on October 22, 2013, 04:51:04 PM
I was thinking of doing a 39 Steps marathon, watching the three of them back to back, but given how I felt about my Friday 13th marathon I think I will watch them soon, but not back to back.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518YiVR9hEL._SY445_.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419UF0xDZhL._SL500_.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41UFeX70PxL._SX215_.jpg)
I have seen the Kenneth More version back sometime in the sixties, but I remember virtually nothing from it. I have not seen the Robert Powell version. Anybody have any thoughts about these vs. Hitchcock's classic?
Post by: GSyren on October 23, 2013, 06:26:41 PM
Hammer Fantasy & Sci-Fi
I just finished reading this book. Unlike the two other Hammer books I have written about earlier, this one is more text than pictures. Although there are plenty of pictures too.
Hammer Films is of course best known for its horror films; the Frankensteins, the Draculas and the mummies. And one werewolf. But they also made quite a few movies in the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres, and this is what this book is about. It's very well written and well researched. It not only gives you a lot of information about these films, but also puts them in context with other films in these genres at the same point in time.
I really enjoyed this book, and if you are interested in Hammer Films I am sure you too will find this book a fascinating read. The US edition, published by Midnight Marquee Press, has a different cover, but seems to be identical in all other aspects.
Post by: GSyren on October 24, 2013, 11:31:53 AM
So if you have only seen this movie on TV broadcasts, treat yourself to a new experience and get the Blu-Ray! This is, of course, especially true if you have a 3D setup, but even if you don't (and I don't) it's absolutely worth it.
In case you haven't seen it at all, not only is it a darn good movie, it's one of Vincent Price's finest performances, and it features a very young Charles Bronson (billed as Charles Buchinsky). :thumbup:
Post by: GSyren on October 25, 2013, 03:42:08 PM
That’s The 39 Steps times three. I have watched three versions of The 39 Steps. There is also a fourth, a TV movie, but at the current time I have no inclination to purchase that one. So let’s get some facts out of the way first...
| 1935 | 1959 | 1978 | |
| Director | Alfred Hitchcock | Ralph Thomas | Don Sharp |
| Stars | Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll | Kenneth More, Taina Elg | Robert Powell, Karen Dotrice |
| Picture | B&W 1.33:1 | Color 1.33:1 | Color 1.78:1 |
| Runtime | 1:26 | 1:31 | 1:38 |
I watched the 1959 film first. Some people say that this is more or less a shot for shot remake of the Hitchcock version. That isn’t true. It is, however, quite obviously a remake of the Hitchcock film, rather that a new take on the John Buchan novel. The story is essentially the same. This version is shot in color, which benifits the view of the Scottish landscape, but in pretty much all other aspects it is inferior to Hitchcock’s version. Kenneth More was a fine actor, but Taina Elg is just ”meh”, and the two have very little chemistry. Director Ralph Thomas is not responsible for the Carry On pictures as some seem to believe. That’s his brother Gerald. Ralph is no Hitchcock, but he has directed some quite good pictures. And this one isn’t really bad, it’s just... unnecessary. Hitch tells the same story much better.
The 1978 film with Robert Powell as Richard Hannay is much closer to Buchan’s novel. It’s mainly the ending that has been changed. The plot does not have a whole lot in common with the Hitchcock version. Unlike in the two other version, the bad guys are not trying to smuggle out secret information, but are instead plotting the assassination of a foreign dignitary on visit to London. The ending at Big Ben is quite exciting, if not very plausible. Powell work quite well as Hannay. Karen Dotrice is pretty, but doesn’t seem to have aquired any more acting skills since her appearance in Mary Poppins at age 8.
Finally the Hitchcock version. The main complaint against it is how far removed from the Buchan novel it is. The opening titles say that it’s based on Buchan’s novel. It would probably be more true if it had said ”inspired by”. But if you don’t hold that against it, it does almost everything right. Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll are very good, the best leading pair of the three films. And Hitch knows how to build suspense. So there is no question that this is the best of the three. If you are only going to see one of them, this must be the one. You can see the 1978 version to get a feel of the original story. There is no need to see the 1959 version unless you are a big fan of Kenneth More.
Finally, what are the 39 steps? Well, each film has a different answer. The 1959 film is probably closest to the novel in this case. In both that one and in the 1978 version, the title refers to actual steps, although in the 1978 version it refers to some steps in Big Ben (or in the clock tower if you want to be precise; Big Ben is just the clock itself). In the Hitchcock version The 39 Steps seem to refer to the spy organisation, not to some actual steps.
Post by: GSyren on November 02, 2013, 01:51:25 PM
| Title | Young Man with a Horn (7-321900-043250) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YeRYUvxVL.jpg) | |
| Director | Michael Curtiz |
| Actors | Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, Hoagy Carmichael, Juano Hernandez |
| Produced | 1949 in United States |
| Runtime | 108 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, Italian Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Arabic, English, French, Italian, Dutch |
| Overview | With a second-hand trumpet and the loving guidance of a brilliant bluesman, a lonely boy grows into manhood as a superb musician whose talent carries him forward from honky-tonks to posh supper clubs. But his desperate search for the elusive high note trapped in his mind but impossible to play starts him on a boozy downward slide. Charged with dynamic performances by Kirk Douglas (the title role), Doris Day, Lauren Bacall and Hoagy Carmichael and pitch perfect direction from Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) this film is a feast of hot, cool, moody jazz. Legendary Harry James dubbed Douglas' hornwork. Day brings another fine instrument - her voice - to four standards. Movie and Music lovers will be glad to meet this Man. |
| My thoughts | This movie has been in my unwatched pile for a while. I bought it to complete my Doris Day collection, but I didn't watch it right away because it wasn't really a "Doris Day movie". She only has third billing. Well, I eventually got around to it, and I realize I should have watched it sooner. Or maybe not. Seeing it now was a pleasant surprise. I actually liked it quite a lot, and Doris was very good in it. I don't care too much for jazz, but even so a couple of movies about jazz musicians are among my favorite movies, for example The Five Pennies with Danny Kaye as Loring "Red" Nichols. And now this one. And they're both about horn players. Cornet and trumpet, respectively. None of them are really biographical. Five Pennies is loosely based on Nichols life, while Young Man is inspired by a book that's inspired by the music of Bix Beiderbecke. One thing that initially got me a little confused was the title. The Elvis movie Loving You had the Swedish title Ung man med gitarr (Young Man with a Guitar), and of course that movie is nowadays a lot more well known than this one. So my first thought when I saw the title was "Horn? Wasn't it Guitar?". Then of course I realized that they were two different movies. And the blame falls squarely on the Swedish distributor of the Elvis movie for pinching the title idea. Anyway, even though I bought this title because of Doris Day, I was very much impressed with Kirk Douglas in the title role. Lauren Bacall is also good as a rather unlikeable character. I couldn't understand, though, how Rick (Douglas) could fall for her rather than for Doris' character. But then I guess I'm not entirely objective since I've has a long time crush on Doris. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: Piffi on November 02, 2013, 02:23:22 PM
Post by: GSyren on November 02, 2013, 04:06:00 PM
Great reviews so far! Given me alot of ideas! :) But i dont see a review of 'Pillow Talk' yet? ;)Do you really need one? :whistle:
Post by: Piffi on November 02, 2013, 04:57:29 PM
Post by: GSyren on November 02, 2013, 06:17:47 PM
Post by: GSyren on November 02, 2013, 07:36:39 PM
| Title | Shoot First Die Later (816018-010531) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71voRyWPmrL._SL1078_.jpg) | |
| Director | Fernando Di Leo |
| Actors | Luc Merenda, Richard Conte, Delia Boccardo, Raymond Pellegrin, Gianni Santuccio |
| Produced | 1974 in Italy |
| Runtime | 94 minutes |
| Audio | Italian PCM Mono, English PCM Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Desperately sought after and never before released worldwide Rarovideo is proud to be releasing the tough, exciting, dramatically potent, well acted and action packed film, Shoot first, Die Later which is known as one of the most impressive Italian crime/police movies ever made. Luc Merenda gives the performance of his career as a highly regarded police detective who is taking syndicate money in exchange for departmental favors. His father, a simple man, also works for the department but on a lower rung; he isn't jealous of his son, but rather proud of him, little knowing that he's a crooked cop. A series of events leads the young detective to ask his father for a favor (he wants a certain police report that is desired by the syndicate) and it doesn't take long for the detective's father to realize his son is on the take... which leads to numerous complications. |
| My thoughts | I'm glad they didn't translate the original title of this film literally into English, because it contains a spoiler. But since the overview already let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, I guess I can reveal it. Il poliziotto è marcio translates into The cop is rotten. The film starts out looking like a standard Italian crime movie, with a robbery and a pretty exciting car chase. But eventually it turns into more of a drama when we realize that the good cop isn't so good, and things start to get ugly. It's quite a bit more bleak than the usual spaghetti crime thriller, but despite that - or perhaps because of that - it's a pretty good movie. Ideally you should watch this in Italian (with English subtitles, if needed), but the English dubbing is for the most part quite good. The subtitles seem to be transcribed from the English dialog rather than a translation of the Italian dialog. Since I don't speak Italian I can't tell how much they differ. This is my only movie directed by Fernando Di Leo, but it makes me want to check out what else he has done. |
| My rating | 3,5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on November 10, 2013, 10:43:10 AM
| Title | Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (883316-857052) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511QMQPW5AL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Terence Fisher |
| Actors | Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, David Prowse, John Stratton |
| Produced | 1973 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 93 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Baron Frankenstein is dead, right? That's precisely what he wants folks to think. He's had it up to here with a public that doesn't appreciate the trouble a mad scientist goes through to snatch good body parts. To carry on his work, he holes up in a place where the possibilities are utterly maddening: a home for the criminally insane. A hand here. A brain there. True to form, the Baron (Peter Cushing) keeps his gruesome creation (David Prowse, widely known for his later portrayals of Darth Vader) in stitches in this sixth and final frightfest in Hammer Films' Frankenstein cycle. |
| My thoughts | It's been a very long time since I saw this movie before. I liked it a lot better now the second time around than I did at that time. For some reason I think I actually liked it better than the film really deserves. It's Peter Cushing's last outing as Dr. Frankenstein, and it's the last film that Terence Fisher directed. Cushing looks awfully haggard. He had lost his wife two years earlier, and apparently he took that very hard. He still gives a very good performance, though. I never liked Shane Briant in the role of Dr. Frankenstein's young apprentice. He just seemed totally miscast to me. And Dave Prowse as the monster... Well, you don't see much of him under the makeup and the monster suit. And that hairy suit looks just like what it is – a suit. Apart from Cushing, the best performances come from some really good actors in some bit parts. Patrick Troughton as a grave robber and Bernard Lee as an inmate in the asylum, for example. One can only wonder how ex-Doctor Who and Bond's ”M” ended up in bit parts like these? The script – by Hammer producer Anthony Hinds, using the pseudonym John Elder – is a bit talky, but still quite exciting. Some has called it boring, but I disagree with that. The ending is a bit weak, and seemed to open for a sequel that never materialized. But thankfully it doesn't include the so much overused cleansing by fire or explosion. So, I have no real ”excuse” for why I give this a 4 out of 5. It's probably more than it deserves, so maybe I was just in the right mood at the right time for this movie. And then of course it has Peter Cushing, and he is always worth watching. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on November 11, 2013, 12:55:34 PM
Yesterday I watched two movies named ”The Witches”. They have nothing in common except their name, but I thought I might review them together anyway.
| Title | The Witches (7-321900-006712) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HBACG7T5L.jpg) | |
| Director | Nicolas Roeg |
| Actors | Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Jane Horrocks, Anne Lambton |
| Produced | 1990 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 68 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to The Wizard of Oz, many classic tales through the centuries wouldn't be half as exciting without the devious doings of a witch. Now add another to the venerable tradition of stories that deliver family fun every witch way, a collaboration combining the effects wizardry of executive producer Jim Henson and the imagination of Willy Wonka creator Roald Dahl. Academy Award™ winner Anjelica Huston won the Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics Best Actress Awards for her marvelous work as the Grand High Witch in this enchanting fable directed by Nicolas Roeg. Jasen Fisher plays Luke, the nine-year-old who must foil the plans of a society of witches to turn the world's children into mice. It won't be easy: they've already transformed him into one! But some big bad witches may be no match for the resourcefulness of a single tiny rodent. |
| My thoughts | This is a fun little story. Basically a fairy tale. It mixes real mice and puppet mice, and it's pretty obvious which is which (no witch-pun intended). Jasen Fisher is ok as the little boy, but the real stars of the picture are Mai Zetterling as the grandmother and Anjelica Huston as the grand high witch. The opening of the film takes place in Bergen, Norway, and I liked that they had actually gone there to shoot on location. The rest of the film takes place mostly in an English hotel, and much of it was shot in and around an actual hotel in Cornwall. The film is a little bit scary in parts, so probably not suitable for the youngest children. Rated PG in the US. Otherwise quite a fun family film. I thought it was quite good. |
| My rating | 3,5 out of 5 |
| Title | The Witches (5-055201-825896) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91JLZldAttL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Cyril Frankel |
| Actors | Joan Fontaine, Kay Walsh, Alec McCowen, Ann Bell, Ingrid Brett |
| Produced | 1966 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Audio | English PCM Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Originally released in 1966, THE WITCHES is an unforgettably chilling pastoral horror from legendary British production company HAMMER. Adapted for the screen by NIGEL KNEALE (The Quatermass Experiment) it also stars JOAN FONTAINE (Rebecca, Suspicion) in her last major film role. Gwen Mayfield, an English schoolteacher working as a missionary in Africa, suddenly finds herself being victimised by a tribe of local witch doctors. Exposed to the deadly powers of the occult she's left deeply traumatised. In an effort to recover Gwen takes up a position in a rural school within the British countryside. But the idyllic village surroundings become increasingly sinister as Gwen begins to uncover a nightmarish web of dark and satanic secrets. |
| My thoughts | One IMDb review said ”For Joan Fontaine Or Hammer Completists Only”. Well, I'm neither. While I like a lot of Hammer films, I'm not a completist, and I was never a huge fan of Joan Fontaine. This is a horror film that has a bit of noir feeling. It has its moments, but is let down by the silly voodoo ceremony ending. Not Nigel Kneale's finest hour, in my opinion. And I wonder if this couldn't have been a lot more effective in the hands of a better director than Cyril Frankel. While I like that many Hammer titles are now released on blu-ray, there are plenty of other titles that I feel would be more deserving of a high-def release. |
| My rating | 2,5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on November 16, 2013, 11:04:28 PM
| Title | Gold (5-060082-518430) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511nzC5M1gL._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Director | Peter R. Hunt |
| Actors | Roger Moore, Susannah York, Ray Milland, Bradford Dillman, John Gielgud |
| Produced | 1974 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 124 minutes |
| Audio | English PCM Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Roger Moore and Susannah York star in Wilbur Smith`s explosive 1974 international conspiracy thriller, set in the South African goldfields and directed by Peter Hunt (On Her Majesty`s Secret Service). A ruthless global cabal of financial investors plan to manipulate the price of gold on the world market - by sabotaging one of South Africa`s top gold mines and flooding it with millions of gallons of water. All they need is someone to take the blame. Manager Rod Slater (Roger Moore) seems the perfect choice. He s brash, rough and impulsive - just the sort of man to make a fatal mistake. As Slater embarks on an affair with Terry (Suzannah York), the heiress granddaughter of mine owner Hurry Hirschfeld (Ray Milland), the conspiracy tightens all around him and thousands of lives hang by a thread... Based on a best-selling novel by Wilbur Smith and filmed entirely on location in South Africa, Gold is an unforgettable thriller with a breath-taking climax and a fantastic cast which also includes John Gielgud and Bradford Dillman. |
| My thoughts | A disaster movie and a conspiracy plot. That's not bad. The thing that bothered me just a bit was that it seemed just a tad too ”Bond-ish”. With Moore in the lead, Peter Hunt as director and John Glen as second unit director, is it any wonder? Oh, yeah, the titles were designed by Maurice Binder and it has a rather Bondian title song. I was also a bit disappointed in Suzannah York. I've liked her in several films, but here she doesn't spark at all, and there doesn't seem to be any chemistry between her and Roger Moore. But that's just minor grumbles. I found the film to be quite exciting, if a tad long. Ray Milland, Braford Dillman and John Gielgud were all very good. And Roger Moore, of course. The villain, played by Bernard Horsfall, was perhaps a little too villanous. You just knew early on that he wasn't going to make it. But hey, when the villain is really ”boo-able” you get some satisfaction of seeing him coming to a bad end, don't you? The blu-ray looks really good in proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio. And the LPCM audio sounds good too. Recommended! |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on November 16, 2013, 11:24:00 PM
| Title | Pacific Rim (5-051892-123969) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91ecHsY6BcL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Guillermo Del Toro |
| Actors | Charlie Hunnam, Diego Klattenhoff, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 131 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Chinese, English, French, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Thai |
| Overview | When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenceless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes - a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) - who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse. |
| My thoughts | Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. That's from Macbeth, but it sums up this film pretty well, I think. I must admit that I had some misgivings before viewing it. A friend of mine thought it was absolutely perfect. And I know that his taste and mine are often diametrically opposed. Anything with lots of CGI, and he's all over it. But when I offered him a free copy of The Guns of Navarone he just sneered and said ”Why? It has no CGI effects!” But then again, sometimes he likes films that I actually find very good, too, so I thought I'd give this one a chance. And Guillermo Del Toro usually makes films that I like. But not this one. In my eyes it was all style and no substance. Very impressive style, I have to admit, but that doesn't make it a good movie. Not for me. Of the actors, only Idris Elba impressed me. I really liked him in the British TV show Luther, and I thought he was very good here as well. So, if you're impressed by CGI special effects, this is a good movie for you. If not, well maybe not so much. I'm giving it three stars because it was darn impressive, but that's being generous. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: DSig on November 17, 2013, 03:11:33 AM
Post by: GSyren on November 17, 2013, 09:22:55 AM
Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing is exactly what i got from the previewsYeah, that's the way I felt, too, but I expected something better from the actual film since I have liked Del Toro's earlier work. I guess I should have trusted my instancts... :-[
Post by: GSyren on November 17, 2013, 05:18:40 PM
| Title | Epic (5-039036-062473) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91QWen551LL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Chris Wedge |
| Actors | Blake Anderson, Aziz Ansari, Allison Bills, Jim Conroy, Todd Cummings |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 102 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Other Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Slovak Dolby Digital 5.1, Other Dolby Digital 5.1, Turkish Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Croatian, Slovakian, Czech, Turkish |
| Overview | From the creators of Ice Age comes the year’s funniest, most exhilarating animated adventure! Transported to a magical world, a teenager (Amanda Seyfried) is recruited by a nature spirit, Queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), to help the “Leafmen” save their forest from evil warriors. The whole family will love this fast-paced thrill-ride, with its astonishing animation and an all-star voice cast that includes Colin Farrell, Oscar® Winner Christoph Waltz* and Steven Tyler! |
| My thoughts | I'm not a big fan of good-vs-evil stories where the good (”we”) are all good and the evil (”they”) are all evil. It's a very destructive view of the world that has caused a lot of grief (and still does). Yes, it's a fairy tale, and it's a common theme in many fairy tales, but I'm sure that it influences us in real life. Still, I cannot dislike every story that has this theme. But it has to have some really good redeeming features to weigh up for it. This one doesn't. Not enough for me to really care for it. Sure, the animation is good, but not spectacular. The voice actors are ok, but again not spectacular. There is just no ”wow” in it for me. I won't go as far as to say it's a bad film. I'm sure lots of people will like it. But it's just not my cup of tea. |
| My rating | 2,5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on November 17, 2013, 08:10:41 PM
| Title | A Hard Day's Night (065935-140146) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41R74CAR8CL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Richard Lester |
| Actors | John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Wilfrid Brambell |
| Produced | 1964 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 88 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | This strikingly original classic captures all the fun, excitement and unforgettable music of John, Paul, George and Ringo at the height of Beatlemania! It's a wildly irreverent day in the life of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band! As they prepare for a big TV appearance, the Beatles perform their songs, look for adventure… and try in vain to keep Paul's mischief-making grandfather out of trouble… all while avoiding hordes of screaming fans! Packed with all-time Beatle favorites including "A Hard Day's Night," "All My Loving," "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Should Have Known Better," "She Loves You," and "Tell Me Why," director Richard Lester's groundbreaking motion picture collaboration with the "Fab Four" is itself a treasured piece of rock history that remains influential to this day! This collector's edition includes "Give Me Everything!" - a companion anthology to The Beatles' first film - featuring hours of rare and new material. Songs Include: I'll Cry Instead A Hard Day's Night I Should've Known Better Can't Buy Me Love If I Fell And I Love Her I'm Happy Just To Dance With You Ringo's Theme (This Boy) Tell Me Why Don't Bother Me I Wanna Be Your Man All My Lovin' She Loves You |
| My thoughts | It was the summer of 1964. I was 17. My first trip abroad. Four weeks in London. I watched the girls queuing in front of the London Pavilion to see The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night. “Bah” I thought, “I wouldn't queue to see that crap”. Well when I got back home to Stockholm curiosity got the better of me, and I went to my local cinema to see what all the hoopla was about. By the second song (“I should have known better”) I was sold. And I have been a Beatles fan ever since. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the film. But I couldn't wait for that. It's been 10 years since I last saw it, so I felt that it was time again. For those who were too young to experience the film at the time of release, I guess it's hard to understand what an impact it had. It set a style that would be copied again and again. It's kind of a mockumentary and farce mix, with some of The Beatles greatest songs. I still get goosebumps when I watch the film, even though some of the comedy bits may seem a bit dated now. But the film as a whole is a landmark in cinema history. Need I say that I love this film? |
| My rating | 4.5 out of 5 |
Post by: DSig on November 18, 2013, 04:22:19 AM
But i really wish all the screaming wasn't going on.
Post by: GSyren on November 19, 2013, 01:34:52 PM
| Title | Terror from Beneath the Earth (884501-139618) |
| (http://sainteuphoria.com/images/tfbe_poster1.jpg) | |
| Director | Christopher R. Mihm |
| Actors | Mike Cook, Elizabeth Kaiser, Michael Kaiser, Shannen McDonough, Elliott Mihm |
| Produced | 2009 in United States |
| Runtime | 68 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | The filmmaker who brought you The Monster of Phantom Lake and Cave Women on Mars has done it again! Christopher R. Mihm presents another as-authentic—as-possible tribute to the "creature features" of the 1950’s! After years of underground atomic testing, one of the animals living within the Wisawa caves has undergone a radical and unimaginably horrible transformation! While exploring the caves, Dr. Vincent Edwards (Mike Cook) and colleague Rosemary Bennett (Stephanie Mihm) stumble across evidence in the disappearance of local children. After reporting the find to the authorities, Dr. Edwards and Rosemary are tapped to lead a rescue attempt. Along with Sheriff George Elliott (Justen Overlander) and the children's father, Stan Johnson (Daniel R. Sjerven), the rescue party quickly comes to the realization that if the caves don't get them, whatever unseen terror lurking in the shadows just might! |
| My thoughts | Since 2006 Christopher R. Mihm has written/produced/directed one film a year. It started with The Monster of Phantom Lake, and his latest cinematic effort is The Giant Spider. Terror from Beneath the Earth was made in 2009. I guess most of his films could best be described as advanced home movies. They star Mihm's family and friends. None of them should give up their day jobs for acting. Still, these films have a certain charm. They are made with a love for 50's B-movies. To date I have seen three of his films, the first, the latest and this one. The latest, The Giant Spider, actually has some qualities that makes it look almost professional. The same cannot be said for the two others I have seen. So you really can't judge them on the same scale as professional films. Terror from Beneath the Earth takes place in just two locations; the sheriff's office and the Wisawa caves. By home movie standards, the cave set is quite good. I wish I could say the same about the ”creature”. It looks like a really ratty Halloween costume. And since the creature action is pretty much the only action – the rest of the movie is just talk – that's disappointing. If you see this movie for what it is, an amateur production with a love for old b&w creature movies, it can be quite entertaining. If this had been a serious professional production I would have given it a half point. But for what it is, I'm giving it two and a half. |
| My rating | 2.5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on November 21, 2013, 12:07:51 PM
| Title | The Killer That Stalked New York (043396-424661) |
| (http://i.sdcd.us/c/500/8/3/5/5/2165538.jpg) | |
| Director | Earl McEvoy |
| Actors | Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, William Bishop, Dorothy Malone, Lola Albright |
| Produced | 1950 in United States |
| Runtime | 76 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Sheila Bennet (Evelyn Keyes, Here Comes Mr Jordan) returns to New York from Cuba with $40,000 in stolen diamonds, as well as something even worse — a deadly case of smallpox. Being trailed by both a treasury agent (Barry Kelley, The Asphalt Jungle) and a public health doctor (William Bishop, Top Gun, 1955), Sheila continues on the run, spreading the disease around an unknowing town. While Sheila is unaware of the severity of her illness, she is also fearful of her conniving husband, Matt (Charles Korvin, Berlin Express), who is looking to take the diamonds for himself. |
| My thoughts | For some reason, Hollywood often seems to create similarly themed movies at the same time. This movie was made about the same time as Elia Kazan's Panic in the Streets. That one was about the bubonic plague, this one is about smallpox. This one was made on a lower budget, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's inferior. It's a dark film noir with solid acting for the most part. Among the uncredited performances I'd like to mention Walter Burke as the rather slimy bellhop, and Jim Backus (Gilligan's Island) as one of the smallpox victims. I found this film quite exciting. We may have other diseases to worry about today, but the theme is as topical today as it was back then. Recommended. |
| My rating | 3,5 out of 5 |
| Trailer |
Post by: GSyren on November 23, 2013, 10:10:51 PM
| Title | Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live on Stage! (5-050582-456738) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51D8N945XCL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | David Mallet |
| Performers | Lewis McCleod, Richard Burton, Justin Hayward, Alexis James, Anna-Marie Wayne |
| Conducted by | Jeff Wayne |
| Produced | 2006 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 110 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1 |
| Subtitles | French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch |
| Overview | Filmed at Wembley Arena on 25th April, 2006, The War of the Worlds Live is a spectacular mix of live music, theatre, multi-media and visual arts on a grand scale. It combines the brilliance of the original performers including Jeff Wayne, Justin Hayward, Chris Thompson and even the late Richard Burton ('In Sight and Sound') along with a brand new cast, the 10-piece Black Smoke Band, the 48-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings and an unforgettable fully operating 30ft Martian Fighting Machine! |
| My thoughts | For some reason I never bought Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds on LP when it was released, but I had of course heard parts of it. I rectified this when it was released on CD, and listened to it many times. I thought it was brilliant. So when the 2006 stage show was released on DVD it was a no-brainer. And I loved it! I still do. I get goosebumps every time I watch the show. It so brilliant. It is truly a one of a kind show. It's about half a century since I read the book, but I think I can safely say that this show is more true to the book than any of the film versions (and there are at least four – depending on which ones you count - plus a tv series). I don't hand out 5's lightly, but this DVD could have been a 5. The only reason I only give it 4.5 is that the music on a few occasions tend to drown out the narration, and there are no English subtitles. The album was better mixed. But that's a very minor complaint. One has no problem understanding what's going on. Judging from the reviews of the new version, I'd say it's better to stick with the original even if it's not available on BD. Essential viewing! |
| My rating | 4.5 out of 5 |
Post by: DSig on November 24, 2013, 05:52:05 PM
I am very happy you gave it a 4.5, it really deserves it.
Post by: GSyren on November 24, 2013, 07:23:29 PM
Wow again it seems like you are writing my reviews <G>.Maybe I should get paid for writing your reviews for you...? ;D
Post by: DSig on November 25, 2013, 12:47:10 AM
Post by: GSyren on December 05, 2013, 11:17:17 AM
| Title | The Hunger Games (7-332421-042370) |
| (http://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/movie/blu-ray/image0/the_hunger_games_blu-ray-18522544-frntl.jpg) | |
| Director | Gary Ross |
| Actors | Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Jennifer Lawrence, Willow Shields, Liam Hemsworth |
| Produced | 2012 in United States |
| Runtime | 142 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English DTS 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister’s place and must rely upon her sharp instincts when she’s pitted against highly trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. |
| My thoughts | I've been holding off watching The Hunger Games, but now that the sequel is playing in cinemas I thought it was time to watch it. And quite surprisingly I actually liked it a little bit better than Battle Royale. It's long (well, so is Battle Royale, but this is 20 minutes longer) and it has lot of CGI. Those are two things that usually put me off. I think the reason I liked it better than BR is that I came to this one with very low expectations, while the opposite was true for BR. I liked Jennifer Lawrence. I had seen her before in X-Men: First Class, but she didn't make much impression there. She did now. I was never very impressed by Josh Hutcherson, and I'm still not, but I didn't think he actually hurt the movie. I usually like Stanley Tucci (especially in Undercover Blues), but the Flickerman character was just a little too much for me. I'm actually confused as to why I didn't hate this movie. Everything indicates that I should have. I can only attribute it to me having a good day and very low expectations. |
| My rating | 3 out of 5 |
Post by: DSig on December 05, 2013, 08:47:52 PM
I really like the Hunger Games possibly because it was close to the first book. And Jennifer Lawrence was very good (getting a bit old for the role now). It did have a lot of CGI and i know you don't like that ... but I think here it was more to enhance the film and not so much to drive the file ... like Oblivion or that one from Will Smith (and family). Of course I could just be blowing smoke as I feel that Avatar's CGI is descriptive as opposed to bad story filler. :stars:
Post by: GSyren on December 08, 2013, 02:29:28 PM
| Title | Midnight Lace (5-050582-409635) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bgQ01AEvL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | David Miller |
| Actors | Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, Roddy McDowall |
| Produced | 1960 in United States |
| Runtime | 104 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Who would want to kill Doris Day? That's the tension-packed question in this highly-charged thriller set in modern day London. As a newly-wed heiress, Doris is slowly being driven mad by life-threatening phone calls and near-fatal "accidents". Although Rex Harrison, her suave industrialist husband, is sceptical of his wife's story, there is a gallery of would-be suspects, including construction gang foreman John Gavin, her adoring next-door neighbour Roddy McDowall and Harrison's troubled treasurer, Herbert Marshall. The glitzy Ross Hunter production also featured Myrna Loy, Hermione Baddeley, and a suspense laden shock ending that will surprise even the most die-hard movie buffs. |
| My thoughts | Sometimes I have a hard time explaining even to myself why I rate a film the way that I do. Midnight Lace is a perfect example. It has a lot going against it. It's reminicent of both Gaslight and Dial M for Murder, both of which are undeniably better films. The story is rather farfetched and has at least one big plot hole. It's supposed to take place in London, but it's quite obvious that only some second unit shots with doubles were actually shot in London and the rest in Hollywood. The Universal backlot is easily recognised in the scene were Doris is pushed in front of a bus. And a small gaffe that at least UK residents should recognise is that none of the vehicles have the required tax disc. Furthermore, there is no chemistry between Doris and Rex Harrison. And while the direction is quite good, the whole thing is a little too Hitchcock-wannabe. In spite of several red herrings, it's not too hard to guess who the real bad guy is. On the plus side, though, Doris does a very good job playing a straight dramatic role (with no singing). And the rest of the cast is quite good, too. The story may be farfetched, but it's rather exciting anyway. In spite of everything, I like this film quite a lot. It may have to do with the fact that I'm a big Doris Day fan. Or perhaps a little because I love London, even when ”Hollywoodized”. Or because I like thrillers, farfetched or not. I don't quite know, I only know that I enjoyed this quite a lot, despite having seen it before and knowing the ending. Your mileage may vary... |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: Dragonfire on December 08, 2013, 11:47:09 PM
Post by: GSyren on December 09, 2013, 12:42:51 AM
Post by: Dragonfire on December 09, 2013, 07:02:09 AM
Post by: GSyren on December 09, 2013, 07:20:24 AM
I need to get more from my DVR watched. I just need more time in every day to catch up with everything.I can relate to that... ;)
Post by: GSyren on December 11, 2013, 03:45:38 PM
| Title | PT 109 (883316-231982) |
| (http://i.sdcd.us/b/500/6/7/1/7/1827176.jpg) | |
| Director | Leslie H. Martinson |
| Actors | Cliff Robertson, Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp, Grant Williams |
| Produced | 1963 in United States |
| Runtime | 140 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | President John F. Kennedy kept a unique inauguration gift on his White House desk: a coconut encased in plastic. The tale of that coconut is the heroic story of PT 109. Academy Award winner* Cliff Robertson stars in this stirring saga of Kennedy’s wartime exploits as skipper of a PT boat in the Solomon Islands. The assignment: harass the enemy and buy time for a U.S. Navy still on the drawing boards. In August 1943, PT 109 was sliced in half by a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy led his surviving crew through a sea aflame from gasoline, towing a badly burned sailor miles to the nearest island. There seemed little hope of rescue from the Japanese-dominated area…until a strategy involving a coconut emerged. The triumphant outcome was unbelievable – and all true! *1968. Best Actor for Charly. |
| My thoughts | It's been 50 years since the death of John F. Kennedy, and it's been 50 years since this film premiered (it opened just a few months before JFK was killed). So it seemed appropriate to watch this film now. It is a fairly typical Hollywood World War II movie. I assume that the basic story is historically correct, but it's impossible for me to know exactly how much artistic license have been taken in the details. The incidents described in the story are not of any great importance, and I think it's safe to say that they would have gone more or less unnoticed if it weren't for the fact that the captain of that motor torpedo boat went on to become president of the United States. Still, the film is not without merit. It is entertaining, if a bit too long for my taste. Cliff Robertson is quite good as Kennedy, albeit a bit too old for the part. We also have Robert Blake (Baretta), Normal Fell, Ty Hardin, Robert Culp and James Gregory, all good actors. The DVD is part of Warner Achive Collection, so new special features except a trailer. The picture quality is very good, and the film is presented in the correct widescreen aspect ratio. A pleasant enough movie experience if you like old WWII movies. |
| My rating | 3.5 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on December 11, 2013, 04:22:52 PM
| Title | Cesta do pravěku (aka Journey to the Beginning of Time) (8-594159-070042) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/612b8gernVL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Karel Zeman |
| Actors | Vladimir Bejval, Petr Herrmann, Josef Lukáš, Zdenek Husták, Bedrich Šetena |
| Produced | 1955 in Czechoslovakia |
| Runtime | 81 minutes |
| Audio | Czech Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English, Czech |
| Overview | This immensely popular educational film from 1955 tells the story of four boys who set out on a wooden boat back up the river of time into the prehistory of the planet Earth. This pioneering work includes a wealth of scientific facts, introduced as part of an exciting boys' adventure. Whole generations of children first learned about the prehistoric past of our planet from this film, with its long-extinct plants and animals, which come alive here thanks to the creativity and the artistry of Zeman's trick photography. This film is widely regarded as one of the best children's adventure films in world cinema. |
| My thoughts | Karel Zeman was a very inventive Czech filmmaker. He made films in very different styles. The Fabulous World of Jules Verne is perhaps his best known film, at least outside of the Czech Republic. Perhaps this looks familiar: (http://missionlocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/jules_submarine.jpg) Cesta do pravěku is not made in this style, though. It uses normal live action enhanced with various trick photography to depict prehistoric animals. The film elements used for this DVD are not quite in pristine condition, but still quite good, and probably better than most viewers have seen before. (http://gonet.cz/~tri65dnigalerie/porad/250/7/743b917e0d33cc84d3b2b5ae190aadb4.jpg) The story is somewhat reminiscent of The Land That Time Forgot, at least the beginning. However, this is a lot more pedagogic. For the most part the animals look better than those in Land, but the Tyrannosaurus Rex looks pretty pathetic. But then they looked pathetic in pretty much every fifties movie. This is far from the worst example. The film probably was quite exciting for young people in the fifties and sixties, but today it's more of a curiosity. It's an important part of film history, and I liked it fine. This film, and 4 other films by Karel Zeman is available on DVD from The Karel Zeman Museum (http://www.muzeumkarlazemana.cz/en)in Prague. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on December 12, 2013, 09:32:58 AM
| Title | Mary Poppins (8-717418-412050) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51E96iYNWAL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Robert Stevenson |
| Actors | Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Hermione Baddeley |
| Produced | 1964 in United States |
| Runtime | 139 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Dutch Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch |
| Overview | Experience the extraordinary animation, dazzling special effects and award-winning music of Walt Disney's Mary Poppins in this fully restored and remastered 50th Anniversary Edition. Join the "pratically perfect" Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) as she magically turns every chore into a game and every day into a whimsical adventure. Along the way, you'll be enchanted by unforgettable characters such as the multitalented chimney sweep Bert (Dick Van Dyke). Unpack Mary's magical carpetbag full of bonus features. You won't need "Spoonful of Sugar" to love every moment of this timeless Disney classic. |
| My thoughts | I love this movie! And I love Julie Andrews. Especially as Mary Poppins. Just like Mary Poppins, Julie is ”practically perfect in every way”. I love that this movie was made before there was CGI. The ”real” special effects are so much more special. And I love the matte paintings by Peter Ellenshaw. I love Dick van Dyke, even though his cockney is atrocious. That is actually part of what makes his performance so endearing. David Tomlinson is outstanding as Mr. Banks. He delivers one of my favorite film quotes; ”Kindly don't confuse the issue with facts”. I love that Walt Disney talked Jane Darwell to come out of retirement to do The Bird Woman in the ”Feed the Birds” segment. I love almost all the songs. The video and audio quality of the Blu-Ray is outstanding. I am so happy that one of my all time favorites has been given such an impeccable BD release. In my opinion, Mary Poppins is the finest of Disney's live action features, along side off 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Did I mention that I love this movie? |
| My rating | 5 out of 5 |
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on December 12, 2013, 10:20:55 AM
Glad to hear that they put some care into the transfer.
Post by: GSyren on December 12, 2013, 12:08:11 PM
Interesting fact: When Mary Poppins was originally released in Sweden it was subtitled, but not dubbed. In 1998 it was deemed necessary to release a dubbed home video version, but the old translations for the songs weren't suitable for dubbing, so new Swedish lyrics had to be written. This confused a lot of people since the songs had been recorded and released in Swedish in the sixties, and were quite well known. So suddenly "Supercalifragilisticexpialidoceus" went from "Superoptimopsiskttoppipangfenomenaliskt" to "Superhärligfraggelistighäxlikhalledosen".
:o
Post by: GSyren on December 13, 2013, 01:50:28 PM
| Title | Despicable Me 2 (5-050582-944075) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51aNfpb3uEL._SY300_.jpg) | |
| Director | Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin |
| Actors | Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 98 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, Hungarian DTS 5.1, Polish DTS 5.1, Arabic DTS 5.1, Hindi DTS 5.1, Catalonian Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Arabic, English, Hindi, Commentary, Spanish, Hungarian, Catalonian, Polish |
| Overview | This blockbuster animated comedy from Illumination Entertainment sees the return of former super-villain Gru (Steve Carell), who has retired from a life of crime to raise his three daughters. But things take an unexpected turn when he is recruited by the Anti-Villain League to track down an elusive criminal who is threatening the world. Now, with new partner Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) by his side, Gru and the Minions set off on an unpredictable and unexpected adventure. |
| My thoughts | Looking at the comments on IMDb, this seems to be pretty much a love-it-or-hate-it movie. Many people who loved DM1 were terribly disappointed by the sequel. I was not. I guess it's true that the story kind of meanders a lot. And it focuses on the minions a lot more than the first one did. It's a matter of taste if this is a good thing or a bad thing. It does have its faults, but I was still hugely entertained. I'm guessing that the reactions to this film depend a great deal on what you are expecting. Gru isn't despicable, so if the title leads you to expect more despicability then I guess you may be disappointed. The villain is kind of weak, so not all that much despicability there either. There is a love story involved, well two actually, so if that isn't your cup of tea, then I guess that may put you off. It's cute, and there are a lot of sight gags, but the plot is just so-so. Still, I had a good time watching it. Not quite as much as with DM1, perhaps, but still a very positive experience. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: Achim on December 13, 2013, 03:35:51 PM
Should I watch part 1 first, or is knowing that he turned from bad to good after taking care of the girls all I need to know?
Post by: GSyren on December 13, 2013, 03:48:15 PM
Post by: DSig on December 13, 2013, 08:39:42 PM
I was never particularly curious about part 1. Especially since I don't really like Steve Carrel. However, those minions made me very curious about part 2! I should rent it on iTunes while I'm in Germany...For what it is worth .. i liked the first one best. It is a good watch. And it isn't Carrell being Carrel.
Should I watch part 1 first, or is knowing that he turned from bad to good after taking care of the girls all I need to know?
Post by: Dragonfire on December 14, 2013, 03:54:48 AM
Post by: GSyren on December 15, 2013, 11:58:36 AM
| Title | Nazis at the Center of the Earth (7-350062-380378) |
| (http://www.ginza.se/Archive/Images/item_img_verylarge/329104.jpg) | |
| Director | Joseph.J.Lawson |
| Actors | Dominique Swain, Jake Busey, Josh Allen, Christopher Karl Johnson, James Maxwell Young |
| Produced | 2012 in United States |
| Runtime | 86 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | Researchers in Antarctica are abducted by a team of masked storm troopers. They are dragged deep underground to a hidden continent in the center of the earth. Here Nazi survivors, their bodies a horrifying patchwork of decaying and regenerated flesh, are planning for the revival of the Third Reich. |
| My thoughts | ”The Asylum Presents” - do you get excited when you see opening credits starting with that? If you do, then you are a sucker for trash movies. I know I am, sometimes. The Asylum is known for their ”mockbusters”, cheap imitations of big blockbusters. And sometimes not quite so big blockbusters. I guess this movie was inspired by Iron Sky (nazis on the moon). Well, at least they didn't rip off the title, like they usually do (like ”Atlantic Rim”). You know you're in for a ”treat” when the best actor in the cast is Jake Busey. And you check out the director and find out that he's one of The Asylums favorite visual effects guys. If you're familiar with the standards of The Asylum's visual effects you may say to yourself ”Well, let's hope he's better at directing” but in your heart you know that visual effects guys seldom make great directors, and that's certainly true here. So is this one of those ”so bad that it's good” films? Well, some people seem to think so. I'm on the fence on this one. It's mostly just bad. It does get wacky when it comes to the giant robot with Hitler's head. I guess that part of the film would qualify. I found this title in a SEK 10.00 sale (that's about $ 1.50). I guess I can say that I got my money's worth. |
| My rating | 2 out of 5 |
Post by: GSyren on December 15, 2013, 12:20:39 PM
| Title | Maniac Cop 2 (827058-704397) |
| (http://i.sdcd.us/c/500/7/2/9/5/2315927.jpg) | |
| Director | William Lustig |
| Actors | Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon |
| Produced | 1990 in United States |
| Runtime | 87 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Dolby Digital EX 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Music Only DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish |
| Overview | The "Maniac Cop" is back from the dead and stalking the streets of New York once more. Officer Matt Cordell was once a hero, but after being framed by corrupt superiors and brutally assaulted in prison, he sets out on a macabre mission of vengeance, teaming up with a vicious serial killer to track down those that wronged him and make them pay...with their lives! Robert Davi (LICENSE TO KILL), Claudia Christian (THE HIDDEN), Michael Lerner (BARTON FINK), Laurene Landon (HUNDRA), Leo Rossi (HALLOWEEN II), Robert Z'Dar (TANGO & CASH), Charles Napier (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS), and Bruce Campbell (THE EVIL DEAD) star in this chilling, action-packed sequel written by Larry Cohen (IT'S ALIVE) and directed by William Lustig (MANIAC). Featuring a brand-new 4K High Definition transfer from the original camera negative, this definitive presentation of MANIAC COP 2 comes packed with exclusive Extras! |
| My thoughts | I believe I have Jimmy to thank for this. I saw this title in an ”On Pre-Order” post, and even though I don't recall for certain, Jimmy seems like the most likely suspect to have this on pre-order. Anyway, I'm glad I bought it. It's a great film. When you see ”Stunt coordinator” among the opening credits, you expect a wild ride, and you get one. I liked the original, and with three times the budget, William Lustig had the chance of going one better, and he delivers. Lustig takes a tip from Hitchcock, and goes a little ”Psycho” on us. I won't say more than that, because I don't want to spoil the surprise. The two Roberts (Davi and Z'Dar) do a great job.The makeup job on Z'Dar is perhaps a little bit over the top, but what the heck. The violence in part 1 may have been restrained, but Lustig goes all in here, with blood splatter that seems inspired by The Wild Bunch. If you enjoyed the original Maniac Cop, then this one should be a no-brainer. |
| My rating | 4 out of 5 |
Post by: Jimmy on December 15, 2013, 07:12:45 PM
I believe I have Jimmy to thank for this. I saw this title in an ”On Pre-Order” post, and even though I don't recall for certain, Jimmy seems like the most likely suspect to have this on pre-order.You're welcome ;D
I don't think I've posted it in the pre-order thread but I've kind of did the same in the whatyougot thread since I talk about them before I got them.
Post by: GSyren on December 15, 2013, 10:10:58 PM
Post by: Jimmy on December 16, 2013, 12:35:43 AM
Post by: GSyren on December 16, 2013, 01:23:15 AM
Post by: GSyren on December 21, 2013, 08:26:31 PM
| Title | Vynález zkázy (aka The Fabulous World of Jules Verne) (8-594159-070059) |
| (http://www.dvdmise.cz/3804-4263-large/vynalez-zkazy-karel-zeman.jpg) | |
| Director | Karel Zeman |
| Actors | Lubor Tokoš, Arnošt Navrátil, Miloslav Holub, František Šlégr, Václav Kyzlink |
| Produced | 1958 in Czechoslovakia |
| Runtime | 78 minutes |
| Audio | Czech Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English, Czech |
| Overview | In 1958, this film literally circled the globe. It was showered in prizes and became one of the most significant films of the 20th century. Among its many awards, it won the Grand Prix at the World Exposition EXPO 58 in Brussels. It is the first of several Zeman films inspired by the works of Jules Verne. Here, the director tried a new artistic style to bring to life the black and white engravings made by the first illustrators of the Jules Verne books, Édouard Riou and Léon Benett. Throughout his life Zeman continued to develop this new style, using it to create his visionary worlds. Together, Verne's timeless story of an exploited inventor whose work falls into the hands of criminals, threatening the entire world, along with the paper look of the scenes, and dramatic stylization throughout the film, all contribute to the unique appearance and original atmosphere of this work of cinematic art. |
| My thoughts | Although the story reminds one quite a lot of ”20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, this film is – as far as I can tell – based mainly on another of Jules Verne's books, ”Facing the Flag”. I haven't read that book, so I can't tell how closely this film follows the book. The most remarkable aspect of this film is the techniques used by Karel Zeman. The film has the look of old line engravings. Combined with animations and live action, this film has a very unique style. This Youtube clip gives you an idea: It's a fascinating film. The DVD from the Karel Zeman Museum in Prague is probably the best quality in which this film has been shown outside of theatrical performances. Those weaned on modern fast moving CGI action films may perhaps find this slow and possibly boring. I absolutely loved it, though. Highly recommended! |
| My rating |  |
Post by: GSyren on December 27, 2013, 12:00:02 PM
| Title | The Hunley (883316-331828) |
| (http://i.sdcd.us/c/500/7/5/1/7/1827157.jpg) | |
| Director | John Gray |
| Actors | Armand Assante, Donald Sutherland, Alex Jennings, Sebastian Roché, Christopher Bauer |
| Produced | 1999 in United States |
| Runtime | 94 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | The fateful encounter of the Monitor and the Merrimack, history’s first-ever battle of ironclad ships, was not the U.S. Civil War’s lone naval milestone. Desperate to break the stranglehold of the North’s coastal blockade, the South built and sent into war the hand-powered submarine CSS Hunley. Armand Assante (as Lt. Dixon, the sub’s skipper) and Donald Sutherland (as Gen. Beauregard, the Confederate commander at Charleston) star in this fact-based tale of The Hunley and its crew. The ship is iron, engineered from a large steam boiler. The crew consists of nine volunteers, men destined to change the world forever in a submersible ship that was the first combat vessel of its kind – and the last hope of the Confederacy. |
| My thoughts | A fascinating story about the first US (handdriven) submarine and its use in the civil war. Surprisingly, the best known actors – Donald Sutherland and Armand Assante – give the least convincing performances, in my opinion. But even so, I enjoyed this film quite a lot. It's a pity that this DVD has no special features. A story like this would have benefited quite a lot from some documentary background material. But with these made-on-demand DVDs you very seldom get any extras except possibly a trailer. Well, I guess we just have to be glad that this movie was made available at all. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on December 27, 2013, 12:23:28 PM
| Title | Outbreak (Mammoth) (7-319980-077883) |
| (http://www.ginza.se/Archive/Images/item_img_verylarge/0337.jpg) | |
| Director | Tim Cox |
| Actors | Vincent Ventresca, Summer Glau, Leila Arcieri, Cole Williams, Tom Skerritt |
| Produced | 2006 in United States |
| Runtime | 86 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Danish, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | On a hot summer afternoon in the sleepy town of Blackwater, Louisiana locals exiting a retro-fitted theater excitedly watch as a meteor streaks across the sky and crashes through the roof of the local Natural History Museum. No one realizes that the meteor is actually a spaceship containing a shape-shifting life form. In order to adapt to Earth's atmosphere, the life form latches on to the first organism it comes in contact with - a partially frozen Woolly Mammoth found in the historic exhibit for which the town is famous. As a series of uncanny disasters unfold, the town quickly finds itself overrun by the alien-possessed mammoth. Local authorities and Government Investigators join forces with Frank Abernathy, the Museum Curator, and his father Simon, a B-Movie enthusiast to bring down the mighty mammoth, thus saving the town (and the world) in a wild adventure that blends the 50s alien-invasion flick, and the 70s revenge-of-nature opus into a marauding monster mash! |
| My thoughts | Uh... My thoughts while watching this movie was ”What were the writers smoking?” and the next thing that went through my mind was ”What was Tom Skerritt smoking when he signed up for this film?” I suppose you could enjoy this as a ”so bad that it's good” movie if you're in that frame of mind. But I guess I was not. As is usually the case in Sci-Fi Channel movies, the CGI is... well, let's be kind and just say it's not too convincing. I liked Vincent Ventresca as The Invisible Man (2000-2002), but he does nothing for me here. Summer Glau is cute, but she has developed quite a lot since this was made, both as an actress and as a woman. This was another of my $1.50 DVDs, and I'm glad I didn't pay more for it. |
| My rating |  |
Post by: GSyren on December 27, 2013, 12:56:27 PM
| Title | King Solomon's Mines (7-319980-070334) |
| (http://www.ginza.se/Archive/Images/item_img_verylarge/2120.jpg) | |
| Director | Steve Boyum |
| Actors | Patrick Swayze, Alison Doody, Roy Marsden, John Standing, Gavin Hood |
| Produced | 2004 in United States |
| Runtime | 167 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | TV drama re-telling of the classic treasure-hunting tale starring Dirty Dancer Patrick Swayze. Renowned safari hunter Allan Quatermain (Swayze) has given up the life of an adventurer, vowing to leave the natural beauty of Africa to its own people and its destruction to others. His acceptance, however, of a handsome offer from beautiful Elizabeth Maitland (Alison Doody) holds the promise of an expedition of another sort - to find the desperate woman's missing father who disappeared in Africa while searching for the legendary King Solomon's Mines. Quatermain knows the legend of King Solomon well. He also knows that no living soul who dared to seek out the world's greatest treasure has ever returned alive. But for Quatermain and his band of hardy adventurers no challenge is too great or too dangerous. |
| My thoughts | Now here is a $1.50 purchase that was money well spent. A bit long for my taste, but still it never got boring. Patrick Swayze is quite good as Allan Quatermain, but he looks terribly concerned all through the film. Alison Doody is fine. Roy Marsden is good too, once I managed to not think of him as Commander Adam Dalgliesh. I'm not sure how close this is to H. Rider Haggard's novel, but I have a feeling that it's not all that close. It's a good enough story, though. Shot in South Africa, the locations look great. I'm not always too keen on Hallmark productions, but this one was quite good. |
| My rating |  |
Post by: GSyren on January 05, 2014, 04:11:21 PM
| Title | Man of Steel (5-051892-140324) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91snoWmxUxL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Zack Snyder |
| Actors | Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 143 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, French, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic |
| Overview | A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind. |
| My thoughts | First of all I'd like to make a comment on how I feel about special effects in general. Effects, both practical and visual, but perhaps especially visual effects, should be used only when necessary to move the story along. I hate ”because we can” effects. They detract from the story rather than help it along. So, Man of Steel. I have mixed feelings about it. I liked Henry Cavill as Superman. I thought he was a great choice for the role. Definitely the best Superman after Christopher Reeve, perhaps even better than him. I actually liked all the main male actors; Michael Shannon as Zod, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent. The females, not so much. Not that they were bad, they just didn't have much to do, and didn't put in any exceptional performances. I suppose Amy Adams was ok as Lois Lane. I guess many Superman fans were enraged by the way the movie makers chose not to adhere to the Superman mythology. I was never that much into Superman, so it didn't bother me. What bothered me a lot more was the prolonged fight scenes. They were way longer than necessary for the story. They just seemed to exist for the ”because we can” visual effects. Fine if you value effects over storytelling. I just don't. As for the story itself, it felt too much like a prolog. Even though it didn't end with a cliffhanger, it felt like just a setup for a sequel. I guess that would be Batman vs. Superman. So, while it had some quite good parts, I found the movie not very satisfying. Cavill rocks, though. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on January 12, 2014, 11:04:46 AM
| Title | Animal Protector (7-393608-570208) |
| (http://s4.discshop.se/img/front_large/101494/animal_protector.jpg) | |
| Director | Mats Helge, Anders Nilsson |
| Actors | David Carradine, A-R Hellquist, Camilla Lundén, Mats Huddén, Timothy Earle |
| Produced | 1988 in Sweden |
| Runtime | 97 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Swedish |
| Overview | A group of animal rights activists get wind of an island where terrible experiments on animals are made in hope of developing new biological weapons. They go there with the mission of freeing the animals, but all does not go accordingto plan, and soon they realize that they may be the only ones that can stop a world wide disaster. |
| My thoughts | Animal Protector is one of three movies that Swedish director Mats Helge Olsson (usually credited as just Mats Helge) made with David Carradine. Rumor has it that Olsson hired Carradine for one film, but unbeknownst to Carradine shot scenes for three films. I find that story a bit hard to believe. I don't see how Carradine would not realise that he was playing three different characters. Be that as it may, this is a typical Mats Helge B-movie. Lots of shooting, explosions and fights, weak story and – for the most part – even weaker acting. Swedish bottom-of-the-barrel actors trying speak American English. And all this is not helped by the substandard quality of the DVD release. Barely better than VHS video and audio quality. Unless you're really interested in Swedish B-movies, or you are a die hard fan of David Carradine, there is very little reason to watch this film. And I strongly suspect that the same goes for the other two Mats Helge / David Carradine movies (The Mad Bunch and Fatal Secret). I doubt that any of them are available outside of Sweden anyway. |
| My rating |  |
Post by: GSyren on January 12, 2014, 11:47:43 AM
| Title | Attack Force (Disc ID: C249-A028-80F6-3179) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91bC3UmvoDL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Michael Keusch |
| Actors | Steven Seagal, Lisa Lovbrand, David Kennedy, Matthew Chambers, Danny Webb |
| Produced | 2006 in United States |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, |
| Subtitles | Arabic, English, French, Italian, Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch |
| Overview | Steven Seagal (Shadow Man, Black Dawn) is back in this high-octane, action thriller! When Marshall L Lawson (Seagal) loses his strike-team in a cold-blooded and seemingly random attack, he takes it upon himself to investigate the suspicious circumstances of the brutal killings. Resolute in his pursuit, Marshall engages in merciless battle with a drug dealer operation that appears to be secretly funded by a rogue arm of the military. |
| My thoughts | This is a weird movie! It is especially weird if you don't know why this movie looks the way it does. Originally this was filmed as a sci-fi/horror story called “Harvester”. It featured human-looking aliens whose only tell was that they had eyelids that closed horisontally, making them look really weird when they blinked. Apparently the producers got cold feet when they saw the finished result and decided that the only way the film would recouperate its cost was if they changed it into a standard Seagal action movie. So – without the participation of the original director, the author or the star – they shot some additional scenes, re-edited the movie and redubbed much of the dialog. One of the problems with this was that the actor they hired to redub some of Seagal's dialog does not sound anything like Seagal. So the result is that some scenes have Seagal's own voice and some scenes have him speaking in a totally different voice, making this a truly bizarre experience. And the aliens are now humans, addicts of some new and dangerous drug, but the still blink the wrong way around. It's a little like Plan 9 From Outer Space where Bela Lugosi is replaced by Ed Wood's wife's chiropractor holding a cape in front of his face. And the storyline in this movie makes even less sense than the one in Plan 9. |
| My rating |  |
Post by: DSig on January 12, 2014, 08:21:54 PM
Post by: GSyren on January 12, 2014, 10:59:46 PM
Another one of mine, well I don't know if it is exactly a guilty pleasure but I am terribly fond of fifties horror movies of the drive-in kind. I think it's because I used to read about them in Famous Monsters, but very few of them found their way over here (or I missed them because I was too young). So I was kept curious about them for many years until they started to show up on home video. First on VHS, of course, but eventually on DVD. So now I have lots of those - and loving it.
Post by: GSyren on January 19, 2014, 09:44:49 PM
Post by: GSyren on January 19, 2014, 09:46:59 PM
| Title | The War Wagon (5-050582-943320) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91%2BIzGzlfGL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Burt Kennedy |
| Actors | John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker, Jr., Keenan Wynn |
| Produced | 1967 in United States |
| Runtime | 100 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, French DTS Mono, Italian DTS Mono, German DTS Mono, Spanish DTS Mono |
| Subtitles | English, French Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portugese, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Chinese |
| Overview | Two cinematic legends, John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, team up to seize a small fortune in gold in this action-packed western classic. Wayne plays Taw Jackson, a range-hardened rancher who's hell-bent on capturing the infamous War Wagon, an ironclad stagecoach protected by a small army of men and owned by a thieving cattle baron who robbed Taw of his gold and good name years before. To get even, Jackson recruits Lomax (Douglas), a brash gunslinger, and a raucous crew of misfits and readies them to pull off one of the most impossible heists of all time. |
| My thoughts | I must admit that The War Wagon surprised me a bit, because I had a mental picture of it being an older black-and-white movie. I don't know why. I may have seen a b&w photo from it a long time ago, or perhaps a clip or a trailer on b&w TV back in the late sixties. Anyway, seeing that it was in widescreen and color was a pleasant surprise. John Wayne and Kirk Douglas has great chemistry in this film. Howard Keel as an indian? Awkward casting is you ask me. Bruce Cabot makes a good villain, and Keenan Wynn is believable as a greedy old codger. Bruce Dern has a small role, too. Director Burt Kennedy was good at making these kind of westerns that don't take themselves too seriously. And he does a good job here, too. There are some really well done matte paintings by Albert Whitlock, but if you watch closely when the bridge is blown up the registration is not perfect and it becomes evident that the bottom part with the chasm is a matte painting. A fun western, and it looks and sounds really good on this region free UK release. Highly recommended. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Rogmeister on January 20, 2014, 01:07:24 AM
Post by: DSig on January 20, 2014, 01:26:54 AM
Post by: GSyren on January 25, 2014, 11:18:07 AM
| Title | Phantom of the Opera (4-048317-448111) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51LFLwFZcNL._SX342_.jpg) | |
| Director | Dwight Little |
| Actors | Robert Englund, Jill Schoelen, Alex Hyde-White, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Lawrence |
| Produced | 1989 in United States |
| Runtime | 93 minutes |
| Audio | German DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | NUR LIEBE UND MUSIK WÄHREN EWIGLICH... Christine Day möchte unbedingt Sängerin am Broadway werden und wählt für das Casting ein ganz besonderes Stück, das sie in einer Bibliothek entdeckt hat. Doch dieses Gesangsstück beschwört offensichtlich den Geist des unbekannten Komponisten Erik Destler, der vor langer Zeit einen Pakt mit dem Teufel geschlossen hat. Die Menschen sollten seine Musik lieben - dafür wurde sein Gesicht fürchterlich entstellt. Als "Phantom der Oper" geistert Destler zeitenlos durch die Katakomben und verliebt sich in Christine. Mysteriöse Morde, die auf Destler verweisen, führen dazu, dass sie zum Star der Oper wird. Doch Christine erwidert die kranke Liebe des grausamen Killers nicht und nun ist das Phantom gezwungen, sie in sein dunkles Reich zu entführen. Ein blutiger Alptraum nimmt seinen Lauf... |
| My thoughts | This is the slasher version of The Phantom. It deviates from the book in several ways, in names, in locations and in story details. There is a somewhat confusing frame story that is set in present day New York, but the main story is set in London rather than in Paris. As for the mask, it seems to be a mix of inspirations from Texas Chainsaw Massacre and House of Wax (1953). Disappointingly missing from the story is the falling chandelier. Apparently the producer couldn't afford it. Robert Englund is good as the Phantom, but a little too creepy for my taste. Jill Schoelen as Christine is nice to look at, but not very memorable. To me, this looks more like a slasher story than a regular telling of the Phantom. Your appreciation of it is most likely dependant on how much you like slasher films. Me, not so much. Personally I have a soft spot for the Hammer version with Herbert Lom. And, of course, the silent classic with Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin. So for me, this one is OK, but not more than that. |
| My rating |  |
Post by: GSyren on January 26, 2014, 12:38:07 PM
| Title | Red River (5-060000-701142) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81zNWOtMR0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Howard Hawks |
| Actors | John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan, Coleen Gray |
| Produced | 1948 in United States |
| Runtime | 133 minutes |
| Audio | English PCM Mono, Music Only PCM Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | One of Hollywood's most iconic westerns, Howard Hawks's Red River launches cinema's grandest cattle drive, and one of the screen's most powerful father-son dramas. One of John Wayne's most intense roles inspired one of his finest performances, and in his debut leading role, Montgomery Clift instantly leapt to the forefront of Hollywood's young actors. After the Civil War, ranch owner Thomas Dunson (Wayne) leads a drive of ten thousand cattle out of an impoverished Texas to the richer markets of Missouri, alongside his adopted son Matthew Garth (Clift) and a team of ranch hands. As the conditions worsen, and Dunson's control over his cattlemen gets ever more merciless, a rebellion begins to grow within the travelling party. Filmed among glorious expanses with no expense spared, and a roster of brilliant turns from greats including Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan, Harry Carey, John Ireland, and Hank Worden, Red River is an all-American epic, a grand adventure yarn, and a profound psychological journey. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present its first UK release on Blu-ray. |
| My thoughts | Another John Wayne western. But quite unlike The War Wagon. Red River is no comedy. Well, possibly with the exception of Walter Brennan's part. I have to think that the screenwriters for Rio Bravo had seen Brennan in Red River and wrote the part of Stumpy just for Brennan. Anyway, John Wayne's character Dunson is one of the meaner parts that I have seen Wayne play. Montgomery Clift is very good in one of his first film appearances. The supporting cast is very good, too. Coleen Gray gets fifth billing, and yet is only in the movie for a few minutes at the start. Since the film was shot in 1946, this is her first credited role. She is quite good, but you have to wonder if her role was initially bigger than what ended up on the screen. The film offers great drama, and the scenes with the cattle drive are impressive. That's a whole lot of cows. The biggest disappointment – for me at least – is the feel-good ending that just seems so at odds with the characters. It felt like the screenwriters had painted themselves into a corner that they couldn't really write themselves out of. But in spite of the ending, this is a really good film. If a film is well over two hours long and I never feel that it's dragging, then the director is doing something right. Highly recommended. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on January 26, 2014, 05:11:45 PM
Post by: GSyren on January 26, 2014, 11:48:23 PM
And yes, I like westerns. And John Wayne. One of my favorite films groving up was The Alamo. Rewatching it today I don't quite see what it was that fascinated me so much. It's an interesting piece of history, but not really a great film. I would like to see the roadshow version restored, though. When I watch the DVD it always feels butchered. The full version is the one I saw on my 14th birthday (and a few more times that year) and although I might not feel that it's a great movie, it still has a place in my heart. Seems it's too late to rescue the removed scenes, though. That's a shame.
Post by: DSig on January 27, 2014, 06:36:52 PM
I remember going to see The Alamo in theaters when it came out .. and I too was entranced. Probably because it seem bigger than life AND I thought some of the filming/scenes were stunning. Of course as we grow and learn more it does show its fringes <G> but I think that is true of most all shows. And I too would love to get a dvd/blu-ray of the roadshow version. What idiots to cut it up. Maybe we should remove 30-40 minutes of Ben-Hur <G>
Post by: GSyren on January 27, 2014, 07:35:25 PM
As far as Walter Brennan is concerned, I do agree that he's more restrained in Red River. That's why I wrote "possibly". It just seemed to me that someone, perhaps Hawks, liked his bantering with Wayne and thought it would be fun to turn it up a notch or two in Rio Bravo.
Post by: GSyren on February 02, 2014, 01:00:30 PM
| Title | Night of the Comet (826663-144369) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/914hRTdFRML._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Thom Eberhardt |
| Actors | Robert Beltran, Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Sharon Farrell, Mary Woronov |
| Produced | 1984 in United States |
| Runtime | 95 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | It's the first comet to buzz the planet in 65 million years, and everyone seems to be celebrating its imminent arrival. Everyone, that is, except Regina Belmont (Catherine Mary Stewart, The Last Starfighter) and her younger sister Samantha (Kelli Maroney, Chopping Mall), two Valley Girls who care more about fashion trends than the celestial phenomenon. But upon daybreak, when the girls discover that they're the only residents of Los Angeles whom the comet hasn't vaporized or turned into a zombie, they do what all good Valley Girls do...they go shopping! But when their day of malling threatens to become a day of mauling, these gals flee with killer zombies and blood-seeking scientists in hot pursuit! |
| My thoughts | This is a fun little movie from the eighties that shows inspirations from Valley Girls combined with Target: Earth and a healthy dose of I Am Legend. Unlike most ”last people on earth” movies this one is tongue-in-cheek, although played straight. Another twist is that the main characters are female, two sisters. Being a low budget movie, it doesn't have much in the way of effects, other than some pretty effective zombie makeups. But the empty streets of Los Angeles are creepy enough. I first saw this when I rented it on VHS about 25 years ago. I like it then, and I still like it. It's no masterpiece, but it's good entertainment. The blu-ray looks as good as you could expect from a low budget eighties film. It has three moderately interesting featurettes, one featuring the female stars, Kelli Maroney and Catherine Mary Stewart, one featuring Robert Beltran, and one featuring makeup supervisor David B. Miller. It also has three (!) commentary tracks. One with Stewart and Maroney, one with director Thom Eberhardt, and one with production designer John Muto. I sampled a bit of them, and they all seem interesting, but I don't have the stamina to watch the film three more times right now. I'd have to be paid to do that, now matter how good a film is. In conclusion, a movie that provides an hour and a half of good entertainment. Recommended! |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on February 02, 2014, 08:43:10 PM
Post by: GSyren on February 03, 2014, 05:01:28 PM
| Title | Airport 1975 (Disc ID: 1879-BE87-1B75-8D9E) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510YV67WTPL.jpg) | |
| Director | Jack Smight |
| Actors | Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Susan Clark |
| Produced | 1974 in United States |
| Runtime | 106 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | The nail-biting action continues continues when a Boeing 747 collides mid-air with a small private plane during a cross-country flight. Now without a captain and first officer, it's up to the senior flight attendant (Karen Black) to pilot the crippled plane to safety with the help of Alan Murdock (Charlton Heston) and Joe Patroni (George Kennedy). |
| My thoughts | Well, Airport 1975 is a movie of its time. Disaster movies were at its most popular, and the 1970 Airport had been a big hit, so the time was ripe for a sequel. So, pack an airplane full of semi celebrity actors, pack a script full of cliches, and go for it. It would be an exaggeration to say that Airport 1975 is a good movie. It's not. But it's not really a bad movie either. Technically it's very well executed. And it's a fun ride. But the script drags it down. The bit with the sick kid (Linda Blair) and the singing nun (Helen Reddy) is just too much. I saw this on opening night in Stockholm (Jan 13, 1975, if IMDb is to be trusted). It seemed pretty exciting at the time. Now, 39 years later, not quite so much. What impressed me most now is how they managed to shoot the opening sequence in Dulles Airport. They must have closed off half the airport. I'd like to see anyone getting permission to shoot a movie like that today. But of course with today's technology they wouldn't have to. No, Airport 1975 hasn't aged well. But it's still kind of fun to watch. Not a total loss. Recommended for disaster nerds. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Achim on February 04, 2014, 01:08:32 AM
As a kid (young teenager) I loved seeing this kind of film on TV. But in the long run I seem to be most attached to The Poseidon Adventure (saw this first and probably the most) and I have never saw The Towering Inferno.
Post by: GSyren on February 04, 2014, 04:45:49 AM
And yes, George Kennedy plays Joe Patroni in all four Airport movies, although it's a very minor role in just "Airport 1975". Actually Mrs. Patroni and Joe, Jr are more in focus being passagers on the stricken 747.
Post by: Achim on February 04, 2014, 09:23:47 AM
I remember another pre-Airport film, maybe with Doug McClure? I don't think the one I remember is Zero Hour... The trailer said "deadly disease", is that referring to some kind of food poisoning? the movie I remember clearly had food poisoning in it. Now I am wondering if the one. I saw is Zero Hour after all :headscratch: I guess I will never know for sure.
Thanks for pointing this out to. If. I get a chance I'll watch Zero Hour at some point, ideally after Airplane... :laugh:
Post by: DSig on February 04, 2014, 02:46:30 PM
Post by: GSyren on February 04, 2014, 07:44:59 PM
Post by: Achim on February 05, 2014, 04:59:06 AM
According to IMDb "Airplane!" was also inspired by a TV movie, "Flight into Danger" starring James Doohan. It features airline pilots being food poisoned and a passenger taking over. Could that be the movie you're thinking of, Achim?That is quite possible, actually... Thanks, again.
Post by: GSyren on February 05, 2014, 11:57:41 AM
So, there is a strong connection from Flight into Danger to Zero Hour to Airport to Airplane.
Post by: GSyren on February 07, 2014, 11:30:22 AM
| Title | Sunrise (5-060000-700503) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81TwuGkD7FL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | F. W. Murnau |
| Actors | George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, Bodil Rosing, J. Farrell MacDonald |
| Produced | 1927 in United States |
| Runtime | 94 minutes |
| Audio | Music Only Dolby TrueHD Mono, Music Only Dolby TrueHD 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | This new edition of Sunrise (for the first time anywhere in the world on Blu-ray) contains two versions of the film: the previously released Movietone version and an alternate silent version of the film, recently discovered in the Czech Republic, of a higher visual quality than any other known source. The culmination of one of the greatest careers in film history, F. W. Murnau's Sunrise blends a story of fable-like simplicity with unparalled visual imagination and technical ingenuity. Invited to Hollywood by William Fox and given total artistic freedom on any project he wished, Murnau's tale of the idyllic marriage of a peasant couple (George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor) threatened by a vamp-like seductress from the city (Margaret Livingston) created a milestone of film expressionism. Made in the twilight of the silent era, Sunrise became both a swan song for a vanishing medium and one of the few films to instantly achieve legendary status. Winner of three Oscars® for Best Actress (Gaynor), Cinematography, and a never-repeated award for "Unique and Artistic Picture", its influence and stature has only grown with each passing year. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Sunrise on Blu-ray and 2 x DVD. |
| My thoughts | I have stated before that I am not too big on silent movies, with the exception of slapstick like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin. So it was with som trepidation that I approached a classic like Sunrise. And I'm afraid that my instincts were right. The reason why I don't generally like silent movies isn't the fact that they are silent. It's about the acting style of the silent era. It seems to me that most silent actors are ”theater acting” rather than ”movie acting”. So what's the difference? Well, in the theater an actor can't be subtle. You have to project your emotions all the way to the back rows, and there are no closeups to do it. In essence, you must be overacting. That works well in the theater, but I find it quite disturbing to see it in movies. Sunrise is excellent in many ways. It's a beautiful story. The cinematography is pioneering in many ways. And Janet Gaynor is good. But the acting style just ruins the mood for me. I know many people rank this film extremely highly, and I won't say that they are wrong. It's just not a film that works well for me. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on February 07, 2014, 11:57:06 AM
| Title | Invasion of the Saucer Men (8-017229-467394) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x8Nz12MUL.jpg) | |
| Director | Edward L. Cahn |
| Actors | Steven Terrell, Gloria Castillo, Frank Gorshin, Raymond Hatton, Lyn Osborn |
| Produced | 1957 in United States |
| Runtime | 67 minutes |
| Audio | Italian Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Italian |
| Overview | A teenage couple making out in the woods accidentally runs over an alien creature with their car. The creature's hand falls off, but it comes alive, and, with an eye growing out of it, begins to stalk the teens. Meanwhile, Joe the town drunk wants to store the body in his refrigerator, but some of the alien's buddies inject alcohol into his system, and Joe dies of an overdose. |
| My thoughts | The first time I saw this in the cinema back in the sixties I thought it was absolutely terrible. I have since come to re-evaluate it, and I find it mildly amusing. The design of the saucer men – one of Paul Blaisdell's better efforts – has become quite iconic. I think part of the reason I didn't like it initially was that I expected a serious science fiction (or even horror) story, since the Swedish title translates to “The Crawling Hand”. It's a silly little movie, and if you watch it with that in mind, it can be rather enjoyable. Unfortunately it's not easy to find, which is why I had to get this Italian release, and the quality is just slightly better than VHS. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on February 08, 2014, 04:24:55 PM
| Title | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (715515-112017) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/916gzckO3-L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Stanley Kramer |
| Actors | Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman |
| Produced | 1963 in United States |
| Runtime | 197 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Stanley Kramer followed his Oscar®-winning Judgment at Nuremberg with this sobering investigation of American greed. Ah, who are we kidding? It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, about a group of strangers fighting tooth and nail over buried treasure, is the most grandly harebrained movie ever made, a pileup of slapstick and borscht-belt-y one-liners performed by a nonpareil cast, including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Jonathan Winters, and a boatload of other playing-to-the-rafters comedy legends. For sheer scale of silliness, Kramer's wildly uncharacteristic film is unlike any other, an exhilarating epic of tomfoolery. |
| My thoughts | Robert H. Harris has done a great job with the restoration of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. But if you're hoping to finally see it in its full length as it was initially shown in 1963 you're going to be disappointed. Before you watch the extended version you really should watch “Restoration Demonstration” on the same disc. That will tell you what to expect and why some of the reconstructed scenes look the way they do. For a few scenes only the sound has survived, and these scenes are accompanied by stills. Some scenes only existed as an Asian print with subtitles. If these things bother you, you may be better off watching the general release version of the movie. The general release version runs 163 minutes. The extended version is a little more than half an hour longer. But is it better? In my opinion, no. I have seen the general release version in the cinema and on DVD several times. Now watching the extended version there was really only one scene that I felt should have been kept in there. So, is Mad World the funniest comedy ever? No, not even close. There are few laugh-out-loud moments. But it's almost constantly amusing, and never boring – if you appreciate its kind of humor, which I understand not everyone does. Apart from two versions of the film, the Criterion Collection release also includes several really interesting featurettes. The one that I liked the most was the one about the film's visual and sound effects. The extended cut also has a commentary, but I haven't listened to that yet. This edition has an SRP of $49.95, but you can get it for $29.99 from Amazon. A bit on the expensive side, but you get 3 DVDs and 2 blu-ray discs. Personally I never hesitated. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on February 08, 2014, 11:44:40 PM
Post by: GSyren on February 09, 2014, 12:33:01 PM
Funniest ever .. really depends on your sense of humor.Of course. Make no mistake about it, I love this movie. It's just that a lot of people seem to think it's the funniest movie ever, and I just don't agree. I would be more likely to nominate some old Buster Keaton movie, for example The General.
[Nostalgia] I saw Mad World back in the fall of 1964 at the one and only Cinerama movie theater in Stockholm. It was almost sold out, so I got a seat at the far right side of the third row in front of this huge curved screen. Definitely not the ideal viewing position, and yet I totally enjoyed the show. It was one of the best cinemas in town, and in the late seventies I had to watch when it was demolished, because I worked in an office across the back yard from it. Today, of course, almost all the good cinemas are gone, leaving just a few multiplexes. So I watch my movies at home instead. [/Nostalgia]
Post by: DSig on February 09, 2014, 07:09:52 PM
Post by: GSyren on February 10, 2014, 08:28:03 PM
| Title | Babes in Toyland (786936-831085) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mvXiJRzhL.jpg) | |
| Director | Jack Donohue |
| Actors | Ray Bolger, Tommy Sands, Annette Funicello, Ed Wynn, Tommy Kirk |
| Produced | 1961 in United States |
| Runtime | 106 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Disney's triumphant musical production arrives on Blu-ray for the first time, featuring an incredible new digital restoration with enhanced picture and restored sound! The legendary Annette Funicello is at her best in this joyful adventure for the whole family. Experience a fantastic excursion into the world of Mother Goose where all roads lead to magical, merry Toyland. While Mary Contrary (Funicello) and Tom Piper prepare for their wedding, the villainous Barnaby schemes to steal Mary away, setting off a series of hilarious comic chases and double-crosses. Will the silly villain succeed, or will there be a happily ever after for Tom and Mary? Enjoy this delightful fantasy like never before on Blu-ray! |
| My thoughts | I had originally not planned on getting this title as it didn't really seem like it would be something that I would enjoy. I changed my mind when I learned that Zorro regulars Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon were in it. I should have trusted my initial instinct. For a Disney musical, Babes in Toyland is unusually drab. The story is mediocre, the songs are uninspired. Annette Funicello is cute, but unexceptional, Tommy Sands comes off as a poor mans Frankie Avalon. Ray Bolger is ok as the villain, but is upstaged by his henchmen (Calvin and Sheldon). The best thing I can say about this blu-ray release is that the video quality is really good. This film might be fun for small kids. And possibly for grown-ups that saw this as a kid. For me it was mostly boring. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on February 11, 2014, 05:13:29 PM
| Title | Them! (8-717774-231128) |
| (http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/them-poster-2.jpg) | |
| Director | Gordon Douglas |
| Actors | James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens |
| Produced | 1954 in United States |
| Runtime | 89 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Nuclear tests in the desert result in the growth of gigantic mutant ants who menace cities in the American south-west as a team of investigators and the army search for a way to control their spread in this Cold War-era monster film. |
| My thoughts | If you want to enjoy any giant bug movie (or in fact any giant anything), you have to be able to overlook the scientific impossibility of the thing. You can't scale up an ant 100 times and have it work. There's a reason why elephants are built like elephants and not like ants. But if you accept that it's just fantasy, it can still be quite exciting. Them! is in fact one of the best of the mutated bug movies. It has a good script, good cinematography, good acting. The big ant puppets look a little bit dodgy and move a little to awkwardly to be really scary, but I've seen a lot worse monsters. This year marks the 60th anniversary for this movie. It would be nice if Warner would release it on blu-ray with some interesting special features, but I guess that's just a pipe dream. I like this film a lot. Highly recommended! |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on February 13, 2014, 10:22:59 PM
Post by: GSyren on February 14, 2014, 12:37:31 AM
(And to this any sane person would retort "The film had ants mutating to 100 times their normal size in 9 weeks, and THAT is what bothers you???" Well, I do fixate on the minor details...)
Post by: GSyren on February 14, 2014, 06:36:54 PM
| Title | Rush (5-055201-823847) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91fLSt-YvDL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ron Howard |
| Actors | Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Pierfrancesco Favino |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 123 minutes |
| Audio | English PCM 2-Channel Stereo, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Audio Descriptive PCM 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Academy Award® winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) once again teams up with Academy Award®-nominated writer Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon) on RUSH, a fast-paced and spectacular re-creation of the merciless and legendary 1970s Formula 1 rivalry between English playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth - Thor) and his Austrian opponent, Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl - Inglourious Basterds). Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of racing, RUSH portrays the exhilarating true story of the charismatic Hunt and the methodically brilliant Lauda, two of the greatest rivals the world of sport has ever witnessed. Taking us into their personal lives and clashes on and off the Grand Prix racetrack, RUSH follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. |
| My thoughts | I'm not interested in racing. I know who Niki Lauda is and that he was in a serious accident that disfigured him. I may have heard the name James Hunt, but I knew nothing about him or his connection to Lauda. I usually don't care much for sports films. I have liked some of Ron Howard's films, and some have left me cold. So I didn't know if Rush would do anything for me. But I decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. It tells an interesting story. Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl are excellent in their roles as Hunt and Lauda. The direction and cinematography are top notch. In short, it's a really good movie. If I had been a motor sports fan I would probably have given it a 5. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on February 14, 2014, 07:18:50 PM
One thing that bothered me: Why would they drag a New Mexico cop with them all the way to Los Angeles? It's not like he had some special knowledge that would help them kill the ants...Focusing too much ... it is like looking at those pictures behind all the dots ... just watch <G> (else you will go crazy :) )
(And to this any sane person would retort "The film had ants mutating to 100 times their normal size in 9 weeks, and THAT is what bothers you???" Well, I do fixate on the minor details...)
Post by: GSyren on February 15, 2014, 10:06:51 PM
| Title | Big Ass Spider! (5-055201-825308) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91fC-ZSz16L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Mike Mendez |
| Actors | Greg Grunberg, Lin Shaye, Ruben Pla, Alexis Peters, Lombardo Boyar |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 85 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | A 50-foot-tall alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages the city of Los Angeles. When a massive military strike fails, the city's scientists and soldiers turn to an unlikely hero. Alex (Greg Grunberg – Heroes, Star Trek), a bug exterminator, and his Mexican security guard sidekick, Jose (Lombardo Boyar – 24, Modern Family), are the hapless duo who team up to kill the creature before the city is destroyed. |
| My thoughts | Thankfully this wasn't the total crap that I feared, but also not as good as I had wished. The CGI is actually pretty good for a B-movie like this. Not perfect, but I've seen a lot worse. Grunberg is quite good, and Boyar is really funny as his sidekick. One thing that works against the film is that the spider is really creepy when it is (relatively) small, but when it gets enormous it just becomes so unbelievable that it's more silly than scary. Still, this film is a lot better than most of the crap that comes from SyFy or The Asylum. The blu-ray looks and sounds good, but is lacking in features. A trailer is all we get. If you liked Eight Legged Freaks you'll probably like this one too. |
| My rating | |
Post by: addicted2dvd on February 16, 2014, 03:05:39 PM
Post by: Achim on February 17, 2014, 05:06:09 AM
Post by: GSyren on February 18, 2014, 01:15:44 PM
| Title | Puss in Boots (5-051368-237053) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91sBWt1%2BSrL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Chris Miller |
| Voices | Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris |
| Produced | 2011 in United States |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | You loved him in Shrek... now see where the one-and-only swashbuckling feline found his fame – and a very big pair of boots – in the "hilariously funny" (Associated Press) animated epic! Lover, fighter and outlaw Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) is off on the adventure of his nine lives as he teams up with Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) for the ultimate showdown with the notorious Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris). Here's the true story of The Cat, The Myth, The Legend – Puss In Boots! |
| My thoughts | I liked the Shrek films, so I was intrigued by Puss in Boots, but I wasn't sure the character was strong enough to carry its own movie. Well, now that I could get it cheap I thought I should at least give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. While I didn't like it quite as much as I liked the Shrek films, I found it pleasant enough. Antonio Banderas does a mean Puss, and Salma Hayek rocks as Kitty Softpaws. I definitely did not like Humpty Dumpty. No refection on Zach Galifianakis. I just find Humpty Dumpty too silly as a concept. Still, the movie is very entertaining, leaning more towards adventure than comedy, which makes it different from the Shrek films. And that's not a bad thing. The BD looks and sounds great. The extras are mostly kiddie oriented. This would have earned a strong 4 stars if it hadn't been for Humpty Dumpty. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on February 20, 2014, 09:03:51 PM
| Title | The Cosmic Man (Disc ID: 772F-262A-76FD-BFEE) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AHSZ5HVJL.jpg) | |
| Director | Herbert Greene |
| Actors | John Carradine, Bruce Bennett, Angela Greene, Paul Langton, Scotty Morrow |
| Produced | 1959 in United States |
| Runtime | 73 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Look up to the stars... for we are not alone! First THE COSMIC MAN arrives in a strange spherical spaceship. Is he here to destroy the world or bring it peace? Humanity stands in the balance in this powerful and engaging sci-fi saga with John Carradine, inspired by The Day the Earth Stood Still. |
| My thoughts | As I may have mentioned before, I have a great affection for 50's genre films. I blame Forrest J Ackerman for this. And shame on you if you don't know who that is. Anyway, The Cosmic Man is one of these films, and one that I had never seen before. People have compared it to The Day the Earth Stood Still. Yes, there are some thematic similarities. But this one is obviously done on a much smaller budget. Consequently there is more talk and less action. And much of the talk is totally ludicrous science babble. For a low budget B-movie the acting is mostly quite acceptable. Except John Carradine. He was a good actor when he was younger, but I find it hard to understand why he was hired in so many B-movies in his old age. Yes he was a “name”, but surely after a while people must have realized that he was now crap at acting? Anyway, the film is not totally without merits. The plot is somewhat interesting, and at 73 minutes the film doesn't overstay its welcome. The most annoying part of the film was the female lead whose main reason for being seems to be to scream whenever the alien appears (in his “true” shape). For those who didn't grew up with FM, the judgement will probably be “meh”. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on February 20, 2014, 10:01:59 PM
I just checked my stats for 2014 on Letterboxd. Most watched star: Steven Seagal. Most watched director: Michael Keusch (who directed 3 of the Seagal movies).
That ain't me! Well, yes, it is me, but only because I happened to buy a Seagal 6-pack. You could think that Seagal is my favorite actor, and nothing could be further from the truth. I guess I could go so far as to say that Seagal is a guilty pleasure.
The stats for 2013 is somewhat better. Most watched star: Desmond Llewelyn. Well, yes, I guess I watched nine Bond movies. But it's not like I watched them because Llewelyn is in them. Most watched director: Terence Fischer. Ok, I have no real quibble with that. I am a big fan of Hammer movies.
But still... lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on February 21, 2014, 12:03:17 AM
Otherwise your most watched actor would probably be someone you never even heard of, not to mention that you never even noticed him/her.
Post by: GSyren on February 21, 2014, 12:33:27 AM
Post by: GSyren on February 21, 2014, 01:43:37 PM
| Title | Olympus has fallen (7-332421-048709) |
| (http://s0.discshop.se/img/front_large/112445/olympus_has_fallen_blu_ray_dvd.jpg) | |
| Director | Antoine Fuqua |
| Actors | Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Finley Jacobsen, Dylan McDermott, Rick Yune |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 120 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | A nation's hopes rest in the hands of a former White House guard after the president is held hostage by terrorists in this action thriller from director Antoine Fuqua. Trying to adapt to civilian life after a tragedy ended his Secret Service career, former special forces veteran Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is thrust back onto the front line when a group of terrorists led by Kang (Rick Yune) attack the White House and seize the president (Aaron Eckhart). Now, finding himself the last Secret Service man left alive inside the building, Banning, overseen by acting President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), must bring all his special forces experience to bear as he embarks on a one-man mission to take out the terrorists and save the president. |
| My thoughts | Many years ago a friend and I were in London, and we decided to go to the theater. We went to the theater booth at Leicester Square and picked a play at random. It turned out to be an ancient gay Greek drama. Well behaved as we were, we waited till the intermission before leaving. We were not the only ones. One gentleman with a pronounced cockney accent mumbled “Oi've never 'eard so moch bloody nonsense in all me life!” We understood how he felt. And watching Olympus Has Fallen I get pretty much the same feeling once again. The story has plot holes of the magnitude that you could fly Air Force One through. The first half hour or so you just sit there thinking “What the f*ck?”. Then, once the hero is inside the White House, it's the old “one man against overwhelming odds” story. It's pretty much Die Hard or Under Siege, except set in the White House. Only not nearly as exciting. And just when you think it's over and you can eject the disc... you get a sickly patriotic speech from the wounded but healing president. My advice, skip this one and rewatch Die Hard instead. It's so much better. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on February 21, 2014, 07:15:00 PM
Was a bit undecided about this one. But the people that about share my taste all dislike it, so I guess I can just save the money.
Post by: GSyren on February 22, 2014, 10:58:42 AM
| Title | Stranger from Venus (Disc ID: D896-1C13-6577-B0FD) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AHSZ5HVJL.jpg) | |
| Director | Burt Balaban |
| Actors | Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine, Derek Bond, Cyril Luckham, Willoughby Gray |
| Produced | 1954 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 75 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | A STRANGER FROM VENUS has the power of life and death at his touch, and Academy Award®-winner Patricia Neal is a woman caught up in the biggest event in history in this touching and haunting story of "first contact" with a peaceful and advanced intelligence from another planet. |
| My thoughts | Well, what do you know? The second film from the ”Watch the Skies” box set is also a derivative of The Day the Earth Stood Still, just like The Cosmic Man. And just to make sure, the producers hired Day's female lead Patricia Neal. Just like The Cosmic Man this movie is mostly talk and very little tech. Well, we do get a saucer but it looks about as high tech as the saucers in Plan 9 From Outer Space. It's not an awful movie, but it hasn't aged very well. Viewers acustomed to today's filmmaking would probably be bored to tears. Personally I found it mildly interesting, but unless you're a fifties genre movies completist you might as well skip it. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on February 24, 2014, 01:40:25 PM
| Title | The Deadly Mantis (The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Volume 2. 025195-011686) |
| (http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w185/6K08xHJIdHRV0PX8Z4QRY5woaQs.jpg) | |
| Director | Nathan Juran |
| Actors | Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton, Donald Randolph, Pat Conway |
| Produced | 1957 in United States |
| Runtime | 79 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English, French |
| Overview | The calving of an Arctic iceberg releases a giant praying mantis, trapped in suspended animation since prehistoric times. It first attacks military outposts to eat their occupants, then makes its way to the warmer latitudes of Washington and New York. A paleontologist works together with military units to try to kill it. |
| My thoughts | Still being in a 50's mood I decided to re-watch The Deadly Mantis. It's probably unique among the big bug movies, in so much as it's not a mutated insect. Instead the premise here is that this is a prehistoric insect that was this size to begin with. The mantis actually looks pretty good. Most giant insects in these movies look pretty crude, but this one doesn't, except when it flies. It moves rather awkwardly, though. It's a pity that there is no making-of feature, or even some behind the scenes photos. I would really have liked to see how big the mantis model was in reality. There is some rather irrelevant, but still interesting, documentary footage of the construction of the DEW Line (Distant Early Warning radar defense). Like all films of its ilk, the story in this one is pretty nonsensical. It starts out with a volcanic eruption near the south pole, and a narrator telling us “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”, followed by a piece of iceberg breaking free in the Arctic with the giant mantis inside. Yes, I'm sure that's what Isaac Newton had in mind... But hey – you have to overlook little things like that if you are to enjoy these movies. And if you do, you'll find that it's an enjoyable piece of hokum. Craig Stevens and William Hopper are good. The female love interest – Alix Talton – fails to generate much chemistry, unfortunately. For better or for worse, they don't make them like this any more. Whether you like it or not may well be a generation thing. I enjoy these movies a lot, and this is certainly not the worst of its kind. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on February 24, 2014, 11:11:52 PM
I have to agree that a lot of it is generational. Remember 'It Came from Outer Space'. I think that was the one that you can even see a two-by-four used to push the inverted snowcone monster along :). Since then, occasionally a "cult" film comes out that is as schlocky as these .. remember the '70s with "DarkStar" .. i loved the beachball :)
But then there is nothing i dislike more than Gangster Rap ( except possibly techno ). I would suggest that too is generational except I love bits by George Burns (the original rapper).
Post by: GSyren on February 24, 2014, 11:51:24 PM
Yeah, I guess we're of the same generation, David. I want the sixties back! 8)
Post by: DSig on February 25, 2014, 01:00:08 AM
Aren't you thinking of 'It Conquered the World'? When Paul Blaisdell built the monster it was only supposed to appear inside the dimly lit cave. But Corman changed his mind and decided to have it going out into the daylight. That may not have been such a good decision after all. But it was cheap...You are right .. it was 'It Conqured the World'. You must be younger .. you have a much better memory :)
Yeah, I guess we're of the same generation, David. I want the sixties back! 8)
Not sure i want them back but there were some crazy times :)
Post by: GSyren on February 25, 2014, 04:46:21 AM
I have read Paul Blaisdell's biography "Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker", so that's probably the reason that I remember that particular monster. Many of his creations look incredibly crude, but it's because he was given almost no budget at all. It's no secret that Roger Corman was incredibly stingy. Or frugal, if you like. It's actually a very interesting book.
Post by: GSyren on February 26, 2014, 02:12:26 PM
| Title | With Six You Get Eggroll (5-014437-864437) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B2DFW4MNL.jpg) | |
| Director | Howard Morris |
| Actors | Doris Day, Brian Keith, Pat Carroll, Barbara Hershey, George Carlin |
| Produced | 1968 in United States |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | Doris Day and Brian Keith have a field day in this clever up-beat romantic tale of love, marriage, kids and coping. Abby (Day) is a self-sufficient widow with three rambunctious sons. Jake (Keith) is a mild-mannered father of a stubborn 18-year-old daughter. Put them all together and you've got one outrageous family! Featuring a hilarious supporting cast, including Barbara Hershey, Jamie Farr, William Christopher and George Carlin (in his first movie role), this high-spirited laugh fest will keep you smiling long after the happy ending. |
| My thoughts | As my friends know, I am a huge Doris Day fan. People have said that Doris' later films are not her best, and this being her last I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy it. I need not have worried. It may not be her best, but it's certainly not her worst either. It plays a bit like a sitcom, and there isn't much chemistry between Doris and Brian Keith. But there are some good bits, and Doris still looks good in her mid forties. I don't know why she decided to not do any more films, but the upside is that she quit while she was still at the top. If you're a Doris Day fan, then this is a no-brainer. If not, well, it's an hour and a half of harmless entertainment, but certainly not essential viewing. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on February 26, 2014, 02:15:44 PM
| Title | Shoot on Sight (Aka: Attentat: London) (7-340066-930136) |
| (http://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/00/11/40/66/84/3/a147b4fc-33dd-468f-8ba2-b586117079f8.jpg) | |
| Director | Jag Mundhra |
| Actors | Naseeruddin Shah, Greta Scacchi, Brian Cox, Stephen Greif, Om Puri |
| Produced | 2007 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 110 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish |
| Overview | A fictional political thriller based on the London terrorist bombings of 7/7 and the subsequent police order to 'Shoot on Sight', the film unfolds the turmoil of the life of Tariq Ali, a Muslim police officer at Scotland Yard. Commander Ali, born in Lahore and married to an English woman, is tasked to investigate the police shooting of a suspected Muslim terrorist in the London Underground. Distrusted not only by his superiors in the police but also by his fellow Muslims, he finds his inquiry hampered from all sides. When evidence surfaces pointing to the slain man's innocence, as well as the existence of a terrorist cell operating in his own back yard, Tariq must face the realization that, sometimes, the right decision is the hardest one to make. |
| My thoughts | This is a film about racism and terrorism. The fact that it is a low budget film is actually a plus, because it keeps things realistic. It may seem a bit like a TV drama, but again not a problem in my opinion. Some great acting helps a lot. Naseeruddin Shah is really good as Tariq Ali. Brian Cox is almost always good, and this is no exception. Over all the film shows a very balanced view of the problems. Sure the muslim extremists come across as scary, but then again pretty much all extremism is scary. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on February 26, 2014, 04:53:15 PM
Although a bit harsh ... The New York Times’ Vincent Canby wrote: “The latest chapter in the continuing adventures of the Widow Day … was produced by Cinema Center Films, a subsidiary of the Columbia Broadcasting System … I kept wondering how the characters played by Miss Day lose their husbands. Cancer? Suicide? Auto accident? There's never any hint. There are, however, some hints of the very real comic talent that has, over the years, become hermetically sealed inside a lacquered personality.”
yeah .. lacquered may be a bit harsh .. but i think her time with animals was becoming much more important.
Post by: GSyren on March 03, 2014, 01:50:31 PM
| Title | Q Planes (US title: Clouds Over Europe) (5-027626-404949) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81a26vlpa3L._SL1343_.jpg) | |
| Director | Tim Whelan |
| Actors | Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Valerie Hobson, George Curzon, George Merritt |
| Produced | 1939 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 79 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Starring alongside Ralph Richardson and Valerie Hobson, Laurence Olivier portrays a test pilot engaged in secret experimental missions in this witty, cleverly plotted World War Two spy drama. Briskly directed by Hollywood veteran Tim Whelan and featuring typically innovative art direction from Vincent Korda, Q Planes is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements. The frequent disappearance of new bombing planes on their trial flights one off the coast of America, one off the French coast, another in Russia, and a fourth in England - has left the authorities perplexed. While there is no clear evidence of foul play, the authorities call in Scotland Yard, and Major Hammond is assigned to investigate the mystery. He is one of only three men who refuse to believe that the disappearances are not the result of sabotage - much to the resentment of Mr Barratt, head of plane manufacturer Barratt and Ward... |
| My thoughts | Q Planes is a rather odd mix of war drama and comedy. The main story is nonsense, although serious nonsense. Ralph Richardson's role, though, is far from serious. The villains are from a foreign power, but the country is never identified. Being from 1939, one has to assume that they are supposed to be Germans. The DVD cover is headed by “Alexander Korda's Mighty Spy Mystery” and yet Alexander Korda is not credited in the movie. According to IMDb he was executive producer. It's good to see Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson together in the same film. They seem to have a good time. And then there is Valerie Hobson playing Richardson's sister, a journalist. It's a far cry from the role that I usually identify her with; Elizabeth in Bride of Frankenstein. A fun little film, but nothing special. Worth seeing for Olivier and Richardson rather then for the actual story. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 03, 2014, 02:20:08 PM
| Title | A Town Called Panic (5-055201-811578) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71yD13I9-XL._SL1131_.jpg) | |
| Director | Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar |
| Actors | Stéphane Aubier, Jeanne Balibar, Véronique Dumont, Bruce Ellison, Frédéric Jannin |
| Produced | 2009 in Belgium |
| Runtime | 74 minutes |
| Audio | French Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | From acclaimed animators Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar comes A Town Called Panic, a surreal and hilarious tale of adventure, romance, and villainous treachery in a small village where panic is both name and nature. Cowboy and Indian's plan to surprise Horse with a homemade birthday gift backfires when they accidentally destroy his house. To their dismay, no sooner have they built a new home when it is stolen from beneath their noses by a stealthy and cunning midnight assailant. Strange adventures ensue as the trio travel to the centre of the earth, trek across frozen tundra and discover a parallel underwater universe where pointy headed (and dishonest!) creatures live. With panic a permanent feature of life in this papier mâché world, will Horse and his girlfriend ever be alone? |
| My thoughts | Holy crap! This is one of the most bizarre films I have seen in a long, long time. “Toy Story on absinthe” is a fairly good description. Although this is stop motion animation, and nowhere nearly as polished as Toy Story. But that is intentional, and part of its charm. A big difference between the two films is that this one uses toys, but they don't really represent toys. There are no children playing with them. These toys live in a world entirely of their own. The story is almost impossible to describe. It's a bit like trying to describe Terry Gilliam's animation for Monty Python. Absurd might be a good way to describe it. But absurd in a good way. Very good. I loved it. I was surprised, but pleased, that it had not been dubbed into English. The French dialog just matches the absurdity so well that I doubt that an English dub could have made it justice. So don't let that discourage you. Definitely recommended! |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 03, 2014, 04:08:33 PM
| Title | Young Sherlock Holmes (5-014437-835130) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91Z5VWGOPlL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Barry Levinson |
| Actors | Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood |
| Produced | 1985 in United States |
| Runtime | 104 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, German Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Italian Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital Dolby Surround |
| Subtitles | Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Overview | What would have happened if Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson had met as schoolboys? Why, the solution is elementary - nothing but adventure! And that's just what director Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man, Bandits) gives us in this special effects spectacular that sends the super-sleuth on his very first case! When a plague of bizarre, puzzling murders grip London, young Holmes and his new friend Watson find themselves unwittingly entangled in the dark mystery. So, "the game is afoot!" And the budding detective is off on an adventure to solved the most amazing case of his most extraordinary career! |
| My thoughts | I liked this film a lot. Parts of it seem to be inspired by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Some people say the similarity is just a coincidence, but I don't believe that. The film is also famous for having the first CGI character; the knight in the stained glass window that comes alive. The rest of the effects in this film are stop motion or physical effects. It's quite an enjoyable prequel to the stories of Sherlock Holmes, although with a bit of a downbeat ending. And make sure to watch it all the way through. There is an important scene after the end credits! |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 03, 2014, 05:18:19 PM
| Title | The Spider (5-060009-232708) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519JCZ81XRL.jpg) | |
| Director | Bert I. Gordon |
| Actors | Gene Persson, Ed Kemmer, Gene Roth, Hal Torey, June Kenney |
| Produced | 1958 in United States |
| Runtime | 72 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Dutch, German |
| Overview | Originally released as EARTH VS. THE SPIDER When a man doesn’t come home one night his daughter and her boyfriend go out searching and encounter a giant spider in a cave near the man’s wrecked car. Coming back with the Sheriff, the spider is seemingly killed by DDT spraying, and the body then hauled for storage in the high school gymnasium. However, a loud dose of rock music by a teenage garage band revives the arachnid and sends it rampaging through the town. |
| My thoughts | Bert I. Gordon (aka Mr B.I.G.) isn't the most brilliant filmmaker in the world, but for a B-movie fan his films were almost always a lot of fun. There are lots of things wrong with [Earth vs.] The Spider. I guess you'll have to disregard the fact that animals cannot grow that much bigger and still keep the same proportions. It's physically impossible, but it kind of goes with the territory of big bug movies. The spider seems to be a tarantula, but tarantulas don't spin a web. The web looks like a cargo net, and not anything like a spider's net. The spider easily fits inside the school auditorium, but when we see it outside it's as big as a house. The spider is killed by an electric arc that is at least 30 foot, but the electric lines into the cave lie next to each other without any spark-over, and people hold the electrodes with just a rubber glove. The actors playing teenagers are way too old for their parts. One of them is in his mid thirties! Despite all this there is something about this film that appeals to me. I can't quite say what it is. The story might be hookey, but at least it keeps the action going. The effects are inventive, if not always totally successful. But they're still more fun than a lot of the CGI crap we see today. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 04, 2014, 03:46:07 PM
| Title | Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (7-391772-201171) |
| (http://s4.discshop.se/img/front_large/111844/hansel_and_gretel_witch_hunters_blu_ray.jpg) | |
| Director | Tommy Wirkola |
| Actors | Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Pihla Viitala, Derek Mears |
| Produced | 2013 in Germany |
| Runtime | 87 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian Dolby Digital 5.1, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1, Turkish Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Bahasa, Chinese, Czech, Danish, English, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Other, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish |
| Overview | After getting a taste for blood as children, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become the ultimate vigilantes, hell-bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches...their past. |
| My thoughts | I guess I should be thankful that there were so many bad reviews for this film, so therefore I came to it with very low expectations. And I thought it was a lot of fun. Sure, it's no masterpiece, but it was entertaining enough for me. I really liked Gemma Arterton. I have only seen her in a few movies before, but she didn't make a great impression on me then. She did now. Jeremy Renner and Famke Janssen were OK. I don't quite see why this film has gotten so much hate. Perhaps it was too violent for some. But hey, it's from the director of Dead Snow, so what did you expect? The rating should tell you it's not your average children's fairy tale. So, it probably won't make my all time top 100, but it was decent enough entertainment. And just long enough for my taste. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on March 05, 2014, 12:49:16 AM
Post by: Achim on March 05, 2014, 01:29:04 PM
Your right this is a fun film. Another good reason I don't pay too much attention to critics ..I use critics as a guideline... But it is important to "get to know" a critic first, so you understand his/her taste. Then you can even get "reverse recommendations", meaning you might have reason yo believe that a film they don't like will actually be for your own taste...
Post by: GSyren on March 08, 2014, 11:51:31 PM
| Title | Kelly's Heroes (Disc ID: AAEE-7E5B-5E04-74F0) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91nZVI0DofL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Brian G. Hutton |
| Actors | Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor, Donald Sutherland |
| Produced | 1970 in United States |
| Runtime | 144 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono, Italian Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | Movie action man Clint Eastwood leads a misfit band of GIs who decide to get something extra out of World War II. In Kelly's Heroes, Eastwood's title character masterminds a scheme to slip behind enemy lines and steal a fortune in Nazi-confiscated gold. Donald Sutherland and Don Rickles co-star in addition to a trio on the verge of big-time TV success: Carroll O'Connor, Telly Savalas and Gavin MacLeod. |
| My thoughts | Look, it's a war movie. No, it's a heist movie. No, it's... Kelly's Heroes! I can't decide if it's a war movie disguised as a heist movie or a heist movie disguised as a war movie, or what the heck it is. And perhaps it's that confusion that stops me from enjoying it as much as a lot of others do. I know that many people think this is among the best films ever made. I just cannot see it. It came in a box with Where Eagles Dare, which is also directed by Hutton and with Eastwood in one of the leading roles. And the comparison does not come out in favor of Kelly's Heroes. One reason may be that screenwriter Troy Kennedy-Martin is no Alistair MacLean. Kennedy-Martin has written a lot for screen and TV, but nothing outstanding – with the possible exception of The Italian Job. MacLean, on the other hand, is responsible for a slew of great stories, like The Guns of Navarone, The Satan Bug, Ice Station Zebra, When Eight Bell Tolls, Fear is the Key and many others. And it's too long. Well, you may object that Eagles is even longer. Yep, but the difference is that it doesn't feel too long. Eagles plays it straight, but Heroes adds comedy to the mix, and that doesn't work for me. Carroll O'Connor is just too much. And I don't know what to say about Donald Sutherland's character. Don Rickles, on the other hand, is more restrained than usual. There is a lot of killing, but it's not really violent. It's mostly people falling over when shot. Not too gory. I don't like gory. I may have made that clear before. The nastiest bit is probably the guy that steps on a land mine. But even that is pretty restrained. I didn't really like Kelly's Heroes when I saw it in the cinema back in the early 70's. I was hoping that I would like it better now, going in with lower expectations. No such luck, I'm afraid. But I do like the main theme, "Burning Bridges". I guess that counts for something... |
| My rating | |
Post by: Piffi on March 09, 2014, 01:20:49 PM
Post by: GSyren on March 09, 2014, 03:35:33 PM
Post by: Piffi on March 09, 2014, 04:31:06 PM
Post by: GSyren on March 10, 2014, 08:17:26 PM
| Title | Robot Wars (5-037899-047576) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91g83QMT0jL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Albert Band |
| Actors | Don Michael Paul, Barbara Crampton, James Staley, Lisa Rinna, Danny Kamekona |
| Produced | 1993 in United States |
| Runtime | 67 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Toward the end of the 21st Century two great powers dominated the world, a division that resulted from a 30-year war known as the War of the Hemispheres. The war came to an end with the creation of giant, indestructible mega-robots designed for military missions and balance of power. Recently, the mega-robot has become a tourist attraction and is used for tours through the wasteland. While on one such tour, the MRAS-2 is attacked by an extremely violent terrorist group known as the Murdaggians. Their leader turns out to be a frequent passenger on the mega-robot, Professor B. Wa-Lee, who hijacks the MRAS-2. The only hope to stop the Murdaggians is Lane Drury, the robot s pilot. But can he do it in time? |
| My thoughts | Robot Wars is the sequel to the 1989 film Robot Jox. This is no Pacific Rim. The robots are stop motion models. No CGI robots here. And while I love stop motion, these robots aren't very exciting. And there isn't much war to speak of. There is a battle of sorts between two giant robots at the end of the movie, but it's over so quickly that you think “Is that all there is to it?”. And it is. Robot Jox wasn't terribly good. This is worse. I bought the DVD because I'm a stop motion junkie, and this one has animation by Dave Allen and Jim Danforth. Not their greatest hour. At his best, Jim Danforth is almost a match for Ray Harryhausen. If you want to see where his animation really shines, try When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth. It's not a terribly good movie, either, but there is quite a lot of animation, and it's first class. This movie is really not worth more than two and a half stars, but I'm adding a half star just because it's stop motion, even if it is second rate. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 10, 2014, 08:20:36 PM
Post by: GSyren on March 13, 2014, 10:48:48 AM
| Title | Tarantula! (5-050582-409741) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51uNV1quQGL.jpg) | |
| Director | Jack Arnold |
| Actors | John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott |
| Produced | 1955 in United States |
| Runtime | 77 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish |
| Overview | When a tarantula, which has been injected with a special nutrient formula, escapes from a scientist's laboratory, it grows into a 100-foot beast that menaces the Arizona countryside. Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) has been working on a special nutrient to help ease a predicted food shortage that is expected to come with the increase in human population. His experiments have been moderately successful but there have been some failures as a result. One day while he is gone, two of his colleagues inject themselves with the nutrient with disastrous results and die a few days later. One however goes mad and injects Deemer with the formula. During a struggle, a giant tarantula injected with the formula escapes its cage and grows even larger and starts to attack cattle as well as human beings. |
| My thoughts | Having recently watched Bert I. Gordons [Earth vs.] The Spider, I felt it was time to re-watch the other 50's spider movie, Tarantula. I bet that Gordon thought that if Jack Arnold could do a big spider movie, then he – Mr B.I.G. – could do it better. There is no doubt in my mind that Jack Arnold is a better director than Bert I. Gordon. And objectively Tarantula is a better film than The Spider. In The Spider there is no explanation for the appearance of the big spider. In Tarantula it's a genetic experiment gone wrong. In both films the spider is very hard to kill, but in Tarantula the weapon that finally kills it is at least believable. Tarantula has better actors than The Spider. That's fine, but this is not an actor's movie. What it comes down to is – how scary is the spider? And my feeling is that the spider in Tarantula is not really that scary. As a film monster, that is. If I had actually met it in real life I would certainly have felt differently. No chance of that, fortunately. How about the victims? How scary are they? Well, in Tarantula we don't see much of its victims. They are all just bones. Not that scary to see. The scares in Tarantula comes from the effect that the growth hormone has on people. Why it affects people so differently from how it affects animals is never really explained. What The Spider does to people looks scary, though: (http://s4.postimg.org/husd0woh9/Tarantula.jpg) (http://s4.postimg.org/tl6aiah9p/Spider.jpg) Tarantula has one of Clint Eastwood's first film appearances in a bit part as an air force pilot. Interesting, but certainly not memorable. John Agar is... well, he is John Agar. He had a few good roles under his belt, but he never became a star. Leo G. Carroll was always dependable is supporting roles, and this is no exception. Another fine character actor, Nestor Paiva, plays the sheriff. But a fine cast can't really save a somewhat lackluster script. Still, enjoyable if you like these old B-movie type films. I do. See this blog entry for more on The Spider vs. Tarantula (http://gsyren.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/spider-vs-tarantula/). |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 15, 2014, 10:29:03 AM
| Title | Santo & Blue Demon Vs. Dr. Frankenstein (730475-951261) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YTX5897BL.jpg) | |
| Director | Miguel M. Delgado |
| Actors | Santo, Blue Demon, Sasha Montenegro, Jorge Russek, Ivonne Govea |
| Produced | 1974 in Mexico |
| Runtime | 96 minutes |
| Audio | Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Innocent women are being kidnapped and used as guinea pigs for a brain transplant experiment in Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dr. Frankenstein. The diabolical Dr. Frankenstein continues his quest to perfect the brain transplant operation to bring back his deceased wife at any cost - even if it means playing with the lives of others. El Santo and Blue Demon are called in to help when their friend, Alicia, becomes Dr. Frankenstein's next target. It'll take both heroes to go up against the dastardly doctor and go "mano y mano" with his super strong zombie, Golem. |
| My thoughts | Santo was a Mexican phenomenon. A wrestler and an actor, he worked in both capacities until he retired at 65. He was an icon. Something like Hulk Hogan, only bigger. More famous, that is. He never appeared in public without his silver mask. And he wears it throughout his movies, too. The Santo movies are... special. Santo and his friend Blue Demon are pitted against various antagonists. Sometimes these come in the form of well known monsters, like Dracula, the Mummy, the Werewolf and so on. Sometimes it's something else. In this case it's Dr. Irving Frankenstein, who I guess we can classify as a mad scientist. There is no Frankenstein's monster as such. The good (?) doctor is experimenting in brain transplants. And he uses young females as guinea pigs. When the experiments fail and the “patients” die, he implants some sort of transistor in their brains which turns them into zombies at his command. He also has a very large black man that he has also turned into a zombie, called Golem. Golem is very strong and easily kills four policemen with his bare hands. The doctor has his heart set on using Santo as a subject, and lures him to his hideout. But Blue Demon comes to Santo's rescue. And – as in all Santo films – there are wrestling matches mixed into the plot, seemingly for no other reason than to see Santo and Blue Demon wrestle. Watching a Santo movie is a bit like watching a movie by, say, Larry Buchanan. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but close. Strange scripts, bad acting, mostly cheap production values. The best thing about this movie was the cinematography. Rather competent, actually. I've seen four Santo movies, and this was the best of the four. Although that's not really saying much. However, if you know what you're getting into and don't set your expectations too high, this film is actually rather entertaining. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 18, 2014, 04:14:56 PM
| Title | Mystery of the Wax Museum (Disc ID: 77CF-197C) |
| (http://seanpultzcommentaries.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/936full-the-mystery-of-the-wax-museum-poster.jpg) | |
| Director | Michael Curtiz |
| Actors | Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Allen Vincent |
| Produced | 1933 in United States |
| Runtime | 77 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Thai |
| Overview | MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933), starring Lionel Atwill as the wax-wielding madman and Fay Wray as a potential victim. Directed by Michael Curtiz and shot in a chillingly effective early two-color Technicolor process, it and its spooky remake offer you a delicious double-dip in a paraffin bath of terror. |
| My thoughts | ”House of Wax” is one of the few remakes that is – in my opinion – better than the original. I mean the 1953 remake, that is, not the 2005 version. But that doesn't mean that “Mystery of the Wax Museum” is a bad movie. Far from it. It is very good. Many actually prefer it to the 1953 version. The basic story is the same in both movies, and if you have seen the Vincent Price movie you'll recognize many scenes that are almost exactly identical. The two-strip Technicolor gives the film an interesting look, but I suspect that it originally looked a lot better than the version we get on the DVD and Blu-ray. I'd love to see a properly restored version of this film. Lionel Atwill is excellent in the leading role, and Glenda Farrell shines as the newspaper reporter. Fay Wray is really beautiful (just like in King Kong the same year), but she's definitely out-acted by Farrell. There are a couple of rather glaring continuity errors that are irritating. I know it's virtually impossible to make a film that doesn't have some small continuity glitches, but at least one of these is a goof that should make any script supervisor ashamed, even if most people probably miss it, at least on first viewing. Even with its faults, this movie is a lot more enjoyable to me than many modern horror movies. |
| My rating | |
PS The image is not from a DVD cover since this film is included as an extra on the "House of Wax" DVD & BD.
Post by: GSyren on March 25, 2014, 10:49:13 AM
| Title | Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (851789-003757) |
| (https://images.sae-cdn.com/gifs/large/26666.jpg) | |
| Director | Michael Cimino |
| Actors | Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, Geoffrey Lewis, Catherine Bach, Gary Busey |
| Produced | 1974 in United States |
| Runtime | 114 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) marked the directing debut of screenwriter Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter, Heaven's Gate), working under the meticulous guidance of star/producer Clint Eastwood. Eastwood plays a typically laconic loner, a big-time thief in hiding who hooks up with a goofy young drifter (Jeff Bridges, giving an Oscar®-nominated performance). First attempting to escape from a couple of vengeful former partners (George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis), then joining forces with them to pull off a risky robbery, Eastwood and Bridges give us an ultimately touching portrait of masculine friendship. Superbly photographed in Montana's Big Sky country by Frank Stanley, and featuring a score by Eastwood regular Dee Barton. |
| My thoughts | I thought I had seen every film with Clint Eastwood in a starring role (i e from A Fistful of Dollars) except Pink Cadillac and his latest, Trouble with the Curve. I had such a vivid image of Clint in a car with Jeff Bridges that I was sure I had seen it back in the 70's, even though I didn't remember much about it. Turns out I must have been mistaken. I probably only saw the trailer. Seeing it now I feel that there are several scenes in it that I would surely recognize if I had seen them before. Well, not the first time this has happened to me. Anyway, even though the ending is a bit of a downer, I enjoyed the film very much. This was Michael Cimino's first film as director, followed by the much acclaimed Deer Hunter, and the not so much acclaimed Heavens Gate. For a first timer I think he did a splendid job here. Clint is good as always. Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis are excellent, too. In bit parts we also get to see Catherine (”Daisy Duke”) Bach, Gary Busey, Vic Tayback and Gregory (”Plan 9 From Outer Space”) Walcott. And a brief shot of full frontal nudity of Luanne Roberts (I think) if that turns anyone on. We also get some nice car chases, courtesy of veteran stunt driver Carey Loftin, who started his stunt career in 1939, and kept on well into his eighties. The blu-ray from Twilight Time looks really nice. As always (?) from Twilight Time, it's limited to 3000 copies, so best not wait too long if you want to get a copy. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on March 25, 2014, 05:13:44 PM
| Title | Gravity (5-051892-150248) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81QViqLYgBL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Alfonso Cuarón |
| Actors | Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Orto Ignatiussen, Phaldut Sharma |
| Produced | 2013 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | Dr. Ryan Stone (Oscar winner Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant engineer on her first shuttle mission with a veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (Oscar winner George Clooney). On a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone, tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling into the darkness. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go farther out into the terrifying expanse of space. |
| My thoughts | I'm conflicted about Gravity. Technically it is absolutely brilliant. Acting wise OK. I like Sandra Bullock, but maybe she's not quite able to carry a film more or less by herself. George Clooney is excellent, though. The main problem for me is the script. First of all it's too improbable. Secondly it does not make me care enough for Bullock's character. And that's fatal in a drama like this. There are a lot of metaphors in the film, and that's fine by me, but the film has to work even if you don't get the metaphors. I would have expected to dislike the CGI, but I didn't. And that's saying something, seeing how this movie is almost all CGI. For the most part it's an animated movie with some live action bits inserted (mainly heads). And it works! It's brilliantly done. But it's not enough. I would rate it 5 stars technically, 3.5 stars for the acting, but only 2 stars for the script. Weighing that together is not easy. If I had seen it on a big screen perhaps the sheer technical achievement would have swayed me to give it a better rating, but as it is, an overall rating of 3.5 is generous. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Piffi on March 25, 2014, 11:52:07 PM
Post by: GSyren on March 26, 2014, 12:05:05 AM
Post by: GSyren on March 29, 2014, 05:30:32 PM
| Title | The Terrornauts (5-027626-393946) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81hLmy6QC6L._SL1340_.jpg) | |
| Director | Montgomery Tully |
| Actors | Simon Oates, Zena Marshall, Charles Hawtrey, Patricia Hayes, Stanley Meadows |
| Produced | 1967 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 74 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Doomwatch star Simon Oates takes the lead role in this cult '60s sci-ti gem, adapted from visionary author Murray Leinster's novel The Wailing Asteroid by fellow Hugo-Award winner John Brunner. Also starring Bond girl Zena Marshall and featuring typically comedic turns from Patricia Hayes and Charles Hawtrey, The Terrornauts is presented here in brand-new transfers from the original film elements of both its initial theatrical and subsequent, shortened versions. Joe Burke heads a radio telescope project at a British observatory, hoping to pick up signs of life from another planet; thus far, the team has reported no positive results. But just when the project is about to be cancelled, Burke discovers a taint signal — the some mysterious signal that intrigued and haunted him as a child — and decides to respond... |
| My thoughts | The Terrornauts is an old Amicus film that has all the production values of a vintage Dr. Who episode. Cheap, that is. It's a rather bizarre science fiction story, but not without entertainment value. Being a big Carry On fan, I was rather surprised to see Charles Hawtree in a sci-fi movie. The acting is just so-so. Apart from Hawtree, the only other actors I recognized were Zena Marshall (Miss Taro in Dr. No) and – in a bit part at the end – André Maranne (Sergeant François Duval in several of the Pink Panther films). Special effects by Les Bowie, who seemed to work on anything from shoestring budget productions to big budget films like Superman, The Movie. This is definitely one of the former. OK as a bit of sixties nostalgia, if you can dig the really cheap look. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on April 02, 2014, 09:12:33 PM
| Title | From Up On Poppy Hill (5-055201-823700) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81Ama5wkszL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Goro Miyazaki |
| Actors | Masami Nagasawa, Junichi Okada, Keiko Takeshita, Rumi Hiiragi, Yuriko Ishida |
| Produced | 2011 in Japan |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0, Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | In 1963 in Yokohama, Umi is a 16 year old high school girl and lives in a house located on a hill overlooking the harbour. Every morning she raises a signal flag which is "a pray for everybody to get a safe trip" as her father died on his ship during the Korean war. Meanwhile the entire nation is going through a transformation to ready itself for the approaching Tokyo Olympic Games, and old buildings are being destroyed for new ones. The old crumbling Culture Club "Quartier Latin" building inside Umi's high school is also about to be swept over by the transformation. Shun is one of student leaders trying to protect the beloved building and they garner enthusiastic support from students. Then as Umi suggests, they begin their opposition by cleaning up the place. But this "clean up" will go further than they think... |
| My thoughts | This isn't a typical Studio Ghibli film. It isn't a fantasy film. There is no magic. It is heavily grounded in reality. Perhaps that's why some people consider it weak or unsatisfying. I beg to differ. I really like this film. Maybe it's because I'm a sentimentalist. Or just because I was in the right mood when I watched it. Should I watch it with the original Japanese audio and subtitles, or with the English dub? Well, usually I don't like to watch movies dubbed. But I'm also lazy. For live action movies I will usually go for original audio. Replacing the onscreen actors voice seems a bit insulting. But in animation the character on the screen doesn't have a voice of its own. It's always a “borrowed” voice, so replacing it – if it is done with style – isn't so wrong. And in this film it is done with style. Admittedly I did not know this in advance, so selecting to watch it with the English dub was a bit of a gamble. The animation is... Ghibli. Well, if you've seen other Ghibli films you know that they have a special look. It's anime, but it's Ghibli anime. You like it or you don't. I like it. I'm not a huge anime fan in general, but I do like Ghibli's films. Not all anime fans will like this film as much as I did. I liked it a lot. Give it a chance. |
| My rating |  |
Post by: GSyren on April 09, 2014, 01:53:54 PM
| Title | Circus World (5-709165-114021) |
| (http://s2.discshop.se/img/front_large/100807/circus_world_john_wayne_blu_ray_dvd.jpg) | |
| Director | Henry Hathaway |
| Actors | John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale, Rita Hayworth, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte |
| Produced | 1964 in United States |
| Runtime | 135 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | Matt Masters (John Wayne) is a circus owner who has to start from scratch when his ship sinks in the Barcelona harbour. Starting up a Wild West act, he takes under his wing Toni Alfredo (Claudio Cardinale), a trapeze artist whose mother Lili (Rita Hayworth) has abandoned her. Seeking Lili out in a Hamburg bar, Masters obtains her a job in the circus anonymously, so that she can get to know her daughter. |
| My thoughts | Samuel Bronston + Henry Hathaway + John Wayne = A great film, right? Well, that's what I thought when I went to see it the opening week in London in July 1964. Unfortunately it's not a great film. It's hardly even a good film. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a bad film, though. The main problem with this film is the script. Plus it's too long. It takes a good script to sustain a movie for 2 hours and 15 minutes. And with the exception of the fire sequence, this film is not very exciting. The capsizing of the circus ship is nicely done, but unfortunately comes off as rather unrealistic, I think. Several plot point are just left unfinished or unexplained. Who put up the poster and the article in Cardinale's wagon? How did the fire start? What happened with the lion tamer was talked into switching to tigers by his wife? Most of the actors are OK, but John Wayne doesn't get much to do. No fights, no shooting (except show shooting). Rita Hayworth doesn't appear until an hour into the film. Claudia Cardinale looks gorgeous, but it's a bit hard to understand why her character would sport a French accent if she had grown up with Wayne in the US. Seeing it again 50 years later with lower expectations I find it moderately entertaining. Three stars is probably more than it deserves, but I'll give it that because I liked Claudia Cardinale so much. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on April 10, 2014, 10:39:22 AM
| Title | Up in Arms (Disc ID: 082D-4AD2-26C0-6653) |
| (http://i.sdcd.us/a/500/2/5/4/5/2375452.jpg) | |
| Director | Elliott Nugent |
| Actors | Knox Manning, Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, Dana Andrews, Constance Dowling |
| Produced | 1944 in United States |
| Runtime | 105 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | After conquering the Borscht Belt and Broadway, David Daniel Kaminski (Danny Kaye) got the nod from maverick impresario Samuel Goldwyn and under his tutelage soon mastered the movies as well. Kaye makes his feature film debut alongside Dinah Shore in Up in Arms (1944) as a hypochondriac war hero. Virginia Mayo gets paired with Kaye for the first time in Wonder Man (1945), which features one of his signature cinema schticks – multiple roles in the same film. Kaye plays twins with a twist: one of them is a ghost! The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) sees Danny playing a milquetoast milkman who masters the squared circle and romances a nightclub nightingale (Virginia Mayo). A Song Is Born (1948) see Howard Hawks reenvisioning his classic Ball of Fire as a superstar Jazz musical, with Kaye in the Gary Cooper role and Mayo in the Barbara Stanwyck role as the moll who sweeps several professors off their feet. |
| My thoughts | Danny Kaye's first feature film leaves something to be desired. The script is corny to the extreme, and Danny's routines are still rough around the edges. That said, there's still a lot to enjoy here if you are a Danny Kaye fan. Maybe I'm being harsh giving it just 2.5 stars, but I feel that his later films are so much better that I cannot in all honesty give it more. For an example of Kaye at his comedy best, see The Court Jester. For Kaye in a non comedy role I would suggest The Five Pennies. This one is OK if you're a fan of Kaye or Dinah Shore, though. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on April 11, 2014, 06:11:46 AM
Post by: GSyren on April 11, 2014, 10:04:12 AM
| Title | Cobra (Disc ID: DB88-2BFA-B3D1-9B83) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81Hop7S7BrL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | George P. Cosmatos |
| Actors | Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni, Andrew Robinson, Brian Thompson |
| Produced | 1986 in United States |
| Runtime | 87 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Italian Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Portuguese Dolby Digital Mono, Czech Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Polish Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Russian Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital Dolby Surround |
| Subtitles | Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai |
| Overview | Like Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky and Rambo, the hero of Cobra is another original: Lt. Marion Cobretti, a one-man assault force whose laser-mount submachine gun and pearl-handled Colt .45 spit pure crimestopping venom. Director George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II, Tombstone) rejoins Stallone for this thriller pitting Cobretti against a merciless serial killer. The trail leads to not one murderer but to an army of psychos bent on slashing their way to a “New Order” – and killing the inadvertent witness (Brigitte Nielsen) to their latest blood spree. Fortunately, Cobra is her protector. And full-throttle screen excitement doesn’t get any better. |
| My thoughts | Cobra is Sylvester Stallone's attempt to recreate Dirty Harry in the eighties. He took the basic premise from Paula Gosling's novel “Fair Game” and wrote a screenplay for himself to star in. It's been a long time since I read the book, but from what I can tell Sly kept almost nothing from the book. As far as I'm concerned, he could have written the screenplay so no one, not even Gosling herself, could have guessed that there's where he got the idea. To play it safe, they cast Reni Santoni as Cobra's partner. Yes, the same Reni Santoni that played Harry Callahan's partner in Dirty Harry. And Andrew Robinson is in there, too. Not as the killer this time, but still as an opponent within the force. By the way, Cobra is really named Marion Cobretti. Marion also happens to be John Wayne's real life name. Coincidence? Or does Sly think of himself as Clint Eastwood and John Wayne combined? But Sly is no Clint Eastwood (or John Wayne) and George Pan Cosmatos is no Don Siegel. And Brigitte Nielsen is no... Well, there is no real counterpart to her in the Dirty Harry movies. I was tempted to write “Brigitte Nielsen is no actress”, but maybe that's a tad harsh. Let's just say that the only awards that she has ever been nominated for are the Razzie Awards, and let it go with that. The one area where Cobra shines is in its stunts. I guess the producers must have told stunt coordinator Terry Leonard to go all in. Cobra has fights, shoot outs, high falls, car chases, motorcycle stunts, fire stunts. You name it – it's in there. And it's good, even though it gets a bit much when Cobra keeps shooting biker after biker after biker and yet they keep coming. But Cobra isn't a total loss. It's quite entertaining and at times quite thrilling. Upon first viewing on DVD many years ago I gave Cobra 2.5 stars. Seeing it on blu-ray now I think I was too harsh, so I've upped it with one more star. It's certainly no masterpiece, but if you just sit back and don't think too much, it's quite decent entertainment. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on April 13, 2014, 05:57:05 PM
| Title | Wonder Man (Disc ID: 3436-D993-1ED6-14F2) |
| (http://i.sdcd.us/a/500/2/5/4/5/2375452.jpg) | |
| Director | H. Bruce Humberstone |
| Actors | Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen , Donald Woods, S. Z. Sakall |
| Produced | 1945 in United States |
| Runtime | 98 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | After conquering the Borscht Belt and Broadway, David Daniel Kaminski (Danny Kaye) got the nod from maverick impresario Samuel Goldwyn and under his tutelage soon mastered the movies as well. Kaye makes his feature film debut alongside Dinah Shore in Up in Arms (1944) as a hypochondriac war hero. Virginia Mayo gets paired with Kaye for the first time in Wonder Man (1945), which features one of his signature cinema schticks – multiple roles in the same film. Kaye plays twins with a twist: one of them is a ghost! The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) sees Danny playing a milquetoast milkman who masters the squared circle and romances a nightclub nightingale (Virginia Mayo). A Song Is Born (1948) see Howard Hawks reenvisioning his classic Ball of Fire as a superstar Jazz musical, with Kaye in the Gary Cooper role and Mayo in the Barbara Stanwyck role as the moll who sweeps several professors off their feet. |
| My thoughts | Well, this was definitely a big step up from Up in Arms. Danny Kaye's second feature film shows him in a much better form than the first. The only thing that I didn't particularly like was the Otchi Tchorniya number. There is a thin line between silly/funny and silly/annoying, and for me this number crosses that line. That's the only thing that prevents me from giving this film 4 stars. Not only does this film have a vastly superior script to the previous one. It also has vastly superior female actors. Vera-Ellen is very good, but I absolutely love Virginia Mayo. She would come back to star against Kaye in three more films; The Kid from Brooklyn, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and A Song is Born. She was actually also in Up in Arms, but only in a small uncredited role. Also, whenever I see a credit like “Special Photographic Effects by John Fulton” I sit up and take notice. Fulton worked his magic in well over 300 films from 1931 to 1968. He made The Invisible Man invisible, and helped Moses part The Red Sea in The Ten Commandments. And here he helps Danny Kaye play against himself in the double role of two identical twins. Today this is child's play, but back in 1945 it was an accomplishment. There are several other supporting actors that help make this film so enjoyable, like S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall, Allen Jenkins and Edward Brophy. Highly recommended! |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on April 13, 2014, 09:52:14 PM
Post by: GSyren on April 13, 2014, 11:46:17 PM
And yes, when you're in the mood for action, most of Sly's movies are quite enjoyable. I like Nighthawk, too. And the Death Wish quintology (?) as well. Bronson was almost always enjoyable, even if he mellowed a bit in his later years, with the made-for-TV Family of Cops movies.
Post by: Achim on April 14, 2014, 06:16:29 AM
Here's another Cobra vs Dirty Harry similarity: Cobra starts with Sly taking out a bad guy in a store. One of the Dirty Harry films starts with him taking out bad guys in a store. I don't remember which film it is. I think it might be The Enforcer.I think it's a restaurant? It's where the famous line "Make my day." is used.
Quote
And yes, when you're in the mood for action, most of Sly's movies are quite enjoyable. I like Nighthawk, too. And the Death Wish quintology (?) as well. Bronson was almost always enjoyable, even if he mellowed a bit in his later years, with the made-for-TV Family of Cops movies.I quite liked Nighthawk myself. Rutger Hauer makes a good baddie and I remember that I was quite entertained by it.
I only recall seeing the first Death Wish in full. I may have seen the beginning of a later one, but probably turned it off because it was just too average, if not stupid. Is the first one (or any other) something I should own?
Post by: GSyren on April 14, 2014, 07:19:59 AM
As for the Death Wish movies, I guess I'd say that the first one is the one that's essential. If nothing else, it has Jeff Goldblum as a really nasty looking punk in one of his earliest roles. I haven't seen #2 in a real long while, and I'm not sure I've seen #4 ever (got that one on backorder on BD for about $6). I guess they ran out of punks, so in the last one he goes after "real" crooks instead.
I guess these films are ok if you like vigilantes. And I'm ok with vigilantes as long as they are in movies and not in real life.
Post by: GSyren on April 14, 2014, 12:18:10 PM
| Title | Saving Mr. Banks (8-717418-419080) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81oL4kjxnIL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | John Lee Hancock |
| Actors | Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 125 minutes |
| Audio | English |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson bring to life the untold true story about the origins of one of the most treasured Disney classics of all time. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) directs this acclaimed film, which reveals the surprising backstory behind the making of Mary Poppins. Determined to fulfill a promise to his daughters, Walt Disney (Hanks) tries for twenty years to obtain the rights to author P.L. Travers' (Thompson) beloved book. Armed with his iconic creative vision, Walt pulls out all the stops, but the incompromising Travers won't budge. Only when he reaches into his own complicated childhood does Walt discover the truth about the ghosts that haunt Travers, and together, they set Mary Poppins free! |
| My thoughts | When I first heard of Saving Mr. Banks I thought it sounded mildly interesting. And since I loved Mary Poppins (the movie, that is) I felt I should see Saving Mr. Banks. Well, I have to admit that it turned out to be a lot better than I expected. From what I have heard, it seems that the filmmakers have used artistic license quite a lot. So maybe Walt Disney wasn't quite as lovable as this film makes him out to be. And perhaps Mrs. Travers wasn't as pleased with the finished product as is implied here. But the fact that the film is fictional to some degree doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The film is full of great performances. Emma Thompson is great in what must have been a very difficult role. Tom Hanks is good as usual. Annie Rose Buckley is wonderful as young Helen Goff (P. L. Travers' real name), nicknamed Ginty, and Colin Farrell is a truly positive surprise as her father. In order to hold my attention for over two hours, a film has to be really good. This one clocks in at 2:05, and it never felt long at all for me. Very highly recommended! |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on April 15, 2014, 05:26:22 PM
| Title | The Kid from Brooklyn (Disc ID: 4315-C93A-675A-77AE) |
| (http://oldies.s3.amazonaws.com/i/boxart/zoom/a-z/w/wac688593d.jpg) | |
| Director | Norman Z. McLeod |
| Actors | Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen , Steve Cochran, Eve Arden |
| Produced | 1946 in United States |
| Runtime | 113 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | After conquering the Borscht Belt and Broadway, David Daniel Kaminski (Danny Kaye) got the nod from maverick impresario Samuel Goldwyn and under his tutelage soon mastered the movies as well. Kaye makes his feature film debut alongside Dinah Shore in Up in Arms (1944) as a hypochondriac war hero. Virginia Mayo gets paired with Kaye for the first time in Wonder Man (1945), which features one of his signature cinema schticks – multiple roles in the same film. Kaye plays twins with a twist: one of them is a ghost! The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) sees Danny playing a milquetoast milkman who masters the squared circle and romances a nightclub nightingale (Virginia Mayo). A Song Is Born (1948) see Howard Hawks reenvisioning his classic Ball of Fire as a superstar Jazz musical, with Kaye in the Gary Cooper role and Mayo in the Barbara Stanwyck role as the moll who sweeps several professors off their feet. |
| My thoughts | A lightweight comedy marred by some unnecessary musical numbers. The script is weak but the cast is strong. Virginia Mayo is as lovely as ever. Vera-Ellen is fine but underused. Gravely voiced Lionel Stander repeats his role from The Milky Way (1936), of which this is a remake. Now, I have nothing against musicals. In fact, I like them a lot. Providing the musical numbers are there to help the story along. I don't like them when the numbers seem inserted without any better reason than being time fillers. And that's what they mostly feel like to me in this movie. The story is amusing, but way too predictable to be great. This movie is worthwhile if you like Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo. If not, you'll probably get bored quite soon. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on April 16, 2014, 05:56:56 PM
| Title | A Song Is Born (Disc ID: FA89-393F-AFEB-6791) |
| (http://oldies.s3.amazonaws.com/i/boxart/zoom/a-z/w/wac688593d.jpg) | |
| Director | Howard Hawks |
| Actors | Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong |
| Produced | 1948 in United States |
| Runtime | 113 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | After conquering the Borscht Belt and Broadway, David Daniel Kaminski (Danny Kaye) got the nod from maverick impresario Samuel Goldwyn and under his tutelage soon mastered the movies as well. Kaye makes his feature film debut alongside Dinah Shore in Up in Arms (1944) as a hypochondriac war hero. Virginia Mayo gets paired with Kaye for the first time in Wonder Man (1945), which features one of his signature cinema schticks – multiple roles in the same film. Kaye plays twins with a twist: one of them is a ghost! The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) sees Danny playing a milquetoast milkman who masters the squared circle and romances a nightclub nightingale (Virginia Mayo). A Song Is Born (1948) see Howard Hawks reenvisioning his classic Ball of Fire as a superstar Jazz musical, with Kaye in the Gary Cooper role and Mayo in the Barbara Stanwyck role as the moll who sweeps several professors off their feet. |
| My thoughts | The fourth and last film of the Goldwyn Years box set, A Song is Born, is the best film of the four. Unlike The Kid from Brooklyn, the musical numbers are well integrated in the script and don't feel forced at all. The script is great, based on a story co-written by Billy Wilder, and the music is performed by some of the best musicians of the time. The film is directed by Howard Hawks, easily the best of the four directors, although Norman Z. McLeod, who directed The Kid from Brooklyn, was no slouch either. Unfortunately, The Kid was one of his weaker efforts. With more moderately talented actors this would still have been a good movie, but Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo lift it up another notch. Oh, Virginia Mayo's smile melts me like butter in sunshine. For me, this film is up there with The Court Jester and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty when it comes to Danny Kaye comedies. Very highly recommended! |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on April 17, 2014, 04:42:49 PM
| Title | Executive Decision (Disc ID: DB99-BFC6-42BA-77AB) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81-cT8ryD1L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Stuart Baird |
| Actors | Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt |
| Produced | 1996 in United States |
| Runtime | 133 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital |
| Subtitles | Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | A 747 travelling from Athens to Washington DC is hijacked by a group of terrorists. They claim it is to force the government to release their leader, but covert intelligence man David Grant doesn't believe it. He tries to persuade the autorities to keep the plane out of US airspace while a rescue mission is put together. |
| My thoughts | I got this as part of a Steven Seagal box set. That's a bit funny, because this is not a Steven Seagal movie. He is in it, but only in a supporting role. In fact, he is not even credited in the opening credits. He gets second credit in the end credits, though. Strange! This is a Kurt Russell movie. And a pretty good one, at that. Sure, the whole plot is a bit contrived. Transferring a group of commandos from a stealth fighter to a 747 midair without the bad guys aboard the plane noticing anything. But hey, in an action movie you have to allow for some suspension of disbelief, right? And for me that works up to the finale. Then the last of the bad guys manages to shoot both pilots so Russel, a novice pilot, has to land the big plane all by himself. That was the “oh come on” moment for me. That's such a cliché. But I try to overlook that (and I like Halle Berry), so I'll give it 3.5 stars anyway. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on April 19, 2014, 05:17:49 AM
Post by: GSyren on April 19, 2014, 10:42:45 AM
Post by: GSyren on April 20, 2014, 02:26:38 PM
| Title | Escape Plan (5-030305-517151) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jkoIdiXhL.jpg) | |
| Director | Mikael Håfström |
| Actors | Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Faran Tahir, Amy Ryan |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 116 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Ray Breslin [Sylvester Stallone], the world's foremost authority on structural security, agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called "The Tomb". But when he is wrongly imprisoned, he must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer [Arnold Schwarzenegger] to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built. |
| My thoughts | It's fun to see a Swedish director getting ahead in Hollywood. The only other that comes to mind right now is Lasse Hallström. And while Lasse seems to have peaked, Michael is still rising. Good for him. Escape Plan may not be a great piece of art, but it's a quite serviceable action movie. And it's great fun to see Stallone and Schwarzenegger together. They may be getting on in years, but they can still cause some major havoc. They're actually about my age, but they look a whole lot better. That's not saying much though, if truth be told. :-/ This is another of those movies where it's best not to try to analyze it to much, or you're going to get a lot of “Why” and “How” whirring around in your head. Just go with the flow and then it's a fairly impressive action movie where you probably will get a couple of “I didn't see that coming” moments. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on April 20, 2014, 06:25:45 PM
This is another "guilty pleasure film" where just wanting to be entertained is all that is needed. Fun gags and action. Great that old guys can take a beating :)
Post by: GSyren on April 20, 2014, 08:49:45 PM
i don't think i would have said "... serviceable action ..." :)Well I wrote "serviceable action movie", meaning that "serviceable" refers to the movie, not to the action. One of the definitions of "serviceable" in Merriam-Webster is "of adequate quality", and I think that fits; an action movie of adequate quality.
And as for guilty pleasure, I don't think you need to feel guilty about finding this movie a pleasure...?
Post by: Dragonfire on April 22, 2014, 03:52:46 AM
Post by: GSyren on April 24, 2014, 01:31:09 PM
| Title | Assassins (Disc ID: 3A65-7065-A4AB-C7DF) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81Hop7S7BrL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Richard Donner |
| Actors | Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore, Anatoli Davydov, Muse Watson |
| Produced | 1995 in United States |
| Runtime | 133 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Portuguese Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | Robert Roth (Sylvester Stallone) is the best hitman around, but the code and sense of duty once part of his deadly career are lost in a post-Cold War world of freelance guns. He wants out. Not so Miguel Bain (Antonio Banderas), a driven killer who knows how to claim the top spot of his shadowy profession: eliminate Roth. Julianne Moore turns up the heat as a wily hacker swept into the duo's running battle. Co-written by the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix) and Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) and directed by Richard Donner (the Lethal Weapon series), this awesome action tale plunges you into a world where what counts isn't making the first move, but surviving the last. |
| My thoughts | Sometimes you forget almost everything about a movie except a key scene. I had such a vivid memory of a key scene in Assassins that I was convinced that I has seen it. But no. When I just watched it on BD I realized that I had never seen it before, after all. I must just have seen the trailer. So I'm glad I got it in the Stallone box set. This may not be the best film that Richard Donner ever has directed, but it's a good enough action movie. Banderas is really good in it. Julianne Moore has done better roles, but I like her anyway. And Stallone is Stallone. Like most action movies, this one requires a little bit of suspension of disbelief, but not too much. There aren't any real roll-your-eyes moments. Well, at least not unless you stop to question how you get $16,000,000 in bills into a hand held bag. And I didn't, until afterwards. That's 160,000 $100 bills. Or if it's easier to visualize then in bundles of 100 bills each, that's 1,600 bundles. But that's part of the Hollywood myth, right? Ridiculous amounts of money take hardly any space at all. It's right up there with cars exploding like a bomb if they're driven over a cliff, or bodies flying backwards when shot by a shotgun (or even a pistol). So we let it go, even though we know it's hokum. So to sum it up, this is a better than average, but not really great, action film. A little bit too long for my taste, but at least it never gets boring. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on April 24, 2014, 11:30:56 PM
| Title | Alphaville (5-060034-578826) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZiP-uZLbL.jpg) | |
| Director | Jean-Luc Godard |
| Actors | Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff, Howard Vernon, Laszló Szábó |
| Produced | 1965 in France |
| Runtime | 95 minutes |
| Audio | French Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Written and directed by Godard, Alphaville is the strangely beautiful futuristic tale of Lemmy caution, an American private eye sent to a planet ruled by Von Braun, a malevolent scientist who has outlawed human emotions in favour of logic. The film deals with the fight between individualism in the face of inhumanity and blind conformity, and won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1965. |
| My thoughts | I didn't appreciate Godard when I was young back in the sixties. I have been avoiding Alphaville for almost 50 years. I thought that perhaps I had matured enough to appreciate it. I was wrong. To me, watching Alphaville is like watching an surrealistic painting. I may understand the general meaning of the work, but I don't understand the details, and the whole just doesn't resonate with me. Maybe I'm just too stuck in logic. Maybe the details overshadow the whole. I don't know. Alphaville is, as far as I can understand, supposed to take place in the near future. From 1965, when it was made. And yet pretty much everything in it just screams 1960's; the technology, the cars, the designs, everything. Possibly there is a point to that which escapes me. It would be utterly foolish of me to say that Alphaville is a bad movie. Its reputation speaks for itself. I just have to say that it's not a movie that appealed to me at all. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on April 26, 2014, 11:36:09 AM
| Title | The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (5-022366-205047) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/413D0TTMBAL.jpg) | |
| Director | Dave Borthwick |
| Actors | Nick Upton, Deborah Collar, Frank Passingham, John Schofield, Mike Gifford |
| Produced | 1993 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 58 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | A dark, twisted, yet enchanting version of the classic fairy tale. Set in a world of dark and shadowy tenements, shining high-tech labs and spectic landscapes of garbage and ruins, The Secret Adventures Of Tom Thumb makes a touching hero of the tiny child mysteriously born to a woman and a man in experiments in a lab full if mutant creatures. He narrowly escapes into a world where he finds companionship with people his own size and starts to fights back against the 'giants' alongside Jack the Giant Killer. Nothing is likely to prepare you for your entry into the astonishing, timeless world created by the award-winning bolexbrothers' director Dave Borthwick, where the strange humans are animated, latex figures breathe as if alive and objects and odd creatures crinkle and crunch in the corner. It's a world of genuine horror and moving movements that has the power to unsettle and enchant in equal measure – a potent reminder that fairy tales were never meant to be nursery soothers. |
| My thoughts | This was a real treat for an animation fan like me. Not quite sure how much a “normal” person would appreciate it. This is an hour long stop motion animation film. Quite grim, not your usual Tom Thumb story. Not suitable for young kids, that's for sure. What's especially extraordinary about the animation here is that they also use live actors, but animate them just like the puppets. This makes for some remarkable interaction between puppets and humans. This must have been an extremely trying task for the live actors. Not a job for the impatient! It's a weird, and sometimes confusing story, but I found it extremely entertaining. It certainly makes me curious about what else The Bolex Brothers have accomplished. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on April 28, 2014, 03:19:57 AM
I love not only the clay animation but all the stop motion is simply brilliant and brings a real surreal quality to the film (not that it needs much more of that :) )
This was simply marvelous and thank you again. I can't wait to turn friends on to this.
By the way ... is John Upton the one who plays the father of Tom? Where have I seen him before do you think?
Post by: GSyren on April 28, 2014, 09:43:52 AM
And that's Nick Upton playing Tom's father. He did seem familiar to me, but his only other acting credit according to IMDb is as "The Hand of God" in Peter Lord's short "Adam". I haven't seen it, but it seems unlikely that the hand of God would show his face...
Post by: DSig on April 28, 2014, 04:33:19 PM
Post by: GSyren on April 29, 2014, 10:31:10 PM
| Title | Taken 2 (5-706110-579478) |
| (http://s2.discshop.se/img/front_large/104672/taken_2_blu_ray.jpg) | |
| Director | Olivier Megaton |
| Actors | Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Leland Orser, Jon Gries |
| Produced | 2012 in France |
| Runtime | 97 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | Brace yourself for the Extended Edition of Taken 2, with even more explosive action and thrilling suspense — plus in-depth extras that take you deep behind the front lines of a one-man war. Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, an ex-CIA operative who finds himself "taken" hostage along with his wife. To survive, Bryan must enlist the help of an unlikely ally and use his brutally efficient skills to take out his kidnappers. |
| My thoughts | After all the bad reviews I read, I wasn't sure I wanted to see Taken 2 at all. But since I really like Liam Neeson, and I found the BD cheap, I thought I'd give it a go anyway. And I guess it was a good thing that I came at it with such low expectations. I actually had a fun time watching it. Yes, it's illogical and far-fetched as hell, and the fast editing in the fight scenes is irritating. Almost as bad as Quantum of Solace, but not quite. I saw the unrated cut. I don't know if that was significantly better than the theatrical cut. Probably not. Will I watch Taken 3 when that is released? I probably will – eventually. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Achim on April 30, 2014, 01:38:40 PM
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on April 30, 2014, 03:31:12 PM
So it is being made, the question is: Will it make it to the cinemas or will it be a "Direct to Video"?
Post by: DSig on April 30, 2014, 05:42:52 PM
Don't think i have ever heard of that story line before ;)
Post by: GSyren on April 30, 2014, 05:59:19 PM
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on April 30, 2014, 06:18:20 PM
It feels like that story has been told every which way you can imagine.
You mean like "Evil person(s) take(s) a group of (mostly) innocent people hostage and doesn't realise that he forgot the one who lets a NAVY S.E.A.L. look like a buddhist monch"?
I really don't see how this could EVER get boring and overtold
Post by: DSig on April 30, 2014, 07:31:56 PM
Post by: GSyren on April 30, 2014, 08:08:32 PM
supposidly Bryan (liam) gets accused of a murder he didn't commit ...And even if they can't put a new spin on it, it doesn't have to be boring.
Post by: GSyren on April 30, 2014, 10:29:50 PM
| Title | The Amazing Colossal Man (8-033650-557343) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71ZpEFlwLDL._SL1024_.jpg) | |
| Director | Bert I. Gordon |
| Actors | Glenn Langan, Cathy Downs, William Hudson, Larry Thor, James Seay |
| Produced | 1957 in United States |
| Runtime | 77 minutes |
| Audio | Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Italian |
| Overview | Lt. Col. Glenn Manning is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast at Camp Desert Rock. Though burned over 90% of his body, he survives, and begins to grow in size. As he grows, his heart and circulatory system fail to keep pace with his growth, and he is gradually losing his mind as a result of reduced blood supply to his brain. He reaches 50 feet tall before his growth is stopped. By this time he has become insane. He escapes and wreaks havoc upon Las Vegas before he is finally stopped. |
| My thoughts | It would be a gross overstatement to say that The Amazing Colossal Man is a good movie. It's not. But it's a fun little movie. The script is way out there. Not only is the whole notion of anything growing like that totally bogus. It also makes some really WTF claims. “His heart grows slower than the rest of the body because the heart is a single cell.” What on earth was the scriptwriter smoking when he came up with that? Most of the effects are also laughable. Worst of all, the final effects shot, when the Colossal Man falls down from the Boulder Dam, is so pitiful that it taints the whole experience of the film. This movie is really hard to find on DVD. I got hold of an Italian release. I was dismayed when I started the film, because it was widescreen 1.78:1, and I knew it was supposed to be 1.37:1. Strangely enough it seemed to work. The composition hardly ever felt cramped. It was as if it was shot with matting in mind. However, I have never read anything that suggests that it was actually meant to be shown that way. You probably have to love 50's black-and-white genre movies in order to appreciate this film. It is a turkey, but it's a lovable turkey! |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on May 01, 2014, 12:40:49 AM
Update: found a copy at a place never dealt with .. guess will see how that works out.
Post by: GSyren on May 01, 2014, 05:33:29 AM
Btw, in Colossal Man the dam is refered to by its original name, Boulder Dam. Any reason for that? Wasn't it renamed Hoover Dam about a decade before the film was made?
Post by: DSig on May 01, 2014, 04:59:54 PM
The naming was more political than anything else. I couldn't remember the bits but found this on wikipedia Naming Controversy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam#Naming_controversy).
I can remember as a kid it being called Boulder Dam.
Post by: DSig on May 01, 2014, 11:12:21 PM
Post by: GSyren on May 01, 2014, 11:36:33 PM
Boy my wife is going to be mad at you :)Maybe I should send her flowers to placate her? :whistle:
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on May 02, 2014, 12:01:20 AM
Or you send her a copy of "Love Story", after all "Love means never having to say you're sorry" ( :tease: )Boy my wife is going to be mad at you :)Maybe I should send her flowers to placate her? :whistle:
Post by: Dragonfire on May 02, 2014, 01:57:51 AM
I find it works well to blame others when I buy new Blu-rays...and that person has been Jon for a few years now, since I broke down and double dipped for North by Northwest.
Post by: DSig on May 02, 2014, 02:00:29 AM
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on May 02, 2014, 11:05:33 AM
You find here a bunch of confessing DVD-Addicts that are far beyond help.
Post by: Dragonfire on May 02, 2014, 09:53:27 PM
Sorry....couldn't resist. :D
Post by: DSig on May 04, 2014, 09:35:51 PM
Help? What sort of help do you want? Suggestions for new shelves for your ever growing collection? Suggestions for new movie purchases to then blame on others? ;DNope .. don't need help with either of these <G>. Help keeping the significant other happy is always welcomed :)
Sorry....couldn't resist. :D
Post by: GSyren on May 04, 2014, 11:32:21 PM
Help keeping the significant other happy is always welcomedOh, I'm afraid you're on your own there. I live way too far away to keep your old lady happy. :devil:
Post by: Dragonfire on May 05, 2014, 03:52:47 AM
Nope .. don't need help with either of these <G>. Help keeping the significant other happy is always welcomed :)
[/quote]
Ahhh. Ok.
Flowers? Jewelry? New car? Expensive jewelry? ;)
Post by: GSyren on May 05, 2014, 07:29:01 PM
| Title | Our Man Flint (851789-003382) |
| (https://images.sae-cdn.com/gifs/large/23302.jpg) | |
| Director | Daniel Mann |
| Actors | James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Gila Golan, Edward Mulhare, Benson Fong |
| Produced | 1966 in United States |
| Runtime | 108 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Commentary DTS 2-Channel Stereo, Music Only DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Derek Flint (James Coburn)—super-spy, man of multifarious skills, playboy extraordinaire—has his hands full in Our Man Flint (1966), the Bond spoof to end all Bond spoofs. With a team of mad scientists plotting to rule the world by controlling the weather, Flint is called into action by the chief (Lee J. Cobb) of Z.O.W.I.E.—Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage. Now he must contend with a seductive counter-agent (Gila Golan) and her evil cohort (Edward Mulhare), in a race against time to save the swinging world as we know it. Highlighted by a superb score from Jerry Goldsmith (available here as an isolated track). |
| My thoughts | Our Man Flint is a spoof of the Bond movies. But it's a gentle spoof. It isn't quite as openly silly as the Matt Helm movies of the same period. James Coburn was a very good choice for playing Derek Flint. Coburn has a unique screen presence that is perfect for the movie. If the movie seems dated, it isn't so much because of Flint, but because of the very sixties pop-art production design. And the computer technology. Punched card technology is so sixties. Unlike in the Bond movies, the bad guys aren't really all that bad. They want to force global peace through blackmail. They're not power hungry, they are just misguided. The girls are pretty, just like in the Bond movies. Raquel Welch screen tested for the female lead, but Fox decided to use her in Fantastic Voyage instead. Probably a good choice. The role instead went to former Miss Israel, Gila Golan, who only made 6 movies, and the only other one I have seen her in is The Valley of Gwangi. A more prolific actor is Lee J. Cobb, usually seen in much more serious roles, but very good here as well. If you have seen the Austin Powers movies, you'll see that much of the inspiration for them came from Our Man Flint (and its sequel, In Like Flint). Our Man Flint (as well as In Like Flint) is available on Blu-ray from Twilight Time. It looks and sounds great. As usual with Twilight Time, these are limited to 3000 copies. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on May 06, 2014, 01:27:27 AM
Post by: GSyren on May 06, 2014, 05:16:39 AM
But I was bothered by a continuity error at the beginning of the film. We see punched card operators working with standard IBM type cards - rectangular holes. But when Lee J. Cobb picks up the selected card with Flint's name, it's a card with round holes. Such a silly mistake that should have been very easy to correct. It's just an insert shot of a hand with a card.
Post by: GSyren on May 07, 2014, 07:13:03 PM
| Title | Frankenstein's Daughter (018713-511249) |
| (http://oldies.s3.amazonaws.com/i/boxart/zoom/51/12/018713511249.jpg?v=3) | |
| Director | Richard E. Cunha |
| Actors | John Ashley, Sandra Knight, Donald Murphy, Felix Locher, Sally Todd |
| Produced | 1958 in United States |
| Runtime | 85 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Calling himself "Oliver Frank", Dr. Frankenstein's grandson (Donald Murphy) is up to the old tricks while developing a wonder drug with kindly Carter Morton (Felix Locher). After using Carter's niece, Trudy (Sandra Knight) as his unwitting guinea pig, secretly transforming her while she sleeps, Oliver graduates to creating a new horror from scratch. Teen idol John Ashley, who later produced and / or starred in a series of lurid, low-budget horror movies shot in the Philippines, appears here as Trudy's boyfriend, Johnny Bruder. Director Richard E. Cunha (Giant From The Unknown) and screenwriter H.E. Barrie also collaborated on two other cult favorites, She Demons and Missile To The Moon, that year. |
| My thoughts | The first time I saw this film was in London in 1964. At the Classic Cinema in Brixton, to be precise. I thought it was the worst film I had ever seen. And quite possibly it was, at the time. Fifty years later, a lot of really crappy movies have flickered before my eyes, and my opinion of this movie is a little more mellow now. It's still a crappy movie, though, but a bit of a guilty pleasure by now. It's hard to find anything good about this movie. The best thing I can say is that Sandra Knight looks nice – some of the time. The monster makeups are horrible (and not in a good sense). Apparently makeup man Harry Thomas wasn't told that the monster was supposed to be female. It's played by a male, and Thomas made a male monster makeup. It wasn't until he came to the set that he learned that the monster was female, so he tried to remedy the situation by putting lipstick on the monster's lips. It didn't help much! If you're looking for a “so bad that it's good” movie, you might enjoy Frankenstein's Daughter. If not, stay away! |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on May 08, 2014, 11:25:06 AM
| Title | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (5-039036-065702) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/810-ZVzQ%2BOL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ben Stiller |
| Actors | Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Jonathan C. Daly, Kathryn Hahn, Terence Bernie Hines |
| Produced | 2013 in United States |
| Runtime | 110 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Ben Stiller directs and stars in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber's classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined. |
| My thoughts | I must admit that after watching the trailer, I was very suspicious of the Walter Mitty remake. It looked like it would be a film that hinged a lot on CGI effects, something that I'm not very fond of. And as I loved the Danny Kaye version, and wasn't too fond of Ben Stiller, I did have some strong misgivings. In the end I gave in anyway, and I'm glad I did. I know that James Thurber hated the Kaye movie, and I don't think he would have liked this one much better. I haven't read Thurber's story, but from what I understand, neither movie follows the story very closely. And Stiller's version bears very little similarity to the Kaye movie, except that the main character is a day dreamer in both. Once again I think that it may have been good to come into a film with very low expectations. At first I was annoyed that it was nothing like the old movie, but eventually I warmed up to it, and I actually started to like Ben Stiller more than I had before. In the end, I found this movie very nearly as enjoyable as the old one. I think one of the reasons I liked the film better than I expected was that there wasn't nearly as much CGI as I had feared. I really like Stiller's approach that if it can be done practically, shot it that way, even if it could be done cheaper with green screen in the studio. No amount of technique can replace the feeling of an actor in real surroundings rather than in front of a green screen in a studio. I can't say that Ben Stiller is now my favorite actor, but I do like him a lot better when his humor is a bit toned down, which it mostly is here. All in all a quite pleasant surprise. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Dragonfire on May 08, 2014, 10:28:00 PM
Post by: GSyren on May 08, 2014, 11:39:32 PM
Post by: GSyren on May 26, 2014, 08:56:42 PM
| Title | Journey to the Centre of the Earth (9-345228-001424) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fpjX-6q2L.jpg) | |
| Director | Henry Levin |
| Actors | Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker, Thayer David |
| Produced | 1959 in United States |
| Runtime | 129 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0, Music Only DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | The accent is on fun and fantasy in this film version of Jules Verne's classic thriller that stars James Mason, Pat Boone, and Arlene Dahl. With spectacular visuals as a backdrop, the story centres on an expedition led by Professor Lindenbrook (Mason) down into the earth's dark, threat-laden core. Members of the group include the professor's star student, Alec (Boone), and the widow (Dahl) of a colleague. Along the way lurk dangers such as kidnapping, death, sabotage by a rival explorer, and attacks by giant prehistoric reptiles. But they also encounter such magnificent wonders as a glistening cavern of quartz crystals, luminescent algae, a forest of giant mushrooms, and the lost city of Atlantis. Remaining faithful to Verne's story, this is a sweeping adventure that offers enough thrills and entertainment to satisfy every explorer in the family. |
| My thoughts | Journey to the Center of the Earth is one of the first fantasy films that I saw on my own back in 1960. I loved it back then, and I still do. Probably more than it is really worth. I learned too late that Twilight Time had released it on blu-ray. Now it costs big bucks on eBay. Bummer! But then I learned that it had been released on BD in Australia as well, and I could get that one at a reasonable price. Joy! So, since I have seen this film quite a few times, I looked at it a little more critically this time. The whole concept of traveling to the center of the earth is preposterous, of course. But hey, this is fantasy, so we don't question the plausibility of the story. Like so much from Jules Verne, it's a story that appeals to your imagination rather than to your logic. Now, it's a v-e-r-y long time since I read the book (and the Classics Illustrated comic), but I'm pretty sure there was no duck in it. And probably not a woman, either. Or a Swedish scientist named Göteborg. Or a living relative of Arne Saknussemm. Or a sunken continent. In fact, it seems to me that the screenwriters have taken quite a lot of liberties with Verne's novel. For my taste they could have dispensed with some of the comedic moments. The whole sequence with the kidnapping of James Mason's and Pat Boone's characters, just to introduce them to Gertrude the duck and her owner Hans, is a waste of time. Still, the film is quite a fun ride, and most of it is very well made. The mix of real caves (in this case Carlsbad Caverns) and studio sets work quite well for the most part. There are a few places where the art design is a bit over the top, the crystal cave being one of them. And there are a few places where the matte paintings are a bit too obvious. The sequence with the big rolling boulder is really well executed, and I wonder if this isn't where Spielberg got the idea for the similar scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Using live lizards to represent giant monsters is usually a groan-inducing trick, but it actually works better than expected here. There are a couple of really accomplished split screen scenes. The acting is fairly good for the most part. It's Peter Ronson's only acting credit. It's clear that he is not an actor, but he's acceptable as Hans, their Icelandic guide. Pat Boone isn't much of an actor, either, and his singing feels like a filler, but otherwise he's not too bad. Professor Lindenbrook is hardly James Mason's most taxing role, but it's always good to see him. Apparently he didn't much like Arlene Dahl, but that works fine since that pretty well mirrors what his character feels. If I had seen this for the first time today I would probably not rate it more than max 4, if that. But with the good memories I have, and the fact that re-watching it hasn't diminished them, I rate it a very strong 4.5. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on May 27, 2014, 12:48:55 AM
Post by: GSyren on May 27, 2014, 05:21:32 PM
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on May 27, 2014, 11:19:08 PM
I'm getting BDs of my fav films partly to be prepared for my next TV, which I assume will be bigger.If you intend to purchase larger than a 55" screen, look for 4k devices. 1920x1080 starts to look kind of crappy on large screens (esp. LCD with its squary pixels).
Post by: Achim on May 29, 2014, 06:22:03 PM
If you intend to purchase larger than a 55" screen, look for 4k devices. 1920x1080 starts to look kind of crappy on large screens (esp. LCD with its squary pixels).Which is of course where the prices go up to scary heights :stars: I am casually looking into options and just generally what's out there. My 46" Sharp has "a horizontal line"in the lower half, but since it's only visible in bright (or dark, I forgot) scenes, it's still bearable and otherwise it's still fine.
Now they come out with these curved ones for 55" (which I am interested in) and larger. Of course, just another point that raises the prices.
Post by: GSyren on May 30, 2014, 06:05:09 PM
| Title | The Driver (851789-003542) |
| (https://images.sae-cdn.com/gifs/large/25385.jpg) | |
| Director | Walter Hill |
| Actors | Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani, Ronee Blakley, Matt Clark |
| Produced | 1978 in United States |
| Runtime | 89 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Music Only DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Writer-director Walter Hill's 1978 study of professionalism and obsession stars Ryan O'Neal as the ultimate getaway friver, a sleek crook who's never been caught, and Bruce Dern as the cop who's determined to make the collar. Isabelle Adjani glamorously co-stars as the woman in the case, along with a full range of 1970s character actors. The gritty/glittering cityscapes are by Philip Lathrop, and the spare, moody score (available here as an isolated track) by the one and only Michael Small. |
| My thoughts | On IMDb someone headlined his review of this film “BULLIT's favorite nephew, THE DRIVER!!!” I think that's a pretty good description. This film has some very cool car chases. Ryan O'Neal plays “The Driver” against type. He had previously been in films like Love Story, What's Up Doc, Barry Lyndon and Nickelodeon. Bruce Dern is good as “The Detective”, but Isabelle Adjani, “The Player”, seems like she wishes she was in some other film. Nobody in this film has a name. Well, presumably they have names, but no one is ever refered by name, and the cast list only refer to them by description. So Matt Clark is “Red Plainclothesman” and Felice Orlandi (who was also in Bullit, by the way) is “Gold Plainclothesman”, etc. A very good action movie that's available on blu-ray from Twilight Time, which looks and sound great. Highly recommended! |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on May 30, 2014, 06:13:47 PM
| Title | Visit to a Small Planet (4-041658-500128) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rbSR%2BUChL._SY445_.jpg) | |
| Director | Norman Taurog |
| Actors | Jerry Lewis, Joan Blackman, Earl Holliman, Fred Clark, John Williams |
| Produced | 1960 in United States |
| Runtime | 85 minutes |
| Audio | German Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | German |
| Overview | Jerry Lewis is Kreton, a childish alien who, against his teacher's will leaves his planet to visit the Earth, and lands in the backyard of a famous television journalist who doesn't believe in U.F.O's and aliens. Wanting to study humans but not able to fully understand them, Kreton makes a mess out of it, generating a lot of comic situations. |
| My thoughts | I like Jerry Lewis, but sometimes he gets a bit too much. And that pretty much sums up this movie. It has some nice gags and several very good actors. For much of the movie Jerry is quite funny, but in a few sequences he is just too... Jerry. For those of you that have Amazon Prime, this apparently is a free download. If you want it on DVD, you may have to make do with a German or Spanish release. I watched the German DVD, and it's fine. It has German and original English mono audio. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on May 30, 2014, 10:01:41 PM
Post by: GSyren on May 31, 2014, 10:46:34 AM
Funny that you should mention "The Delicate Delinquent", because it's the one Jerry Lewis film that I have a very good memory of seeing at the cinema. This was sometime in the late sixties. My friend and I saw the movie ad, and because it had a rather nondescript Swedish title we called the cinema to find out the original title, so we would know what film it actually was. The girl in the box office had great difficulty in pronouncing the title. She only got as far as "The Delicate Del..." when I interrupted her and said it was ok, that was enough for me to know what film it was. And I haven't seen it since. I have it on DVD, but it's one of those films that I have hesitated to watch because I'm afraid it may not live up to my expectations almost half a century later.
I haven't actually thought about it for quite some time. That poor DVD has spent almost a decade in the unwatched pile. I guess it may be time to face the bull. No, I mean to take the music by the horns. Oh, you know what I mean...
:-[
Post by: DSig on May 31, 2014, 07:11:11 PM
But you are right ... baby steps are best :)
Post by: GSyren on May 31, 2014, 10:25:21 PM
Post by: DSig on May 31, 2014, 11:42:04 PM
Post by: GSyren on June 04, 2014, 12:14:47 PM
(http://www.cinemaretro.com/uploads/EAGLESDAREnewFINALCOVER450.jpg)
I guess I'll have to rewatch Where Eagles Dare before I start reading it.
I love this movie! :thumbup:
Post by: GSyren on June 04, 2014, 07:11:39 PM
| Title | Where Eagles Dare (Disc ID: 24D2-1E77-993E-C611) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91nZVI0DofL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Brian G. Hutton |
| Actors | John Heller, Guy Deghy, Olga Lowe, Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood |
| Produced | 1968 in United States |
| Runtime | 155 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, German Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Italian Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | Eastwood and Richard Burton go Where Eagles Dare in a twisty thriller written by action master Alistair MacLean (The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra). The mission is clear. Get in. Get the general. Get out. Commandos charged with freeing a U.S. general from an Alpine fortress should also be told to trust nothing – including the search-and-rescue orders just issued. |
| My thoughts | So, I re-watched Where Eagles Dare on blu-ray. It may have its faults. The story is pretty far-fetched and has some plotholes. There are some scenes that have issues, if you look close enough. But it's a frickin' good action adventure story, and even though I know all the twists by heart, I still love it. The most impressive part of the film is the cable car sequences. Some of the scenes were shot on location on real cable cars with stuntmen. Some were shot in the Borehamwood studio with the stars or with the stuntmen, depending on the complexity of the scenes. The whole thing is technically excellent, and would never have been so exciting if it had been done with CGI. The film is over 2 ½ hours long. It doesn't feel long. I must have seen this at least six or seven times before; in the cinema, on VHS, on DVD and now the second time on BD, but I've never looked at my watch thinking it was too long. And that's high praise, because I often get fidgety if a film goes much over 90 minutes. Being a fan of both Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton helps here, but they are not the only good actors. In fact, I think that the casting is excellent over all. Now it's time to read the magazine, and when that's done I wouldn't be surprised if I find that I need to see the film over again. No complaints there. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on June 08, 2014, 02:17:06 PM
| Title | Avalanche (736991-218895) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51s4nuTLf%2BL.jpg) | |
| Director | Corey Allen |
| Actors | Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow, Robert Forster, Jeanette Nolan, Rick Moses |
| Produced | 1978 in United States |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | A winter wonderland becomes a nightmare of destruction, when an avalanche smashes into a ski resort. Now a holiday vacation will become a struggle for survival. |
| My thoughts | Someone mentioned this film recently, and I noticed that I had a pan&scan release, so I got curious and checked if there was a widescreen release. I found that there wasn't, but moreover I found that the release I own now sells for ridiculous prices. $92.98 new on Amazon! I hadn't watched it for 10 years, so I didn't remember it too well. But I had a feeling that this couldn't be worth 93 bucks. Still, it made me wonder. So I dug it out and re-watched it. I couldn't believe I rated this 3 stars back then. It's barely a 2 star movie. There is very little right about this movie. The actors look uninterested. The avalanche itself is a mix of stock footage and a styrofoam disaster. The script is... well I don't know what to say. It seems like the scriptwriter gave up half way through and just said “I don't have an ending, let's just shoot what I have”. The only reason I give it 2 ½ stars now is that I really like disaster movies, and this one has one or two ok disaster scenes (and a whole lot of crap ones). But $92.98? $2.98 would be more appropriate! |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on June 11, 2014, 09:41:39 PM
| Title | Sorcerer (883929-387762) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/911%2B6T4DrGL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | William Friedkin |
| Actors | Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou , Ramon Bieri |
| Produced | 1977 in United States |
| Runtime | 121 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English, French, Spanish |
| Overview | Roy Scheider lends his immense talent to this taut action-adventure from director William Friedkin. Set on the edge of a South American jungle, a desperate four-man team, led by Scheider, must transport a cargo of nitroglycerin over 200 miles of treacherous terrain in order to stop a potentially disasterous oil fire. Enter into this explosive mix of split-second strategy and jolting suspense set against an outstanding scor by Tangerine Dream. |
| My thoughts | I have an old p&s DVD of Sorcerer, but when I heard about the restored widescreen version on blu-ray I had to get it, and if ever a double-dip was worth it, this is it. Sorcerer was very poorly received when it opened back in '77, and many – even movie fans – never heard of it. I have to admit that for the longest time I didn't know that Georges Arnaud's book had been filmed twice. Friedkin does not consider Sorcerer to be a remake of The Wages of Fear, but a new film based on the book. Depends on your definition of “remake”, I guess. When I watched it I tried not to compare it to the previous film. But it certainly has one thing in common with The Wages of Fear; it is a lot scarier than most horror films. Regardless of if you have seen The Wages of Fear or not, this is a film that deserves your attention. And if you haven't seen The Wages of Fear, you should really get the Criterion BD of that one. But don't watch both the same day... A note of warning: Only the blu-ray has the restored version. The DVD with the same cover image that Warner released the same day is just the old p&s release recycled. Shame on you, Warner! |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on June 12, 2014, 05:11:09 AM
This film is beyond a thriller. It is so woven with texture that it can be overwhelming. If you love Friedkin's work you will love this. But if you have never seen it be aware that it is very very intense.
Thanks for the heads up on the blu-ray version ..
Post by: Achim on June 12, 2014, 06:21:24 AM
The Sorcerer has been on my wish list ever since it was announced and I am only waiting for a small price drop to get me to order it.
Post by: GSyren on June 12, 2014, 06:57:06 AM
The rope bridge sequence in Sorcerer is f-ing unbelievable! The fact that you know that this isn't CGI makes it all the more intense. It may be an old cliche, but - they don't make them like this anymore...
Post by: Hulot on June 12, 2014, 11:26:57 AM
I think I'll put Sorcerer on my list of DVDs to get.
Are you sure about the DVD being a pan & scan job? I believe Sorcerer was shot hard-matted @ 1.66 (camera negative), and I think I've read somewhere that the DVD transfer was a crop of this with no actual panning and scanning involved....but I could be wrong.
Post by: GSyren on June 12, 2014, 01:54:07 PM
(http://s25.postimg.org/z3n520a5r/DVD.jpg) (http://s25.postimg.org/eks8wxw8f/image.jpg)
Post by: Hulot on June 12, 2014, 07:53:08 PM
edit
Since you have both, are you stating as a fact that the DVD is p & S? In any case, I think I'll avoid the DVD in favour of the BR.
edit 2
If the info on the cover of the laserdisc release of Sorcerer can be believed, then the Blu-ray image has itself been cropped
From the laserdisc: "The film on this laserdisc was transferred from the 1.66:1 original camera negative. Director William Friedkin supervised all aspects of the audio and video element transfers."
Post by: GSyren on June 12, 2014, 09:19:40 PM
And the image quality is SO much better in the blu-ray that it's like a whole different film. Friedkin has made it clear that this is the way his film should look. Basically "lost" for 36 years, seen only in truncated, butchered versions is how he describes it in a letter that comes with the BD.
Post by: GSyren on June 12, 2014, 09:33:02 PM
Post by: Hulot on June 12, 2014, 10:25:09 PM
Well, this has certainly piqued my interest in obtaining a copy of Sorcerer...
Well, that would depend on your definition of p&s. The image is cropped from widescreen down to 4:3. Whether there is actual panning or not, you are losing image information. IMDb states that the OAR is 1.85:1.
IMDb can be hit or miss in regards to film data...various sources state the original aspect ratio of sorcerer as being 1.66, shown theatrically in the US cropped to 1.85, but these sources can be wrong as well.
My definition of p & s is a film (usually scope) that has altered "camera movements" (panning) not see in the original film
see : http://wiki.digital-digest.com/index.php/Pan_&_Scan for an example of a 2.55 film (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) p & s to 4.3
If a 1.66 or 1.85 film is "merely" cropped with no panning, than it is not p & s.....but, I agree, all films should be shown/released in their original aspect ratios.
Post by: GSyren on June 12, 2014, 11:38:14 PM
If Friedkin did in fact supervise the LD transfer, then his comments in the letter seem a bit strange. But in the end all that matters is that the blu-ray looks and sounds great, and every review that I have read agree on that.
Post by: Hulot on June 13, 2014, 12:40:41 AM
And depending on how the director composes his images "just cropping" can be worse than pan & scan
Sorry if I appear to be hijacking your thread (not my intent)....but here we completely disagree.
I'll take the cropping of the 2 photos you posted above over the abomination of the example/link I provided any day.
Going by your 2 photos, the film is still essentially the same, but somewhat cropped.
A p&s of a scope film is a totally different film from what was exhibited in theatres...it has been re-shot (panning) and re-edited with numerous "cuts" ("cut" to the actor on the left side of the screen speaking , "cut" to the one on the right, where in the original both are on screen at the same time).
Thankfully p&s is dying out.
Post by: DSig on June 13, 2014, 03:15:04 AM
Well, technically you are correct, of course, but most people don't seem to make that distinction and refer to anything cropped down from widescreen as pan & scan. And depending on how the director composes his images "just cropping" can be worse than pan & scan, so the distinction is moot, in my opinion.Thanks for the letter .. i can hardly wait until the disc arrives at my door.
If Friedkin did in fact supervise the LD transfer, then his comments in the letter seem a bit strange. But in the end all that matters is that the blu-ray looks and sounds great, and every review that I have read agree on that.
Post by: Dragonfire on June 13, 2014, 04:29:00 AM
Post by: GSyren on June 13, 2014, 09:24:06 AM
A p&s of a scope film is a totally different film from what was exhibited in theatres...it has been re-shot (panning) and re-edited with numerous "cuts" ("cut" to the actor on the left side of the screen speaking , "cut" to the one on the right, where in the original both are on screen at the same time).And the same scene "just cropped" might show just two noses with empty space between them. Yes, I have seen something like that. Is that really better? Not in my opinion. Or in the scene from Seven Brides the girl would be dancing in and out of frame. Is that what the director intended? I don't think so. These examples would also be "totally different from what was exhibited in the theatres".
Any way you cut it (pun intended) both p&s and cropping is an abomination. And releasing a DVD today with the disclaimer "has been formatted to fit your screen" is just adding insult to injury...
Post by: Hulot on June 13, 2014, 10:01:37 AM
"I'll take the cropping of the 2 photos you posted above over the abomination of the example/link I provided any day.
Going by your 2 photos, the film is still essentially the same, but somewhat cropped."
I have several DVDs with that disclaimer "has been formatted to fit your screen" in which the film is neither p&s or cropped, but open matte (flat 35 with mattes removed)...not ideal, but beats true p&s.
Many films are released on DVD with various degrees of cropping, even ones shot in the Academy ratio of 1.37.
Post by: GSyren on June 13, 2014, 11:41:07 AM
I was referring to cropped standard (ie : 1.66 / 1.75 /1.85, non-scope) ffilms. as in the example of your photos....NOT to (god forbid) cropped scope (2.35/2.55) films.Fair enough, but it felt like our discussion had moved beyond Sorcerer.
Quote
A p&s of a scope film is a totally different film from what was exhibited in theatresThis, plus your reference to Seven Brides made it seem like you prefered cropping to p&s on scope films.
Quote
open matte (flat 35 with mattes removed)...not ideal, but beats true p&s.No arguments there. But with today's TV standard I still feel that "formatted to fit your screen" is an insult when put on current releases, even if it should be open matte. In my opinion, any alteration of the intended aspect ratio can ruin the image composition. "Somewhat cropped" is not "essentially the same" to me. But hey, you're entitled to your opinion. Even if you're wrong ;-)
Post by: Hulot on June 13, 2014, 12:46:10 PM
This, plus your reference to Seven Brides made it seem like you prefered cropping to p&s on scope films.
No. You are the one that said ""just cropping" can be worse than pan & scan"....we were talking about Sorcerer, re-the pics you posted...I said I'll take the cropping as shown on your pics over p&s
In my opinion, any alteration of the intended aspect ratio can ruin the image composition. "Somewhat cropped" is not "essentially the same" to me. But hey, you're entitled to your opinion. Even if you're wrong ;-)
Lol. Now you're being funny. Making stuff up. Not a question of right or wrong, but of preferring the lesser of 2 evils
Essentially the same when compared to what you seem to prefer, re-edited, panned job, but hey, you are gonna like what you like...
Here's what I said
all films should be shown/released in their original aspect ratios.
I'll take the cropping of the 2 photos you posted above over the abomination of the example/link I provided any day.
Going by your 2 photos, the film is still essentially the same, but somewhat cropped.
But hey, you're entitled to your opinion. Even if you're wrong ;-)
Likewise, I'm sure... :)
its been a blast, maybe we'll meet again on some other thread ;D
Post by: GSyren on June 13, 2014, 02:24:38 PM
Post by: GSyren on June 14, 2014, 02:59:59 PM
| Title | Mars Needs Women (027616-865625) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5147DDDEN3L.jpg) | |
| Director | Larry Buchanan |
| Actors | Tommy Kirk, Yvonne Craig, Byron Lord, Roger Ready, Barnett Shaw |
| Produced | 1967 in United States |
| Runtime | 82 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | French, Spanish |
| Overview | Get ready for interplanetary petting and Martian make-out madness! Teen heartthrob Tommy Kirk (Pajama Party) leads a stellar cast as a sex-starved spaceman lookin' for love on all the wrong planets. Wild, wacky and way, way out of this world, this "incredible" (The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film) and zany sci-fi adventure is filled with hot, heavenly bodies, hilarious alien contacts and outrageous close encounters...of the DATING kind! When a girl shortage of galactic proportions turns the Martian dating scene into a black hole, four extra-handsome extraterrestrials set their sights on Earth's own cosmic duties, hoping to find a few gorgeous girls willing to go all the way...to the stars. But when the boys at NASA uncover the interplanetary poaching, they put rocket science to a new use – in kickin' some Martian astronauts clear out of the solar system! |
| My thoughts | Some say that Larry Buchanan movies are an acquired taste. If that is true, then the acquisition is painful. Buchanan didn't make low-budget movies, he made no-budget movies. And it shows. Mars Needs Women isn't the worst of them. In fact it's the best (read: least bad) of the ones I have seen. This is my fifth Buchanan movie and, taste not acquired yet, I think it may be my last. I may be a glutton for punishment, but even I have a limit. Buchanan is perhaps best known for bad TV remakes of already bad B movies. While this one is also made for TV, it's not a remake. Perhaps that's why it's not quite as bad as the others. It's really hard to rate Buchanan's movies. Compared to most other movies they would probably all be a half star. But then I couldn't distinguish the badness between them. So their ratings sort of stand on their own. Thus the fact that I have given Mars Needs Women the same rating as the Clash of the Titans remake doesn't mean that Clash is anywhere near as bad as Mars. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on June 14, 2014, 04:25:04 PM
Post by: GSyren on June 15, 2014, 03:09:51 PM
| Title | Burnt Offerings(9-007150-061739) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71VYTob%2ByXL._SL1000_.jpg) | |
| Director | Dan Curtis |
| Actors | Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart, Lee Montgomery |
| Produced | 1976 in United States |
| Runtime | 111 minutes |
| Audio | German Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English, French, German, Spanish |
| Overview | Marian (Karen Black) and Ben (Oliver Reed) find it hard to believe that for only $900 they've rented a sprawling old country mansion for the entire summer. But as they settle into their isolated estate with their son and Ben's aunt (Bette Davis), they find themselves surrounded by a living presence, an evil, hypnotic, occult force that feeds on torture, fear and murder. ...Burnt Offerings |
| My thoughts | You can't go wrong with Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith and Bette Davis, right? Well, no, not in this case anyway. The only fly in the ointment is the kid, Lee Montgomery. I found him a bit annoying, but not to the point where it hurts the film. The really scary character, though, is Anthony James as the leering chauffeur. And Karen Black at the very end of the film. It's not the scariest haunted house film, but it is quite creepy at times. It builds up rather slowly, but I never got bored. This isn't really my favorite genre, but I still found it entertaining enough. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on June 17, 2014, 04:11:38 PM
| Title | Big Jake (5-051368-226231) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91oV8uhydWL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | George Sherman |
| Actors | John Wayne, Richard Boone, Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Bruce Cabot |
| Produced | 1971 in United States |
| Runtime | 110 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, German DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, French DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono |
| Subtitles | Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | For the first time in brilliant Hi-Def, this action-filled Western stars John Wayne as Big Jake McCandles, a husband who hasn't seen his wife (Maureen O'Hara) in over 9years. But he returns home after his grandson is kidnapped by a vicious outlaw gang. While the law gives chase in rickety automobiles, Jake saddles up with an Indian scout (Bruce Cabot) and a box of money even though paying a ransom isn't how Jake plans to exact good old frontier justice. Spiced with humor and first-class gunfights, this is a vivid depiction of the last days of the wild frontier. |
| My thoughts | Not my favorite John Wayne film, but not bad either. Some people hate this movie, but it seems that most of them are people who don't like John Wayne. There are a few things in the script that doesn't really make sense, like Chris Mitchum riding around on a motorcycle in the middle of a gun fight, but not actually accomplishing anything. But I can overlook that. The ending is a bit more iffy, and it does hurt the film, in my opinion. Richard Boone makes a fine bad guy. Bruce Cabot, the hero from King Kong, is – an indian? This was his 11th and last movie together with the Duke. Maureen O'Hara is great, but we see much too little of her. I was surprised to see Jim Davis in such a small role, but of course this was prior to Dallas. And I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even recognize John Agar. A pleasant enough western, if a bit violent. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on June 18, 2014, 03:42:52 AM
Post by: GSyren on June 18, 2014, 11:51:09 AM
It is a good couple of hours spent. Especially if you like a couple titans towards the end of their careers. Richard Boone always made a good bad guy. Probably why Paladin was so good :)Yep, Richard Boone was always a pleasure to watch. And Big Jake was a very good movie, up until the end. I don't like to put spoilers in my actual reviews, but I guess it'll be OK here. There was a minor and a major thing that bugged me:
(click to show/hide)
It was also a bit strange that we never got to know who the little boy's father was, only that Big Jake was his grandfather. Or who his mother was, too, for that matter.
Post by: GSyren on June 18, 2014, 09:37:38 PM
| Title | Roy Orbison: Black & White Night (014381-882629) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71GaFP%2BG6hL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Tony Mitchell |
| Actors | Roy Orbison, Jackson Browne, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, K.d. Lang |
| Produced | 1989 in United States |
| Runtime | 64 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Roy Orbison: Black & White Night, recorded live at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, is a special one-time event documenting one of rock and roll's greatest and most unique performances. Orbison is joined by an eclectic ensemble of rock and roll superstars including Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, J.D. Souther, Jennifer Warnes, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits. Roy and fellow performers spend a scintillating hour performing many of his greatest hits. Tracks Include: 1. Only the Lonely 2. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) 3. Blue Bayou 4. The Comedians 5. Ooby Dooby 6. Leah 7. Running Scared 8. Uptown 9. In Dreams 10. Crying 11. Candyman 12. Go, Go, Go (Down The Line) 13. Mean Woman Blues 14. (All I Can Do Is) Dream You 15. Claudette 16. It's Over 17. Oh, Pretty Woman |
| My thoughts | What do you have to do if you want to hold a concert and get backing from artists like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Steven Soles, k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes, Cindy Bullens and Bonnie Raitt? Well, first of all you would have to turn the clock back about a quarter of a century. Then you would have to be Roy Orbison! And oh boy, did he manage to do a concert! One of the best concerts put on film, in my opinion. When this concert was filmed, nobody knew that Roy had less than a year to live. He passed away December 6, 1988, only 52 years old. Gone but never forgotten. I've had this DVD over 13 years and I take it out every now and then and listen to it. Now you can get it on blu-ray. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on June 21, 2014, 03:41:40 AM
Post by: GSyren on June 21, 2014, 05:37:24 PM
| Title | King Rat (5-035822-789234) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GHNM4RVRL.jpg) | |
| Director | Bryan Forbes |
| Actors | George Segal, Patrick O'Neal, Todd Armstrong, Sammy Reese, Joseph Turkel |
| Produced | 1965 in United States |
| Runtime | 129 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, French Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono, Italian Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Overview | Oscar®-nominee George Segal (1967, Best Supporting Actor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf) became a star with his performance in this epic WWII drama based on the best-selling novel by Shogun author James Clavell. The movie chronicles the scams of a streetwise GI held in a Japanese prison camp. Under the harrowing camp conditions, he rises to a position of power over his military and social superiors, manipulating those around him and controlling the prison's black market. KING RAT is a powerful exploration of one man's struggle to survive and flourish against all odds. It was nominated for two 1965 Academy Awards® (Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography). With an all star cast that includes Tom Courtenay, James Fox, Denholm Elliott and John Mills, this is a gripping war time drama. |
| My thoughts | Color me confused. This is a very good POW movie with a whole bunch of great actors. It's based on a novel by James Clavell. And yet very few people seem to have seen it. I don't understand it. Is it because the “hero”, George Segal, isn't really likeable? Is it because there is no great escape, but just about surviving in a prisoner-of-war camp? Is it because the film is in black & white? This DVD has been in my unwatched pile for quite a few years. I'm not sure myself why I haven't watched it a long time ago. Maybe it's because it's over 2 hours long, and I often start watching in the evening and don't want to be tied up too late. I hate it when I get sleepy at the end of a movie and don't quite keep up with what's happening. But now that I'm retired I can watch more movies in the daytime so it's not a big problem anymore. Although I rather like movies to stick with the old fashioned hour and a half. It takes a really good movie to sustain my interest for more than that time. But this one was such a movie. It's not quite up to the standard of The Bridge on the River Kwai, which I watched recently, but it's still very good. Recommended! |
| My rating | |
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on June 22, 2014, 01:02:22 AM
Strangely I didn't even know there was a film.
Post by: GSyren on June 22, 2014, 05:05:31 AM
Strangely I didn't even know there was a film.My point exactly. People don't seem to know about this film. I sure didn't before I found the DVD.
Post by: GSyren on June 22, 2014, 10:50:39 AM
Post by: GSyren on June 28, 2014, 05:52:28 PM
Well, I guess that should be "2 Superman II" but that's not as catchy...
Anyway, yesterday I watched the Donner version of Superman II, and today I watched the Lester version. I had seen both of them before, but with several years in between, so I hadn't noticed quite how different the two versions are. I liked the theatrical (Lester) version when I saw it, but I found Donner's version a lot more enjoyable. It doesn't have the Eiffel Tower opening, but I didn't miss that too much, because I never really cared for it.
The only thing I really didn't like in the Donner version was the ending. Using the "turning back time" thing once more just didn't sit right with me. If I understood Donner correctly in the interview it was originally planned only for Superman II. Still, it was ultimately used in the first film, and it shouldn't have been repeated.
Both versions use some of the other directors shots. It would have been really interesting to know exactly who directed what. But I guess we'll never be privvy to that information. It seems that Donner bears a grudge against Richard Lester. He won't mention Lester by name, just "the other director". I'm not sure why he feels like that. I assume that replacing Donner was the Salkinds' decision. Maybe Donner felt that Lester ruined Donner's vision for the film, but there would have been no reason for the Salkinds to fire Donner and hire a director that would make the exact same film that Donner wanted to make, would there?
Lester went on to make Superman III, which is distinctly worse than either Superman II versions. Is that because there was no Donner input in that film? Perhaps not, but one can only wonder if Donner wouldn't have made a much better Superman III. And the less said about Superman IV, the better.
Post by: Dragonfire on June 29, 2014, 02:34:22 AM
Post by: GSyren on June 29, 2014, 05:43:15 AM
I think it's amazing that Donner was given the chance to patch together his version. I should probably listen to the commentary to learn more. I assume that the Salkinds are no longer in control of the property? I can't imagine that they would have wanted to allow Donner to to this?
Post by: Dragonfire on June 29, 2014, 06:24:24 AM
I don't know exactly how it came about that Donner was able to do his version. Hmmm....rats. I can't remember if I had heard anything or not. Hmm. I first found out about the Donner version and all that happened from a few reviews at Epinions. This one guy from there seems to know ..well..everything about every comic book movie ever made. I started to call him the Wise and All Knowing Comic Book Movie Guru. :hysterical: More than once I asked him about something and he explained for me. He is why I know as much about comic book characters now as I do. I even asked him once if Flash and Flash Gordon were different characters..and he didn't laugh at me. :hysterical: Anyhow. I can't remember if he had mentioned anything in his review about how Donner got to do his version. Hmm...
The Salkinds sold the rights to Superman after one of the movies. I'm thinking Superman III...though maybe it wasn't until after IV. I was thinking that the older footage that Donner was able to use - like the screen test stuff when Lois told Clark she knew he was Superman - so so so much better than what Lester did - was from Warner Brothers..their vaults or something. Maybe Warner Brothers was behind Donner getting to do his version. Hmmm. Now that I think more about it, I think Warner Brothers had something to do with Donner doing his cut finally. Someone there probably decided it would be a good addition to the ultimate set they were planning...And it was part of that set while also being released alone I think.
Post by: GSyren on June 29, 2014, 10:21:42 AM
Lester was a good director. I love both of his Beatles films, and a few of his other films, but I think he was the wrong choice for Superman II and III. But a whole lot better than IV's Sidney J. Furie. While he had done some good films, especially The Ipcress File, I don't think he was suited to do comic book adaptions.
Post by: Dragonfire on June 30, 2014, 03:11:07 AM
I think I've seen some other movies that Lester directed and liked. But he was not a good choice for Superman at all. Not at all. He went too...silly, as evidenced in Superman III. And yes, IV is worse. But the downward spiral started long before IV.
Post by: GSyren on June 30, 2014, 01:48:27 PM
| Title | Clambake (Disc ID: 6B9C-892B-2F44-538F) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915H%2BLBvTfL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Arthur H. Nadel |
| Actors | Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Will Hutchins, Bill Bixby, Gary Merrill |
| Produced | 1967 in United States |
| Runtime | 99 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | French, Spanish |
| Overview | Elvis Presley sizzles as a lovelorn million-'heir' in this riveting and romantic rock 'n' roll romp. Vying for the attentions of the lovely Shelley Fabares ('Coach'), Elvis finds himself caught up in a rivalry with playboy Bill Bixby ('The Incredible Hulk') "against a tuneful background of comedy, romance, and speedboat racing" ('Film Daily')! Clambake is "pleasing escape entertainment" ('Boxoffice') and the wildest party to hit the beach since they invented the beach ball! It's a hip version of 'The Prince and the Pauper' as Elvis relinquishes his oil-baron's fortune and trades identities with a penniless water ski instructor (Will Hutchins) to learn about life from the bottom up. Suddenly short on money but long on determination, he repairs a radically designed powerboat in order to win the regatta and the affection of a girl who's determined to marry rich! |
| My thoughts | Some movies are always great, no matter when you view them. Some movies are always trash. And then there are some movies that depend entirely on your mood when you watch them. For me, Elvis Presley movies usually fall into that category. So today I needed some light fluff, and Clambake fit the bill very well. It's certainly no cinematic masterpiece, but I liked it fine enough. Elvis has a certain charm, and Shelley Fabares sure doesn't hurt my eyes. On another day I could very well have disliked this movie intensely. The songs are not very memorable. The story is weak, and the quality of the DVD leaves a lot to be desired. But fortunately today was not “another day”. Take my three stars with a grain of salt. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on July 01, 2014, 04:53:23 AM
Kid Galahad will get that Clambake taste out of your mouth :)
Post by: GSyren on July 01, 2014, 07:23:29 AM
Yepp. That was exactly my thought when I bought this box with 4 Elvis movies that I had not seen before. I knew they were not his best, so I figured they were movies that you would need to be in the right mood to enjoy. And judging from Clambake I was right. I was more annoyed about the quality of the DVD than about the quality of the movie. Non-anamorphic widescreen, bah! But even that didn't ruin my day day, because hey - it's Elvis!
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on July 01, 2014, 10:54:11 AM
I knew they were not his best
??
Is there anything like a "good" movie with Elvis?
From what I've seen of them I considered Elvis to be a good example why singers shouldn't try to act.
Post by: GSyren on July 01, 2014, 12:28:11 PM
That said I do believe that there are films that are generally thought of as good, like King Creole or Flaming Star.
Post by: GSyren on July 01, 2014, 05:07:46 PM
| Title | Trog (883316-397206) |
| (http://d3dvedx3sqrauf.cloudfront.net/i/boxart/zoom/39/72/883316397206.jpg) | |
| Director | Freddie Francis |
| Actors | Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, Bernard Kay, Kim Braden, David Griffin |
| Produced | 1969 in United States |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English, French |
| Overview | The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas. Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest. Few claim to have seen these links to our primitive past. But when a wild half-man/half-ape emerges from his countryside cave, TV cameras are there to observe the event – and the terror! People call him Trog, short for a prehistoric cave dweller called a troglodyte. To an anthropologist (Joan Crawford in her final film), he’s the scientific discovery of the age. To others, he’s walking death. A grocer is impaled on a meat hook, a car is tossed aside like a twig, a child is kidnapped – all after local resident Sam Murdock (Michael Gough) prods the brute into a blind rampage. In true horror tradition, the world’s Murdocks leave no doubt who the real savages are – and who is the part-man, part-monster, all Trog! |
| My thoughts | Well, what can I say about Trog? For a long time I hesitated to buy it. I knew it was bad. But in the end I couldn't resist. It's Joan Crawford's last feature film. I must say she was a trooper. There is no indication that she gave it any less than all she could. I can't say the same about Michael Gough. He can be a great character actor, but when he hams it up, he really hams it up. Freddie Francis had his ups and downs as a director, but this is one of his lesser accomplishments, to put it kindly. The only one that I can think of that might be worse is The Deadly Bees, although I think I liked that better, for some reason. The “monster” looks silly in part of an ape costume left over from 2001: A Space Odyssey. But the script is equally silly. For example, Trog, the missing link, remembers a battle between a couple of dinosaurs (stock footage from The Animal World). I guess he must have had a time machine so he could travel a long way back in time first, before – allegedly – being frozen and thawed up in the 20th century. Unless you're into “so bad it's good” movies, avoid this one. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on July 01, 2014, 10:15:10 PM
Well, I'll have to agree that Elvis wasn't an outstanding actor, but I guess one's appreciation of the films depend to a large degree if one likes the type of movies where the lead actor bursts out in song every now and then.Flaming Star is one of my favorites. He could have become a good actor, i think, in the William Shatner "over acting school of acting" :) but some of his fun ones are .. well .. fun. Excepts Clambake :) I really hate clams
That said I do believe that there are films that are generally thought of as good, like King Creole or Flaming Star.
Post by: GSyren on July 01, 2014, 11:13:34 PM
Flaming Star is one of my favorites.Yes, I liked Flaming Star, too. I'm surprised it's not available on blu-ray. I mean, Viva Las Vegas is getting it's second BD release in August! ???
Post by: GSyren on July 03, 2014, 10:36:42 AM
| Title | The Shadow of the Cat (5-060057-210895) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519lK6BZcfL.jpg) | |
| Director | John Gilling |
| Actors | Andre Morell, Barbara Shelley, William Lucas, Freda Jackson, Conrad Phillips |
| Produced | 1961 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 75 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | The wealthy Ella Venable (Catherine Lacey) is the victim of a vicious plot conceived by her husband Walter (Andre Morell), her housekeeper Clara (Freda Jackson) and her servant Andrew (Andrew Crawford). Andrew beats Ella to death and the three conspirators bury her body in nearby woods. They then plan to share Ella’s considerable fortune, but they haven't counted on Ella’s pet Tabatha, who witnessed both the murder and the burial. One by one, the cat exacts a terrible revenge on those who conspired ‘to kill her mistress... |
| My thoughts | The Shadow of the Cat is an interesting film, for several reasons. It's a Hammer collaboration that doesn't bear the Hammer name. In a time when most Hammer films were in color and widescreen, this is neither. And despite the title, the cat's shadow plays no part in the intrigue. Apparently, the intent in the original script by George Baxter was that the actual cat should not be seen, but only its shadow. But director John Gilling didn't like that, so he rewrote the script so the cat was actually shown. I'm not sure this was an improvement, because the cat really doesn't look scary. The film isn't really a horror story. It's more of an Old Dark House story. So it's a bit of a throwback to Hammer's films before their horror period that started with The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957. That said, it's not a bad film. It has some great actors, like André Morell, Freda Jackson and Barbara Shelley. It's just not terribly exciting. The story of the film is rather more interesting than the story in the film, if you know what I mean. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on July 03, 2014, 10:52:59 AM
| Title | Postal (883476-004631) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518LR1Q8SyL.jpg) | |
| Director | Uwe Boll |
| Actors | Zack Ward, Dave Foley, Chris Coppola, Jackie Tohn, J. K. Simmons |
| Produced | 2007 in United States |
| Runtime | 109 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Prepare yourself for the hilarious, laugh-packed comedy Postal, the irrelevant and outrageous film based on the popular video game. After a clueless slacker named the Postal Dude (Zack Ward) loses his job, he joins his shady Uncle Dave (Dave Foley) and a bevy of big-breasted, scantily-clad female cult followers in a scheme to steal a shipment of hot new toys. But first they must foil a band of ruthless terrorists — led by none other than Osama Bin Laden — and save the world from destruction in this offensive, mayhem-ridden laugh riot that threatens the very limits of common decency. |
| My thoughts | I had heard so much about how bad Uwe Boll's films are that I felt that I should at least watch one of them. So I opted for the one that seemed to be the least badmouthed. Still, I came to it with extremely low expectations. And I guess that was a good thing. I didn't think it was all that bad. Yes, the tagline is true; “Disgusting, Offensive, Stupid”. It's all that. And politically incorrect to the max. But at the same time it's kind of fun. It's not a film for everybody. But I guess I was in the right mood for it, and had no expectations. And that kind of worked for me. But a good movie it is not. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on July 03, 2014, 01:27:56 PM
In fact I loved it when I first watched it, but on rewatching it I had to reduce the rating to
, mainly because some of the "surprising appearances" don't work anymore in the second go.
Post by: GSyren on July 03, 2014, 03:54:11 PM
| Title | Pretty in Pink (097361-380544) |
| (http://d3dvedx3sqrauf.cloudfront.net/i/boxart/zoom/a-z/c/can13805d.jpg) | |
| Director | Howard Deutch |
| Actors | Molly Ringwald, Harry Dean Stanton, Jon Cryer, Annie Potts, James Spader |
| Produced | 1986 in United States |
| Runtime | 97 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | Molly Ringwald is the smart girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Andrew McCarthy is the rich boy who genuinely loves her. And Jon Cryer is... just Duckie. And they are all back in the brand-new "Everything's Duckie" Special Collector's Edition of Pretty in Pink! Written by John Hughes and directed by Howard Deutch, Pretty in Pink will take you back to the prom... the laughter, the tears, and that very first kiss. |
| My thoughts | I never saw any of the brat pack movies (unless Ferris Bueller's Day Off counts, but I don't think it does), because they just didn't seem to be my kind of movies. Now, almost 30 years later, it seemed that I should at least give one a try. So I choose Pretty in Pink. And it pretty much confirmed my initial suspicions. It was not my kind of a movie. Probably a generation thing... |
| My rating | |
Post by: Achim on July 04, 2014, 06:17:20 AM
I never saw any of the brat pack movies (unless Ferris Bueller's Day Off counts, but I don't think it does), because they just didn't seem to be my kind of movies.There was two groups: The Brat Pack (I think they were basically all in the film "St. Elmo's Fire"; Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Emiio Estevez, etc.) and then there was the entourage around John Hughes (actors were Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Anthony Michael Hall, etc.). I would count this film to the latter, as with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".
I love John Hughes's movies (that includes "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"), but don't care for the ones of his clones, like Howard Deutch.
It's too long ago, I can't even remember which ones were the Brat Pack movies (besides the before-mentioned "St. Elmo's Fire").
Post by: Dragonfire on July 04, 2014, 06:52:07 AM
Post by: GSyren on July 04, 2014, 09:09:03 AM
John Hughes was primarily a writer/producer and only directed 8 movies. But I guess I would have been better off going with one of those? Well, looking at the plot summary for Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club neither description really appeals to me. But I guess I can give one of them a go eventually.
Post by: Achim on July 04, 2014, 09:51:28 AM
He directed 8 movies? I may be missing one or two then... :headscratch: I must complete my collection. :bag:
Let's see:
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Breakfast Club
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Uncle Buck
Sixteen Candles
Weird Science
...are the ones I own on Blu-ray so far. Which ones am I missing :hmmmm:
EDIT:
Obviously there is IMDb, and they say there is also
She's Having a Baby
Curly Sue
I can see how these don't come to mind immediately. I guess for now I am fine, they are no available on Blu yet. :whistle:
Post by: Dragonfire on July 05, 2014, 06:43:36 AM
Post by: Kathy on July 05, 2014, 10:11:20 PM
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is really good.
One of my favorite. The scene with the Car Rental Agent, played by Edie McClurg, gets me every time.
Post by: GSyren on July 05, 2014, 11:18:22 PM
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is really good.Hm, John Hughes w/o the brat pack? Sounds promising. Goes on my wishlist.
Post by: DSig on July 06, 2014, 06:04:48 PM
But of all the Hughes films, Planes, Trains and Automobile is probably my favorite. I don't know how many times I have seen it ... at the movies and on vhs then dvd but it just doesn't get old. :)
Post by: GSyren on July 08, 2014, 08:55:35 AM
I just watched an HBO documentary called ”Casting By” which I found really interesting. It focused mostly on Marion Dougherty, but also on Lynn Stalmaster and some other casting directors. I think that the real role of the casting director has been a bit of a mystery to a lot of people. I know I never really understood the importance of their work. So if you have a chance to catch this documentary, I think you should. It's really very good.
Post by: GSyren on July 08, 2014, 10:28:09 AM
| Title | The Funhouse (5-027035-008813) |
| (http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Funhouse-3D-BR-Mock-up.jpg) | |
| Director | Tobe Hooper |
| Actors | Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jeanne Austin, Jack McDermott, Cooper Huckabee |
| Produced | 1984 in United States |
| Runtime | 95 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | The carnival is a place for fun and laughter, but not for Amy and her friends. When their childish dare to stay all night in the spooky funhouse backfires, it leaves a trail of dismembered teenagers a mile long in Tobe Hooper’s classic video nasty era slasher. Will anyone escape the clutches of the stumbling madman that stalks to sideshow? Is there no end to the carnival barkers chilling sadism? The only way to find out is ascend into the funhouse, where the games have no rules and the only prize on offer is a grisly demise. Join us in The Funhouse. So much fun that you’ll never leave...Alive! |
| My thoughts | I bought The Funhouse on blu because I remember seeing pictures of the cool “monster”. But I should have known better. I should have remembered that I dislike movies with teenagers that do stupid things and end up in danger. It's a genre that just doesn't appeal to me. I like some of Tobe Hooper's films, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, Lifeforce and Invaders from Mars (even though I prefer the original). Not only do I dislike the genre, but I'm also so very tired of that old cliché “You think he's dead but he's not”. And they use it twice! Elizabeth Berridge looks so young in the opening sequence that when she goes topless you get the uncomfortable feeling of almost looking at kiddie porn. It wasn't really scary. It wasn't funny. It didn't have very inventive death scenes. The monster mask was nice, but that's about all, and not nearly enough to make this a good movie, as far as I'm converned. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on July 08, 2014, 10:45:08 AM
| Title | The Tingler (043396-077799) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51710idrE0L.jpg) | |
| Director | William Castle |
| Actors | Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman, Patricia Cutts, Pamela Lincoln |
| Produced | 1959 in United States |
| Runtime | 82 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Chinese, English, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai |
| Overview | Vincent Price stars as an obsessed doctor who discovers that fear manifests itself as a parasitic creature, which grows on the spinal cords of terrified people. If they scream, the Tingler can be destroyed. If they don't, it will sever the spinal column and kill them. He successfully isolates and removes the Tingler from a deaf mute (Judith Evelyn) who has been scared to death by her devious husband. Once captured, the Tingler escapes and runs amok in a crowded movie theater. Terror is loose, but can it be stopped? THE TINGLER is legendary horror director William Castle's magnum opus. After the success of HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, Castle devised a new gimmick called "Percepto" for THE TINGLER. Participating theaters would wire seats so that random moviegoers would get a tangible electric shock during climactic moments in the film. Another novelty used to maximum effect is the short color sequence depicting blood pouring from a faucet and filling a bathtub. Castle went on to direct more cult classics like HOMICIDAL and 13 GHOSTS and later produced the mainstream hit ROSEMARY'S BABY. |
| My thoughts | William Castle was a showman, and to properly appreciate films like The Tingler you should have seen it in a theater in the fifties with “Percepto” installed. Seeing it half a century later on a TV screen, it's just silly. It is saved to some degree by a fine performance by Vincent Price. They just don't make movies like this any more. And rightfully so. Ploys like that worked back then, but wouldn't – and couldn't – work today with the way we consumes movies. The Tingler is fun as a piece of fifties nostalgia, or if you're a fan of Vincent Price. But beyond that there is little to recommend it. I had fun watching it, though. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on July 08, 2014, 03:17:41 PM
Post by: GSyren on July 08, 2014, 05:18:13 PM
As far as I know, none of Castle's elaborate gimmicks were ever used in Sweden. I do remember, though, that they handed out "Ghost Viewers" for 13 Ghosts. I was seriously pissed when I bought the DVD and found that when it had been re-released it was entirely in b&w and without viewers, although it had the same UPC as the original that had colored ghosts and included the viewer. :redcard:
Post by: GSyren on July 16, 2014, 02:07:50 PM
| Title | Blow Out (5-027035-009599) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71z8XoJaOVL._SL1024_.jpg) | |
| Director | Brian De Palma |
| Actors | John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Peter Boyden |
| Produced | 1981 in United States |
| Runtime | 108 minutes |
| Audio | English PCM 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | One of Brian De Palma's most acclaimed films, this brilliant fusion of the obsessive sleuthing of Blow-up and The Conversation with themes drawn from real-life political scandals (the JFK assassination, Chappaquiddick, Watergate) starts with sound technician Jack Terry (John Travolta) accidentally recording what might be explosive evidence of a deadly conspiracy. Brilliantly shot by the then recent Oscar-winner Vilmos Zsigmond, this terrifically stylish thriller co-stars Nancy Allen as the eyewitness who becomes the unwitting target of John Lithgow's serial killer as he ruthlessly attempts to bury all the eveidence. It's also a film about the filmmaking process: Terry Is originally hired to work on the low-budget slasher film Coed Frenzy, and later turns his technical skills to much more serious use as he tries to reconstruct a political assassination on film in a way that will stand up in court. |
| My thoughts | I really liked Blow Out. It's an excellent thriller. Fine direction. Excellent cinematography. John Lithgow is fantastic. Not many people seem to have anything at all to say about Dennis Franz in this movie, but I thought he was really good. Sleezy good. John Travolta and Nancy Allen are OK, but... I get the feeling that Travolta got the role because he was a bankable star, rather than that he was the best actor for the role. He's not bad, mind you, far from it. I just felt that the role called for someone a bit older. Someone who is more or less stuck in the “sound for low budget horror movies” business. And with an older actor in the male lead, Nancy Allen wouldn't be the right for the female lead. So I wasn't 100% satisfied with the casting. While I had no problem with the ending, I didn't care so much for the things leading up to it; the whole thing from where Travolta's phone is tampered with and up to the ending. I'm not going into any more detail to avoid spoilers. So, a very good movie. Not perfect, but definitely good enough. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on July 22, 2014, 07:43:57 PM
| Title | Cat Girl (5-027626-399443) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81aIZHNzNlL._SL1341_.jpg) | |
| Director | Alfred Shaughnessy |
| Actors | Barbara Shelley, Robert Ayres, Kay Callard, Ernest Milton, Lily Kann |
| Produced | 1957 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 73 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Updating Val Newton's classic Cat People, this supernatural chiller stars scream queen Barbara Shelley as Leonora, a beautiful girl obsessed by the idea that she is heir to an ancestral curse causing her to develop the ferocious, predatory instincts of a leopard. Directed by Upstairs, Downstairs' Alfred Shaughnessy and an early showcase for Shelley's smouldering talent, Cat Girl is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. As much a drama of human relationships and mental conflict as supernatural horror, Cat Girl tells the story of the battle for Leonora's sanity by her psychiatrist, Dr Brian Marlowe, with whom prior to his present marriage she was in love. Convinced that Leonora's condition is merely a manifestation of anger and jealousy toward her unfaithful husband, he urges her to enter a sanitarium; but can Leonora hope to escape the curse that has afflicted generations of her family? |
| My thoughts | Although a UK/US co-production, AIP doesn't seem to have had much to do with the actual production, except to provide the scriptwriter Lou Russoff (and presumably some financing). It was produced by Insignia Films, the production arm of Anglo Amalgamated, and the UK print doesn't even mention AIP. The version shown in the US has, of course, the AIP logo, but apparently also some other minor changes from the UK version. See here (http://www.worldwidedvdforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=19725). The film is kind of a poor man's version of Cat People. It features Barbara Shelley in an early role. She is gorgeous, but I felt that there was something just a little bit unsure about her performance. Maybe just my imagination. The film isn't bad, it's just not all that interesting. It does have some atmosphere, but it pales in comparison with Cat People. OK if you like Barbara Shelley. And who doesn't? |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on July 31, 2014, 09:27:30 PM
I'm going to make a new attempt some day, but next time certainly not right after dinner... :-[
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on July 31, 2014, 11:55:25 PM
I'm going to make a new attempt some day, but next time certainly not right after dinner... :-[Good idea,
otherwise your next stop will be the birth-scene.
Post by: Achim on August 01, 2014, 11:37:34 AM
Post by: GSyren on August 01, 2014, 06:02:55 PM
Post by: GSyren on August 03, 2014, 06:26:30 PM
Post by: GSyren on August 03, 2014, 06:28:13 PM
| Title | Thunderball (Disc ID: A94A-29A2-30C6-68DA) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Terence Young |
| Actors | Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter |
| Produced | 1965 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 130 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | The thrills never let up as James Bond dives into this riveting adventure filled with explosive confrontations and amazing underwater action! Sean Connery brings his characteristic style and magnetism to agent 007 as he travels to Nassau to track down a villainous criminal who is threatening to plunge the world into a nuclear holocaust. |
| My thoughts | Thunderball is, in my opinion, the last of the really good films with Connery as Bond. It was rip-roaring fun when I first saw it in December of '65. Now it feels a bit long. But it's still a good film. It does have a few flaws, though. One is the very obvious continuity gaffe with Bond's face mask at the end of the underwater battle. Bond's blue face mask is ripped off, and he grabs a black mask off a dead baddie. In the next shot his mask is blue again, then black for a quick shot, then blue for the remainder of the sequence. The mask switching is not essential, and should have been edited out. Another flaw is the speeded up ending boat sequence. It makes the sequence look comical rather than exciting. But the worst thing in the film may not be a mistake at all. There is lettering on the side of the atomic bomb that reads “Warning. After hanging, bomb must be earthed”. The implications of this is that personnel that are allowed to handle atomic bombs may not have enough training to know this, but must read instructions on the atomic bomb itself. Now THAT is scary! But all in all it's still a very satisfying film. Few of the following Bond films would be as good as the four first ones, in my opinion. But my Bond marathon will go on regardless. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on August 04, 2014, 07:41:59 PM
| Title | From Hell It Came (883316-195321) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GXjLAUoRL.jpg) | |
| Director | Dan Milner |
| Actors | Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins, John McNamara, Gregg Palmer |
| Produced | 1957 in United States |
| Runtime | 71 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Tree of terror! Zombie vegetation stalks the living in a nifty-'50s screamfest. Beware Tabonga! On a remote South Seas island, no one is safe from this hideous... and unique... monster. Tabonga is part man, part tree, all doom. Formerly an island prince, he was unjustly put to death by a witch doctor. Now he's returned to life with roots, branches and a vengeance. Against natives. Against visiting American scientists who investigate the tree's radioactive green sap. Against anyone unwise enough to expect a tree to stay put. A macabre medley of creature feature, Polynesian kitsch and Atomic Age cautionary tale, From Hell It Came is the killer-tree movie you woodn't wont to miss! |
| My thoughts | I took a break from my Bond marathon in order to watch From Hell It Came. I had previously only seen a really crappy print of this film online. Seeing a quality widescreen print was a rather different experience. The film is deliciously silly. Being able to see the walking tree monster, Tabonga, clearly makes it even sillier, if that's possible. You really need to be a B-movie lover to enjoy this film. Or perhaps I should say “a Z-movie lover”? Everything about this film is bad. Apart from the monster itself, the worst thing is probably Linda Watkins' ludicrous attempt at a British accent. If you're in a mood for a so-bad-it's-good movie, this might fit the bill. If not, give it a pass! |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on August 07, 2014, 06:22:22 AM
Post by: GSyren on August 22, 2014, 11:24:38 AM
| Title | The Man with the Golden Gun (Disc ID: 7654-3EAA-D664-374B) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Guy Hamilton |
| Actors | Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Hervé Villechaize |
| Produced | 1974 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 125 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | James Bond has been marked for death, and he'll need all his lethal instincts and seductive charm to survive in this action-packed adventure! Roger Moore returns as Agent 007 and faces off in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with assassin Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee). Featuring a wild automobile chase though Bangkok and Bond's stunning confrontation with an entire martial-arts school. The Man with the Golden Gun delivers nonstop excitement! |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #9 I've never been a fan of the Bond films with Roger Moore. It's not that Moore is a bad actor, far from it. But he doesn't fit my image of Bond. But more than that, the scripts he was given doesn't fit my image of Bond either. There's just too much silliness in most of them. And this one is no exception. You might think that having two Swedish Bond girls would please me. Well, I do like Maud Adams, and I wish her character hadn't been bumped off so soon. Britt Ekland is another matter, though. Not only has she never been much of an actress, but her character is so silly and incompetent that you wonder how she ever got recruited to MI6 in the first place. Then there is Sheriff J. W. Pepper. Why? It was bad enough to have him in Live and Let Die. Reprising him here is just adding insult to injury. Sorry, Clifton James, I'm sure you're really better than this. This is one role you should have turned down. The car jump was spectacular, only they ruined it with that silly slide whistle sound. On the positive side we have Christopher Lee. He is excellent as usual. Along with the excellent production values, he is the saving grace in the film. Still, Bond is always Bond, so a mediocre Bond film is still entertaining. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on August 26, 2014, 07:15:41 PM
| Title | The Spy Who Loved Me (Disc ID: 2CDC-8069-EC43-CFF7) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Lewis Gilbert |
| Actors | Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens, Richard Kiel, Caroline Munro |
| Produced | 1977 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 126 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish |
| Overview | Nobody does it better than Bond, and he proves it once more in this explosively entertaining adventure that takes him from the Egyptian pyramids to the ocean floor and to a gravity-defying mountaintop ski chase! Roger Moore brings inimitable style to Agent 007 as he teams with beautiful Russian Agent Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) to stop the megalomaniac Stromberg (Curt Jurgens) from unleashing a horrific scheme for world domination. |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #10 The Spy Who Loved Me isn't the worst Bond film, but it is arguably the least original. It's just full of ideas pinched from earlier Bonds, most notably You Only Live Twice. At times it almost feels like a remake of YOLT. But there is also a fight on a train (done twice before in From Russia with Love and Live and Let Die) and a transforming car (into a plane in The Man with the Golden Gun, into a minisub here). We also get a glimpse of Willy Bogner's excellent ski photography which was so spectacular in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The best thing in Spy is the end of the pre-credit sequence; the skiing of a cliff with a parachute. As much as I disliked the character Jaws in this film, when I first saw Spy I just could not imagine that they'd bring him back in the next movie, and make him even sillier. Did the producers learn nothing from bringing back J.W. Pepper in The Man with the Golden Gun? Of course, not everything in Spy is bad. To begin with, Maurice Binder's credit sequences are always entertaining. The production values are always good in the Bond films. Barbara Bach and Caroline Munro are nice to look at. And I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Valerie Leon (the hotel receptionist). Remember her from Blood from the Mummy's Tomb? So, not only is the script derivative, it also stumbles a good bit over the fine line of silliness. And things are about to get worse (in Moonraker) before they get better... |
| My rating | |
Post by: Achim on August 27, 2014, 06:22:33 AM
Post by: DSig on August 27, 2014, 06:51:06 PM
Too bad we will never know.
Post by: GSyren on August 27, 2014, 11:26:12 PM
Most people seem to like Jaws as a Bond villain. I didn't. I thought the whole concept with the steal "teeth" was just over the top. And how did he get the jaw strength to bite off a chain? Nope, just too unrealistic. Not that the Bond films are all that realistic, but there is a limit.
Post by: DSig on August 28, 2014, 05:07:20 AM
Post by: GSyren on August 28, 2014, 12:50:21 PM
Jaws was certainly no Oddjob (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oddjob) (yea Harold Sakata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Sakata))i can't argue with that. He was certainly one of the best henchmen. Not many really stand out. Some "henchwomen" perhaps...
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on August 28, 2014, 02:16:58 PM
Post by: DSig on August 28, 2014, 04:11:20 PM
My favourite "Oddjob" will always be Nick Nack (http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/Nick_Nack)Oh No!!! not "da Plane .. boss da plane" :)
If you are going there then a better henchman (though not bondian) would be Verne Troyer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verne_Troyer) as the loveable Mini-Me (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini-Me) :clap:
Post by: GSyren on August 28, 2014, 06:53:38 PM
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on August 28, 2014, 11:11:45 PM
especially since he has a unique position in the Bond-Universe.
He was the only "henchman" to show subversive qualities, trying to get his boss out of the way.
Post by: GSyren on August 29, 2014, 10:11:06 AM
Post by: GSyren on August 30, 2014, 03:18:25 PM
| Title | Moonraker (Disc ID: 08EC-E8BA-5579-0F94) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Lewis Gilbert |
| Actors | Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel, Corinne Clery |
| Produced | 1979 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 126 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Commentary Dolby Digital Dolby Surround |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | James Bond blasts into orbit in this pulse-pounding adventure that takes him from Venice to Rio de Janeiro and to outer space! Roger Moore stars for the fourth time as Agent 007 and joins forces with NASA scientist Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) to prevent a power-mad industrialist (Michael Lonsdale) from destroying all human life on earth. |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #11 Moonraker is probably my least favorite Bond movie (with the possible exception of Quantum of Solace which bored me to sleep so I never finished it). I read the Bond books in the mid sixties, and formed my own view of what Bond should be. This one is about as far from that as can be. The precredit sequence gives a good picture of what the rest of the movie is going to be like. It starts out really good and then turns silly. Then comes the credits and the title song. It's so bland that not even Shirley Bassey's wonderful voice can save it. I didn't like Jaws in the previous picture, and I like him even less in this one. Some say that kids liked Jaws, and that's why they turned him into a silly nice guy. So is this a movie for kids? Two lab technicians killed slowly by nerve gas. Corinne Cléry's character being killed by dogs. No, this is not a movie for kids. And once again we're being served up re-used plot ideas. A transforming vehicle (done in The Man with the Golden Gun and The Spy who Loved Me), a boat chase where a boat is run over and cut into two (again The Man with the Golden Gun). Fighting atop cable cars? Well, at least they stole that idea from a good (non-Bond) film. And James Bond in space? If Ian Fleming was alive he'd turn in his grave! (Yes, I know!) In short – this isn't James Bond. I wouldn't have been half as annoyed if it had been Matt Helm, or even Derek Flint. But doing this to James Bond is heresy. Still, as with all the Bond films, this one has excellent production values. And if one can forget the “nonbondness” (which is hard for me, as you can tell), it is often quite entertaining. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on August 31, 2014, 10:01:12 PM
| Title | For Your Eyes Only (Disc ID: 1048-004D-3D42-AD24) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | John Glen |
| Actors | Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol , Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover |
| Produced | 1981 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 128 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | James Bond is thrust into one of his most riveting adventures in this jam-packed free-for-all of outrageous stunts. Passionate encounters and exciting confrontations. Roger Moore portrays agent 007 with lethal determination in a plot that finds him infiltrating the Greek underworld to locate a stolen device capable of controlling a fleet of nuclear submarines! |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #12 Those who know my Bond preferences will not be surprised that I consider that it would be an understatement to say that this film is a step up from Moonraker. It's actually a giant step up. This is easily my favorite of the Moore films. Thankfully there is very little silliness in it, apart from some one-liners (and I can live with those, despite the fact that they are quite “un-Fleming”). I didn't mind that they poked fun at Margaret Thatcher at the end of the film, but they could have left Denis out of it. The film does have its weak spots, though. They could have skipped the whole Bibi Dahl thing. Lynn-Holly Johnson may have been cute, but she was mostly annoying, and her character brought nothing to the film. Julian Glover is a fine actor, but he couldn't save Kristatos from being a rather bland Bond villain. Moore is starting to look a bit old. They should have turned the role over to Dalton after this. But what ultimately makes this a good Bond is that they keep the story quite realistic. And that mountain climbing sequence! I have seen this film at least three times before, but that sequence still makes my hands sweat. And the film has the best title song since Goldfinger, in my opinion. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on September 01, 2014, 12:37:26 AM
“un-Fleming”
IMO the only James Bond film that is not entirely "un-Fleming" is "In Her Majesty's Secret Service".
All others only use the name of a character originally created by Ian Fleming, even though some even pretend to be based on his books and therefore roughly use the original story-lines.
In fact one might even go so far to say that most of the films are nothing else but parodies of the original material.
Except for the Daniel Craig films (possibly), which at least present James Bond as a human being with doubts, fears and feelings and by this come as close to the character "James Bond" as none of the others (which mostly reduce him to a womanizer with a Licence-To-Kill and a whole lot of Gadgets by Q).
Post by: GSyren on September 01, 2014, 10:54:39 AM
I would certainly agree that many of the Moore films are close to parodies of Bond. Pretty much all of them, except For Your Eyes Only. I would say that the two first Connery films are pretty much in Fleming's spirit, and then the producers decided to take Bond in their own direction. The “gadgetryness” wasn't all that pronounced in the early Bond's, but slowly grew to ridiculous proportions. I always disliked the clearly impossible gadgets, especially the invisible car (in Die Another Day, wasn't it?). That might work as camouflage from a distance, but the concept of it rendering the car invisible from a short distance is absolutely ridiculous.
For me, Daniel Craig is the best Bond after Connery. Lazenby as OK, but a bit unpolished as an actor. Dalton had no-nonsense scripts, but there was something about him that didn't quite gel for me. I can't put my finger on it. I quite liked Brosnan, and after Goldeneye I had high hopes, but the films went downwards after that. I guess I can say pretty much the same thing for Craig and Casino Royale, although Skyfall was definitely better than Quantum of Solace.
Post by: GSyren on September 08, 2014, 08:03:00 PM
| Title | A View to a Kill (Disc ID: 8C64-36FE-074B-717C) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | John Glen |
| Actors | Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones, Patrick Macnee |
| Produced | 1985 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 131 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Overview | Roger Moore lends humour, elegance and lethal charm to his final performance as James Bond in A View to a Kill. Bond confronts Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), who has devised a plan to corner the world's microchip market, even if he has to kill millions to do it! But before Bond can stop the madman, he must confront Zorin's beautiful and deadly companion, May Day (Grace Jones). |
| My thoughts | What's wrong with A View to a Kill? Well... * Roger Moore is too old * Christopher Walken is too hammy * Tanya Roberts is too screamy * The script is too farfetched * Moore's stunt doubles are too obvious * The movie is too long * And Grace Jones is too... Grace Jones (for the film, that is) But it's not all bad. As usual, the production values are awesome. Especially the mine set – it's “mineblowing”. There are some nifty stunts. The car jump onto the bus is impressive. The jump from the Eiffel Tower looks good, except possibly for the very visible long platform that they had to erect in order for stuntman B.J. Worth to safely clear the tower. So, not one of my favorite Bonds. Definitely in the lower dozen. Still, even a bad Bond sticks in my memory. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Achim on September 09, 2014, 06:11:26 AM
I also agree with you, that For Your Eyes Only is easily Moore's best Bond film. They went somewhat back to the basics and Moore was less silly than in the other efforts, which obviously worked very well.
Post by: GSyren on September 10, 2014, 03:07:10 PM
| Title | The Living Daylights (Disc ID: 5065-9218-93D7-42E4) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | John Glen |
| Actors | Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies |
| Produced | 1987 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 131 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | Armed with razor-sharp instincts and a licence to kill, James Bond battles diabolical arms merchants bent on world domination in this thrilling, lightning-paced adventure. Timothy Dalton brings energy, humour and ruthless cunning to his debut performance as Agent 007. |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #15 For some reason I was not entirely happy with Timothy Dalton when I first saw The Living Daylights back in the eighties. Now I think he's quite good as Bond. Definitely better than Moore and Brosnan. After watching seven Moore films this one seems like a breath of fresh air to me. I never liked Bond as a comedy figure, the way most of the Moore films portrayed him, except possibly For Your Eyes Only. Dalton's Bond is all business and no joking around. That's the way I remember Bond from the books, and that's the way he should be portrayed, in my opinion. This film is also notably different from many of the previous in that the production design is much more restrained. Most of it is shot on location. Did they even use the huge 007 set in Pinewood? Maryam d'Abo is not very memorable as a Bond girl. Not quite as “dumb blonde” as Britt Ekland in The Man with the Golden Gun, though, thank goodness. None of the villains are megalomaniacs trying to take over the world. I liked General Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé). He's nothing special, just a dirty schemer pretending to want to defect. Joe Don Baker's character is a bit over the top, though. There are still a few excesses in the gadget department. I didn't mind the key ring too much, but I wish they had given Bond a normal car, and have him use skills rather that silly gadgets to get out of the tricky situations. But that's a minor grumble. Among the stunts there are two really outstanding sequences. First the fight on the car at Gibraltar, then the fight in the cargo net. Second unit director Arthur Wooster and stunt supervisor Paul Weston must have had their hands full. All in all a very satisfying and exciting Bond. Four well earned stars. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on September 21, 2014, 05:01:29 PM
Post by: GSyren on September 21, 2014, 05:03:13 PM
| Title | John Carter (Netflix) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FrG3hANLL._PI_PJStripe-HD-Only-500px,TopLeft,0,0_AA160_.jpg) | |
| Director | Andrew Stanton |
| Actors | Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton |
| Produced | 2012 in United States |
| Runtime | 127 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Swedish |
| Overview | From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Best Animated Film, WALL-E, 2008) comes John Carter - a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic novel, John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to Mars and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands. Stunning special effects, great characters and villains - and complete with extraordinary bonus features - John Carter is a heroic and inspirational adventure that will thrill you beyond imagination. |
| My thoughts | This seems to be a film that most people either love or hate. I didn't hate it, but I couldn't quite get into it, either. I found Taylor Kitsch to be a rather bland hero. He didn't do anything for me. And I tend to get hung up about details. I know it's a fantasy film, and I accept some things while other just annoy me terribly. Air, water and cities on Mars? Well, that's OK, mainly because this was written long before we knew what Mars is really like. And perhaps also to some extent because it is set in the 19th century. Carter's ability to jump is another matter. While the gravity on Mars is less than on Earth, his jumps are just ludicrous. I found the story somewhat disjointed (or was that just because I was getting bored). The CGI was mostly good, but good CGI doesn't impress me much these days. I liked Lynn Collins. I wouldn't mind seeing more of her. So it was not entirely a waste of time, but not something I'd care to revisit. |
| My rating | |
Post by: DSig on September 24, 2014, 02:03:07 AM
Post by: GSyren on October 13, 2014, 05:20:36 PM
Post by: GSyren on October 13, 2014, 05:22:22 PM
| Title | GoldenEye (Disc ID: A615-EDE8-2C76-C31E) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Martin Campbell |
| Actors | Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker |
| Produced | 1995 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 130 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | The effortlessly suave and sophisticated Pierce Brosnan makes his acclaimed debut as Agent 007 in this rip-roaring espionage thriller featuring the most eye-popping opening sequence yet! When an MI6 agent (Sean Bean) turns rogue and plans world domination with a terrifying satellite-borne weapon, Bond must pursue his former ally to Cuba, Monte Carlo, Switzerland and even Russia, all whilst dodging a sexy, deadly femme fatale (Famke Janssen) who will stop at nothing to put the 'squeeze' on the intrepid spy! |
| My thoughts | I like Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Unfortunately though, he only got one really good script – this one. I don't know if this script was initially meant for Timothy Dalton. It feels more like Dalton's two films than any of Brosnan's following films. I also think that Izabella Scorupco is the best Bond girl of the Brosnan films. Some may argue that Halle Berry is better, and as much as I like her, I wasn't all that impressed by her as a Bond girl. And Famke Jansen! Whoa! And this film introduces Dame Judi Dench as the new “M”. Damn, that woman can outact most of the rest of the cast. I love Judi Dench. The one character in GoldenEye that I don't care for at all is Boris Grishenko. Alan Cumming isn't a bad actor, not at all. I blame the screenwriter, not Alan. Boris is just too silly. Sean Bean is a great, though, as the villain. Joe Don Baker as the CIA agent? A bit too much comedy there for my taste. But not nearly as grating as Boris. Other than that, I like the story just fine, even if there are a few question marks. How come that in the precredit sequence Bond enters the Russians' headquarter at the bottom of that enormous dam, and end up at an airstrip on top of a mountain? But the jump from the top of the dam, that's one hell of a fine stunt. Many people call the other jump a stunt, the jump into the diving airplane. But that's not a stunt. It's an action sequence. So, all in all I really like this movie. Too bad Brosnan's next three were not of the same class. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on October 20, 2014, 02:21:01 PM
| Title | Tomorrow Never Dies (Disc ID: 027B-F4CB-5E4B-634A) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Roger Spottiswoode |
| Actors | Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Ricky Jay |
| Produced | 1997 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 119 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Music Only Dolby Digital Dolby Surround |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | Pierce Brosnan returns as the fearless, cunning and devastatingly cool Secret Agent 007 in this thrilling adventure! When a ruthless media tycoon (Jonathan Pryce) tries to destabilise the world economy by orchestrating a deadly standoff between world superpowers, in an attempt to achieve high ratings for his media conglomerate, Bond must step in to prevent World War III! Co-starring the gorgeous Teri Hatcher and Michelle Yeoh, this high-tech action-adventure will exhilarate Bond fans of all ages! |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #18 I think it's OK that you have to suspend disbelief to some extent in an action movie in general, and in a Bond movie in particular, but there is a limit. If there are too many implausible or impossible plot points, I just have a hard time enjoying the movie. Tomorrow Never Dies goes a bit over my acceptance threshold, but it doesn't totally ruin it. While the script is really weak, in my opinion, there are some nice action sequences. There are some nice minor parts that I enjoyed, like Teri Hatcher as mrs. Carver and Vincent Schiavelli as the hitman Dr. Kaufman. Geoffrey Palmer bitching with Judi Dench was a nice touch reminding me of the great British TV show As Time Goes By. Michelle Yeoh kicks ass, for sure, but wasn't terribly memorable as a Bond girl. Jonathan Pryce as the main villain was a bit too over the top for my liking. Götz Otto as the henchman, Mr. Stamper, wasn't too bad, but just not terribly interesting. As far as I'm concerned Brosnan is still OK as Bond. The real “give me a break” moment in the film is the helicopter hovering at a 45 degree angle. Not just implausible, but abso-f*cking-lutely impossible. But the pivotal idea in the film, misleading the Devonshire by sending a false GPS signal, is also too improbable. First off, GPS positioning relies on many satellites at the same time. If just one of them is off, this should be noticed. Secondly, the Devonshire would not be the only one affected. The rogue signal should have been spotted by others. And those were certainly not the only moments that stretched the imagination. I guess ones appreciation of the various Bond films depend a lot on how you were introduced to Bond; through the books or the films, and if the latter, which film and which actor. Personally I started with the two first films (Dr. No and From Russia with Love) and then read the books. So it's probably not too surprising that I prefer Sean Connery and the early Connery films. As the films go further away from Fleming's style, my appreciation of them diminishes. Still, if I try somewhat disregard that this is James Bond, and overlook some of the excesses, I can still enjoy the film. But I can only give it a fairly average rating. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on October 29, 2014, 04:15:27 PM
| Title | Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (5-060020-701641) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91GHlEMqtHL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Mary Lambert |
| Actors | Tiffany , Deborah Gibson, A Martinez, Kathryn Joosten, Kevin M. Horton |
| Produced | 2010 in United States |
| Runtime | 87 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | After doctor and activist Nikki Riley (Debbie Gibson) accidentally unleashes a python into the Everglades, rival doctor Terry O'Hara (Tiffany) is tasked with finding an expert reptile hunter - and when her boyfriend dies in the process, she resorts to extreme measures to create genetically enlarged gators to stop the slithering menace. Soon the swamp is a huge, scaly battleground between colossal gators and pythons - with a charity ball of potential human snacks in their path! Don't miss this mammoth spectacle of teen queens and man-eating monsters in a gargantuan duel to the death! |
| My thoughts | This is one where you need to be in the mood for a ”so bad that it's good” movie. It's supremely silly. And if any of the performers can actually act, they don't get much chance to show it. My guess is that if there are any that can act, they are the ones that get killed quickly. According to IMDb “Deborah Gibson is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, record producer and actress.” Well, I hope Debbie is a better singer/songwriter that an actress. And in fact, the same thing can be said of the other leading “actress”, Tiffany. But at least Tiffany isn't scrawny. However, to anyone complaining about this movie I say – A movie made by The Asylum for SyFy, what did you expect? And if you didn't check the company credits before you watched it, the title alone should have been a dead giveaway. And to the producers I say – If you're making a low budget horror movie that is supposed to take place in Florida, filming the ending at Bronson Caves may not be a good idea. I mean, Bronson Caves have been done to death in low budget films. And the surroundings don't look even remotely like Florida. The CGI creatures are – of course – horrible. And not in a good sense. But again, you kind of know that going in, so it's no big surprise. If I had expected a serious horror/scifi movie I would have given this half a star. And if I should only rate it by the awfulness that I expected, then I guess it would be five stars. But it has to be a compromise, so I'll settle for two stars. Any more would be misleading. By the way, the overview is grossly misleading. “After doctor and activist Nikki Riley (Debbie Gibson) accidentally unleashes a python into the Everglades...” there is nothing accidental about her releasing the pythons (plural). |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on October 31, 2014, 03:29:50 PM
| Title | The World is Not Enough (Disc ID: 8CA9-5291-FAE9-7192) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Michael Apted |
| Actors | Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane |
| Produced | 1999 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 128 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Commentary, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | The World Is Not Enough is an exhilarating but sophisticated, action-packed adventure. Pierce Brosnan returns as Bond, charged to protect a gorgeous billionaire heiress (Sophie Marceau) from the ruthless hands of a nuclear-obsessed terrorist Renard (Robert Carlyle), who wants control of the world’s petroleum supply. |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #19 I think I have watched TWINE three times before, and for some reason I don't dislike Denise Richards quite as much as I used to. I no longer consider her the worst Bond girl ever. That honor must – I am sad to say – go to Britt Ekland. But Denise takes a close second place. Sophie Marceau is another matter. She's really good. And hot. And Dame Judi Dench can do no wrong in my eyes. Robert Carlyle isn't bad as the villain, just underused and his role just isn't terribly interesting. Robbie Coltrane returns from Goldeneye as Valentin Zukovsky, but it's a rather bland role. The most cringe-worthy, next to Denise, is John Cleese as Q's replacement. Pierce Brosnan is still quite good in the lead, although he's not really Bond for me. The pre-credit sequence is very good. In fact most of the actions sequences are good, as they should be with Vic Armstrong (ex stuntman/stunt director) as second unit director. The problem is more in the script as nothing seems very fresh. The script is better than the one for Tomorrow Never Dies, but it has its flaws. Stockholm syndrome made Elektra King want to murder 8 million people for monetary gain? Thank God none of the people in the real Stockholm drama (a bank robbery in august 1973) went anywhere near that crazy! The head of MI6 going out into the field herself? Hardly! Some good, some bad makes this just a so-so Bond movie. But even so-so Bond movies can be quite entertaining. And it's a step up from Tomorrow Never Dies. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on November 02, 2014, 02:50:23 PM
| Title | Confessions of a Window Cleaner (Disc ID: 5F58-A69C-43ED-A036) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31O-VfxN5jL.jpg) | |
| Director | Val Guest |
| Actors | Robin Askwith, Anthony Booth, Sheila White, Dandy Nichols, Bill Maynard |
| Produced | 1974 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 87 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Dutch, English |
| Overview | In this bawdy romp of a film, Robin Askwith stars as Timothy Lea, a recent recruit in the window cleaning business. The laddish young hero soon finds himself 'getting a lot more' than he expected as he learns the 'ins and outs' of his new trade!.. |
| My thoughts | I'm guessing that the producers of this film had taken notice of the success of the Danish sex comedies of the early seventies. That trend started, I believe, with “Mazurka på sengekanten”, or possibly “Sangen om den røde rubin”, both made in 1970 with Ole Søltoft in the lead role. This lead to a whole number of Danish sex comedies with Søltoft. So maybe the producers thought that if the Danes could do it, so could they. This was of course not the first British comedy that toyed with sex, but this one turns it up a notch with unabashed nudity and onscreen (simulated) sex. They were not quite as daring as the Danish comedies where they would throw in hardcore sex with the supporting actors, though never with Søltoft. The jokes are moderately funny. Clearly the appeal with these films was not the humor, but the naked girls. Back in the seventies, before the advent of the Internet, this was probably thrilling for many, especially young men. Nowadays we can watch them with a smile, finding them quite amusing in their innocence, compared to what we get today. Although Linda Hayden was 21 at the time, she looks so young that it almost feels wrong looking at her in the buff. We do get some well know actors in supporting roles; John Le Mesurier, Joan Hickson, Richard Wattis, and Hammer regular Sam Kydd. So watching this today it is nostalgic, rather than arousing. But nostalgia can be quite fun. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on November 04, 2014, 11:08:42 AM
| Title | Killer Fish (853765-005205) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91UWOMUp%2BCL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Antonio Margheriti |
| Actors | Lee Majors, Karen Black, Margaux Hemingway, Marisa Berenson, James Franciscus |
| Produced | 1979 in Italy |
| Runtime | 101 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Death, deception and nature have gone wild, as piranhas protect a stolen emerald cache. Paul Diller (James Franciscus, THE CAT O'NINE TAILS, CITY ON FIRE) is the mastermind of a multi-million dollar jewel heist. The team, including Robert Lasky (Lee Majors, SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, THE LAST CHASE, STEEL) and his girlfriend, Kate Neville (Karen Black, Academy Award® nominee, FIVE EASY PIECES, THE PYX, DAY OF THE LOCUST), steal the gems and hurl them to the bottom of Brazil's deepest lake, which is then filled with deadly man-eating piranha. Soon, all members of the team are pitted against each other in a deadly battle of wits and a deadly battle against piranhas! Starring Margeaux Hemingway (LIPSTICK), Marisa Berenson (BARRY LYNDON) and Gary Collins (HANGAR 18), and featuring songs by chart-topping disco queen Amii Stewart (KNOCK ON WOOD), Scorpion Releasing is proud to present this title from a brand new HD master, in widescreen, for the first time anywhere in the world! |
| My thoughts | ”Killer Fish” is really a bit of a misnomer, because this is a heist movie and a disaster movie with killer fish (i.e. piranha) thrown in for good measure. Is it a good movie? No, but kind of fun if you're in the right mood. US actors, Italian crew, filmed in Brazil; that makes it quite an international picture, no? The miniature effects work is fairly good. A lot more interesting – in my opinion – than today's CGI extravaganzas. The acting, less impressive. But maybe that's because the script doesn't really call for any great acting. I think Lee Majors can do better that this. I know for sure that Karen Black can. And Margaux Hemingway? Well, let's just say that I think she's a better model that actress, and let it go at that. Director Antonio Margheriti (using his favorite pseudonym Anthony M. Dawson) wasn't a great director. He made some crappy movies, some so-so, and a few quite good ones, like "The Inglorious Bastards". This isn't one of his good ones, but not one of his worst either. “Killer Fish” hasn't been easy to find on home video. But now Scorpion Releasing has released a very good Blu-ray. Worth seeking out if this is your kind of entertainment. I liked it. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on November 04, 2014, 12:18:43 PM
| Title | Fantomas (7-319980-043864) |
| (http://s1.discshop.se/img/front_large/66541/fantomas_mannen_med_tusen_ansikten.jpg) | |
| Director | André Hunebelle |
| Actors | Jean Marais, Louis De Funès, Mylène Demongeot, Jacques Dynam, Robert Dalban |
| Produced | 1964 in France |
| Runtime | 100 minutes |
| Audio | French Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish |
| Overview | Criminal mastermind Fantômas, a man of a thousand faces, is unhappy with Fandor, a journalist whose written a fictive interview of him. He kidnaps Fandor, threatens to kill him, but first goes about ruining the journalist's reputation by committing a sensational crime in Fandor's guise. Hot on the trail is police Commissaire Juve, so Fantômas commits a crime looking like him. Soon, our intrepid heroes, Fandor and Juve, with the help of Fandor's girlfriend Hélène, are on the mastermind's trail, but who's in control? (From IMDb) |
| My thoughts | Apparently rather few people in the US have seen this film. According to IMDb, of those who voted for the film, 190 were US users and 4107 were non-US users. It's a pity, because it's a fun little film. Fantomas is a master criminal that is masterful in disguising himself as other people. It kind of foreshadows the TV show “Mission: Impossible”, except here it's the criminal that uses the disguises. He is chased by a reporter named Fandor, played by Jean Marais (who also plays Fantomas) and the bumbling cop Commissaire Juve, played by the wonderful comedian Louis de Funès. In on the chase is also Fandor's fiancée Hélèna, played by Mylène Demongeot. It's a fun chase, where Fantomas is always one step ahead of Fandor and Juve. It is, perhaps, a weakness of this film (and its two sequels) that it's a bit hard to decide who you're rooting for. It's certainly not Juve. It ought to be Fandor, but Fantomas is so resourceful that you kind of don't want to see him stopped. But he is the bad guy, so you feel he should be stopped. But in the end he isn't, and the ending leaves it wide open for a sequel. So much so that one feels almost cheated. While it isn't exactly a cliffhanger ending, it feels a little like it. Still, it's quite enjoyable, and if you get a chance to see it, you should grab it. It has been released on DVD in (at least) France, Germany and Sweden. None of them, though, have English subtitles, as far as I know. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on November 04, 2014, 01:13:40 PM
Sadly the films couldn't quite keep up with my memories of them.
Post by: GSyren on November 04, 2014, 11:16:36 PM
Post by: Achim on November 05, 2014, 05:30:22 AM
Loved the Fantomas Trilogy as a child and therefore ordered the Blu-ray release when it originally came out here.Same here! They were quite the rage when they ran on TV (in the mid-seventies...?). Unfortunately I had the same experience as you, when I rewetted them on DVD a while back. Not bad, but certainly not what my memory had promised me...
Sadly the films couldn't quite keep up with my memories of them.
Post by: GSyren on November 06, 2014, 11:05:05 AM
| Title | Godzilla (5-051892-163750) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91oNevfw0fL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Gareth Edwards |
| Actors | Aaron Johnson, CJ Adams, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen |
| Produced | 2014 in United States |
| Runtime | 123 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1, German DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English, German, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Overview | This spectacular adventure pits Godzilla™, this world's most famous monster, against malevolent creatures that, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence. |
| My thoughts | I hate special effects that's only there for the sake of special effects. And CGI lends itself very well for that. “Look at what we can do” doesn't impress me at all. I want my entertainment to come from the story, not from the effects. For me, overuse of special effects detracts from the story rather than adds to it. I much prefer old time practical effects that are there to support the story, not to overwhelm it. The feel of this film is more “Pacific Rim” than “Godzilla”. And I hated “Pacific Rim”. In defense of this film, at least Godzilla doesn't look just like an overgrown lizard, like it did in the 1998 film. Even though some of the Toho films in the Shōwa series (1954–1975) were supremely silly, I prefer the Japanese take on Godzilla. I would rewatch the worst of their films, probably “Son of Godzilla”, before I watch this one again. The only reason that I give it even 2.5 stars is that I knew what I was getting into. If I had had any kind of expectations for this film, my rating would surely be even lower. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Achim on November 07, 2014, 05:13:13 AM
Post by: GSyren on November 21, 2014, 10:18:49 AM
| Title | Good Guys Wear Black (Disc ID: 5679-D6E2-A5EC-0B9B) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91d03xa6EUL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Ted Post |
| Actors | Chuck Norris, Anne Archer, James Franciscus, Lloyd Haynes, Dana Andrews |
| Produced | 1978 in United States |
| Runtime | 96 minutes |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Undefeated six-time world karate champion, Chuck Norris, stars as John T. Booker, an ex-Vietnam commando whose war actions have landed him at the top of the CIA's hit list. Secret negotiations, dirty tricks, State Department cover-ups, a politically inspired murder plot. The headlines of the recent past come to life in "Good Guys Wear Black." Aided by a beautiful Senate Investigator, Norris unravels a devious scheme of treachery and intrigue in this stunt-filled, action-packed thriller, filmed against the backgrounds of championship auto racing, the ski slopes of Squaw Valley and the backrooms of Washington, D.C. |
| My thoughts | Good Guys Wear Black isn't a very good film, but it's interesting because it's an important film in making Chuck Norris an action icon. It's not his first starring role. That would be in Breaker, Breaker. But it's his first successful starring film. Chuck was, of course, discovered in Way of the Dragon in 1972, fighting with Bruce Lee. But that was a minor part that didn't call for much real acting. Six years later, Chuck has improved his acting skills, but still has a way to go. Good Guys Wear Black was still being written while they were shooting it, according to director Ted Post in later interviews. Maybe that's why the script seems kind of clunky. Chuck and his brother Aaron did the fight choreography, and it's painfully apparent that they haven't figured out yet how to do this for a movie. The fight scenes just aren't very interesting. The most interesting stunt is that when Chuck finishes off the bad guy by jumping through the windshield of an oncoming car. And even that isn't handled especially well. And it's actually not even Chuck doing it, but his brother Aaron. I guess the producers didn't want to risk Chuck getting hurt, even though he was certainly capable of doing the stunt himself. This film is also noticeable for having one of the least convincing airplane explosions in cinema history. It's a pity, because up until then the film didn't look that cheap. Ted Post had mostly directed TV shows, but he also had a few very good feature films under his belt, like Hang 'em High, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Magnum Force, so it's a bit disappointing that this one didn't turn out better than it did. So, apart from the film's historical interest, the only reason to watch it is a young Anne Archer, who looks gorgeous, and who does a good job acting, too. I wouldn't say that Chuck was ever an outstanding actor, but if you just want a Chuck Norris movie, there are a lot of better ones out there. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on November 30, 2014, 09:58:28 PM
| Title | Casino Royale (Disc ID: 1BF9-8B0C-13B0-DFCE) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Martin Campbell |
| Actors | Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright |
| Produced | 2006 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 149 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, Japanese DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Chinese, Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | James Bond, on his first mission as 007, faces off with a ruthless terrorist financier in a high stakes poker game that will teach him his most important lession: trust no one. |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #21 Casino Royale is a very good Bond movie. And Daniel Craig is a very good Bond. If I hadn't grown up with Connery's Bond I might even have thought Craig was the best. There are two things about Casino Royale that I don't like, however. When they decided to reboot Bond they should have wiped the slate clean. As much as I love Judi Dench (and that's a lot), I think it was wrong to keep her as M. Secondly, I find the film too long. As technically impressive as the Venice segment is, I wish they had found a good way to end the movie before that. But that said, this is way, way better than Die Another Day. And way better than almost all Moore films. Not that Roger Moore was a bad actor, quite the opposite, but he got shitty scripts if you ask me. Pierce Brosnan was good in Goldeneye, but then he got shitty scripts, too. Is it a coincidence that Goldeneye was directed by Martin Campbell, just like this one? Probably not. I give this a strong 4 stars, same as the four first Connery films. |
| My rating | |
Post by: Piffi on November 30, 2014, 11:34:04 PM
And i will agree with you on Daniel Craig as Bond. Him and Sean Connery is my two favorites ;)
Post by: GSyren on December 01, 2014, 01:08:19 AM
Post by: GSyren on December 04, 2014, 02:19:28 PM
| Title | The Island of Dr. Moreau (5-037899-056325) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91FTsCEBTRL._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Don Taylor |
| Actors | Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport, Barbara Carrera, Richard Basehart |
| Produced | 1977 in United States |
| Runtime | 99 minutes |
| Audio | English PCM 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | None |
| Overview | Crewman Andrew Braddock (York) survives the wreck of the sailing ship The Lady Vain. After several days at sea in a lifeboat, he reaches the shores of an island governed by the mysterious scientist "Dr. Moreau" (Lancaster). Though welcomed as an honored guest by Moreau, Braddock finds his contact with the natives increasingly disturbing, for they are not like any men he has ever seen before. Eventually, it becomes apparent that these men are, in fact, the hybrid products of Moreau s experiments upon various species of wild animals. Braddock becomes so shocked and curious that Moreau explains to him that he has invented a serum with a genetic human gene that can transform many wild animals into human beings giving them human characteristics. Braddock finds himself threatened by both the 'manimals' and the sinister Moreau, who he suspects has plans to experiment on him. |
| My thoughts | Although this version of The Island of Dr. Moreau is technically very good, I really prefer the 1932 version (Island of Lost Souls). The makeups in this version look too much like Planet of the Apes, and for good reason. The man who created the (admittedly fantastic) ape makeups – John Chambers – was responsible for the makeups here, too. This movie starts out too slow, in my opinion, and never gets as creepy as the 1932 movie. And while Burt Lancaster is very good, he cannot match the sadistic creepiness of Charles Laughton. And Bela Lugosi's Sayer of the Law is unparalleled. Richard Basehart doesn't come anywhere near Bela's performance. Opinions vary a great deal about Michael York's acting. Personally I'm not overly impressed by it. But on the other hand I'm no great fan of Richard Arlen's performance in the original either. Neither of these films is one where the protagonist shines. The ending is a bit of a let-down. As originally shot, it was clear that Maria (Barbara Carrera) was turning back into her animal form. But apparently this was deemed to downbeat, so in the finished film we just get a very quick glance of her looking a bit haggard, but we cannot really tell if she is reverting or not. There are some nice stunts by Tony Epper (of the famous Epper stunt family). I thought this movie we OK, but nothing more than that. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on December 05, 2014, 02:58:02 PM
| Title | Quantum of Solace (Disc ID: 3E4D-FE55-F7B7-3C23) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915XBg%2BLh0L._SL1500_.jpg) | |
| Director | Marc Forster |
| Actors | Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini |
| Produced | 2008 in United Kingdom |
| Runtime | 106 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Subtitles | Danish, English, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | On a nonstop quest for justice that crisscrosses the globe, Bond meets the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who leads him to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a ruthless businessman and major force within the mysterious Quantum organisation. When Bond uncovers a conspiracy to take control of one of the world's most important natural resources, he must navigate minefield of treachery, deception and murder to neutralise Quantum before it's too late! |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #22 Who? What? Why? Where? How? Those are the lingering impressions of Quantum of Solace. It's a directorial and editorial mess. And the screenplay doesn't seem to be much to boast about, although it's not easy to tell given how the director has screwed it up. The best thing I can say about this film is that it is the shortest of all Bond movies. And still it feels too long. After the excellent Casino Royale this is a terrible letdown. In my opinion easily the worst Bond movie. And that's saying something, given how little regard I have for some of the Moore movies, especially Moonraker. Fortunately things became better with Skyfall, and hopefully Bond #24, Spectre, won't be anything like this mess. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on December 06, 2014, 04:14:13 PM
| Title | Skyfall (5-039036-058315) |
| (http://s10.postimg.org/gb5n13wqx/5039036058315_4f.jpg) | |
| Director | Sam Mendes |
| Actors | Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris |
| Produced | 2012 in United States |
| Runtime | 143 minutes |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, Russian DTS 5.1, Other Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Subtitles | Chinese, Commentary, Danish, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Icelandic, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Other, Russian, Spanish, Swedish |
| Overview | Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in SKYFALL, the 23rd installment of the longest-running film franchise in history. In SKYFALL, Bond's loyalty to M (JUDI DENCH) is tested as her past returns to haunt her. 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong and agents around the world are exposed. MI6 is attacked forcing M to relocate the agency. These events cause her authority and position to be challenged by Mallory (RALPH FIENNES), the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee. With MI6 now compromised from both inside and out, M is left with one ally she can trust: Bond. 007 takes to the shadows – aided only by field agent, Eve (NAOMIE HARRIS) – following a trail to the mysterious Silva (JAVIER BARDEM), whose lethal and hidden motives have yet to reveal themselves. |
| My thoughts | Bond marathon #24 In order to wash away the foul taste of Quantum of Solace I felt I had to revisit Skyfall as soon as possible. And it's so much better than its predecessor. It's almost as good as Casino Royale. Daniel Craig is as good as ever. Judi Dench is in top form. Even though I have said that I didn't really think she was right for the reboot, I'm sad that this is her last appearance as M. Judi Dench is actually one of my favorite actresses ever. If I didn't have so many unwatched TV shows I would start re-watching her in the wonderful “As Time Goes By”. It may seem redundant to accuse a Bond film to go over the top. That is, after all, one of the trademarks of the series. Still, there are a couple of scenes that are just a bit too unbelievable for my taste. One such scene is the fall from the bridge in the opening sequence. A really skilled diver might have survived such a fall, if it was well controlled. A shot man, out of control? No way. Another thing that was just a bit too unbelievable was the underground (subway) train crashing down. Are we to believe that Silva went to all the trouble of rigging that just in case he was to be closely followed, and that a train happened to be coming just at that very opportune moment? That just stretches the imagination a bit too far for my taste. (It's the wrong train, by the way. They're supposed to be on the District line, but it's a Jubilee line train.) It was fun to see a Swedish villain. We have seen several Swedish Bond girls, but as far as I can remember, this is the first time we see a Swede in a villainous role. Not the main antagonist, but still. It's the first time I see Ola Rapace in an action role, so that was fun. Javier Bardem is a great actor, but there was something about his character that seemed a bit too off for my liking. The new Miss Moneypenny sure is a different take from the old one. But that's OK by me. Ralph Fiennes as the next M? I can live with that. It seems that Sam Mendes is set to direct the next two Bond movies as well. I have no problem with that. As long as they keep Marc Forster away from the series... |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on December 10, 2014, 10:39:53 AM
| Title | The Girl Who Knew Too Much (5-027035-011912) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71AwqVkTJ%2BL._SL1024_.jpg) | |
| Director | Mario Bava |
| Actors | Letícia Román, John Saxon, Valentina Cortese, Titti Tomaino, Luigi Bonos |
| Produced | 1963 in Italy |
| Runtime | 86 minutes |
| Audio | Italian PCM Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Subtitles | English |
| Overview | With a nod to Hitchcock and a wink in the direction of Agatha Christie, The Girl Who Knew Too Much inadvertently created a genre that would dominate Italian cinema for years to come: the giallo. A young American secretary with a taste for lurid paperbacks witnesses a murder whilst visiting Rome or does she? Nobody will believe her, but she appears to have stumbled upon the work of a serial killer active ten years earlier. The victims surnames began A, B and C... and hers begins with the letter D! Starring the striking Letícia Román and John Saxon (Enter the Dragon, Tenebrae, A Nightmare on Elm Street), The Girl Who Knew Too Much is presented in both its original Italian version and the longer US cut, entitled Evil Eye, that was re-edited and re-scored by American International Pictures. |
| My thoughts | Mario Bava was a great cinematographer before he became a celebrated director. Well, perhaps not so much celebrated while he was active as he became later. The Girl Who Knew Too Much was, I am told, his last black-and-white film. This film is very much style over logic. And unfortunately I sometimes have a problem with films like that. If I had watched it at another time, I might have enjoyed it more. Or perhaps not. Still, there is no denying that Bava had immaculate style. This film is beautifully shot. One can wonder what it was like to be a cinematographer on a film directed by a cinematographer turned director, but in this case it wouldn't have been a problem, because Bava did both jobs. I guess Italy didn't have the kind of trade unions that the US had (and has). Anyway, the result is that this film looks great. Leticia Román isn't bad in the lead role, but she's not exceptionally good either, in my opinion. I know many people really liked her performance, but I feel that a more accomplished actress could have elevated the film. John Saxon, on the other hand, is quite good. This is said to be “ground zero” of the Italian giallos. This kind of story has been made many times over since The Girl Who Knew Too Much, and perhaps that's part of the reason that it didn't impress me all that much. It might have been different if I had seen it back in the sixties. So while style over logic doesn't sit that well with me, I can't overlook that the style is very impressive. And although the story is kind of weak, it is still entertaining, so I'll give this a strong three stars. |
| My rating | |
Post by: GSyren on December 19, 2014, 09:51:03 PM
| The Name of the Game Is Kill (089859-885228) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HBdm4R3tL.jpg) |
| United States 1968 | Released 2013-04-02 on DVD from VCI Entertainment |
| 83 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Gunnar Hellstrom and starring Jack Lord, Susan Strasberg, Tisha Sterling, Collin Wilcox, Mort Mills |
| VCI Entertainment presents JOE SOLOMON's 1968 psychological thriller, "THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL", from screenwriter, GARY CRUTCHER ("STANLEY"), and television director, GUNNAR HELLSTROM ("GUNSMOKE"). Lost for over four decades, audiences will at last be able to experience this drive-in suspense film on a special edition DVD, restored from archival film elements and LOADED WITH EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES. While hitchhiking along a desert highway in rural Arizona, Hungarian refugee and drifter (JACK LORD- "HAWAIl 5-0") is given a lift by an attractive young girl (SUSAN STRASBERG-“THE TRlP") to a nearby ‘ghost town’. There her family, consisting of her two sisters and their estranged mother, manage an old gas station. One by one, the sisters reveal to him clues to their shattered past. Slowly, the drifter becomes entangled in their web of deceit and desire, leading to "one of the most surprise shock endings ever filmed!" Co-starring COLLIN WILCOX (“TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD") and TISHA STERLING ("COOGAN'S BLUF F"), this 1960‘s drive-in thrille will keep you spellbound! |
| My thoughts about The Name of the Game Is Kill: |
| The Name of the Game Is Kill is a title that has been virtually impossible to find on home video until now. That fact alone makes it interesting. The DVD release from VCI uses a copy of the film that is probably the best there is. It is far from perfect, though. It is soft and the colors are not very vibrant. Don't ever expect to see it released on Blu-Ray. But if it's a title that you're interested in, don't wait. It's extremely unlikely that it'll ever get better than this. The film is said to have a shock ending. Well, I didn't find it shocking, and in fact I saw it coming long before the end. But the film is kind of creepy and disturbing, so it's not without entertainment value. Jack Lord (before his stint as Steve McGarrett in Hawaii Five-O) is quite good, and so is Susan Strasberg. The fact that the film is directed by Swedish actor/director Gunnar Hellström made it a bit extra interesting for me. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on December 20, 2014, 11:25:26 AM
| Daylight (025192-026720) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516KPJ6GTNL.jpg) |
| United States 1996 | Released 1998-05-26 on DVD from Universal Home Video |
| 114 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Rob Cohen and starring Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, Jay O. Sanders |
| Rob Cohen directs and Sylvester Stallone stars in this urban underwater disaster drama with big-bang special effects by Industrial Light & Magic. An accidental explosion rips through a jammed commuter tunnel beneath the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey, sealing off both ends and trapping a diverse band of survivors inside. A disgraced former emergency medical services chief manages to reach them and then struggles through fire, noxious gases, explosions, collapsing walls, massive flooding and rats to lead them to daylight Daylight co-stars Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, Jay O. Sanders, Karen Young, Claire Bloom and Vanessa Bell Calloway. Director Cohen works again with Executive Producer Raffaella De Laurentis, with whom he made Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and Dragonheart. |
| My thoughts about Daylight: |
| Daylight was one of the early movies in the second wave of disaster movies, the first wave having been inflicted on us in the seventies. This second wave was made possible by the advent of computer graphics (CGI). As you may have gathered from my previous reviews, I'm not a fan of CGI overuse. I have two rules of thumb when it comes to CGI. First, only use special effects in general, and CGI in particular, where it is necessary for telling the story. Second, use CGI only where practical effects are not possible. Fortunately Daylight is rather restrained in the use of CGI. I especially like that they built a good stretch of tunnel at Cinecittá in Rome. This really helps to sell the confined feeling. Daylight reminds me a lot of The Poseidon adventure. It's a group of people trapped under water after a major accident, trying to get to the surface. The main difference is that the lead character, played by Sylvester Stallone, is not involved in the initial disaster, but goes in volontarily, knowing that he cannot go back out the same way, and knowing that there may not actually be a way out. So, is this a good movie? Well, the story does have some flaws, but that's true of most disaster movies. The movie has gathered some very varied reactions. Some people hate it, some love it. Having seen it at least twice before, I still had a good time rewatching it. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on December 20, 2014, 06:49:12 PM
Post by: GSyren on December 20, 2014, 07:21:59 PM
Post by: DSig on December 20, 2014, 10:38:11 PM
Post by: GSyren on December 26, 2014, 10:53:03 AM
| Dinoshark (5-060020-701207) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81r2Attj9WL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2010 | Released 2011-05-09 on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment |
| 90 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Kevin O'Neill and starring Eric Balfour, Iva Hasperger, Aaron Diaz, Dan Golden, Humberto Busto |
| It was frozen in glacial ice over 150 million years ago. Global warming has just hatched it in the Arctic. And now, it has traveled to Puerto Vallarta for a massive Mexican buffet of sailors, swimmers, lifeguards, jet skiers, horny tourists, bikini babes and more. It thrives in warm water. Bullets will not pierce its prehistoric armor. And it can leap out of the ocean to devour helicopters and parasailers. Can a rogue fishing boat captain and a sexy science teacher stop this ravenous pilosaur before it takes a monster bite out of the local fiesta and all-girl water polo tournament? Eric Balfour (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Skyline) and Iva Hasperger star – along with award-winning B-movie producer Roger Corman himself – in the top-rated SyFy sensation about the blood-crazed primeval mutation called DINOSHARK! |
| My thoughts about Dinoshark: |
| I give this 1/2 star for the film itself, plus 1 1/2 star because it had Roger Corman in a "real" role, rather than just a cameo, which is all that I have seen before. And I knew coming to this what a Corman produced monster movie was likely to be like, so I was well prepared. Sometimes you just want a silly monster movie, and this is just that. So no regrets. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on December 27, 2014, 02:51:50 PM
| King Kong (883929-055609) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91TBm5MbzoL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 1933 | Released 2010-09-28 on Bluray from Turner Entertainment Company, Warner Home Video |
| 104 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.37:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, Portuguese Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack and starring Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher, Sam Hardy |
| IN THIS VERY SPECIAL BLU-RAY™ RELEASE, the newly remastered film is presented in its 1933 entirety and includes scenes that were originally considered too shocking for the 1938-1956 rereleases. a film ahead of its time, King Kong defied the technological limitations of the 1930s. Special effects pioneer Willis O'Brien's revolutionary stop-motion animation was not only technically brilliant but also highly imaginative. With equal parts adventure, horror and old-fashioned romance, King Kong is a milestone of moviemaking that has endured for more than seven decades. |
| My thoughts about King Kong: |
| The original King Kong (1933) is my favorite film. I don't know how many times I've seen it; in the theater (sadly once only), on VHS, on Laserdisc, on DVD, and on Blu-Ray. I feel a bit sorry for those who cannot recognize what a great picture this is. Back in '33 I guess part of its success was its groundbreaking technical achievements. That's not quite as impressive today, if you compare it to modern effects. But even so it is still a great picture. One of the reasons is that Willis O'Brien had something that very few animators have. He had a fantastic ability to infuse his animation models with a personality. That makes Kong much more than just a moving puppet. Kong Kong takes its time to build up the suspence. It actually takes time to let us get to know and care for the main characters. It doesn't just leap into action sequences like so many of todays movies do. So I guess if you're only weaned on modern action films, King Kong may seem slow for the first part of the movie. Of course, if you do apprectiate the intricacies of the technical effects - and I do - then you can watch this movie over and over and still marvel at them. But even if you don't then you should be able to just be entertained by a great story. And remember, most of the people who have made a name for themselves in visual effects in Hollywood were inspired either directly by King Kong, or indirectly through Ray Harryhausen's films, and it was King Kong that inspired Ray to go into stop motion animation. So we owe so much to this film in general, and to the artistry of Willis O'Brien in particular. It just doesn't get "five-starier" than this for me! |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on December 27, 2014, 07:55:14 PM
Post by: GSyren on December 30, 2014, 10:46:57 AM
| True Romance (883929-075560) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61unjRYvzDL._SL1200_.jpg) |
| United States 1993 | Released 2009-05-26 on Bluray from Warner Home Video |
| 121 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Tony Scott and starring Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman |
| Runaway lovers Clarence and Alabama (Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette) play a dangerous game when they come to possess a suitcase of mob contraband. They head for Los Angeles, where they'll sell the goods and begin a new life. But both sides of the law have other ideas. Screenwriter Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown) and director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Spy Game) shoot the works in this hard-edged mix of hip wit and dazzling action with an electrifying ensemble cast to die for. |
| My thoughts about True Romance: |
| It's funny how the same movie can have different impact on me depending on the mood I'm in at the time. When I watched True Romance on DVD 13 years ago, I rated it three stars (which for me means just OK). The blu-ray release has been waiting in my unwatched pile for 4 years, but now seemed a good time to watch it. And I liked it a whole lot better than last time. And that's strange, because as a general rule I like graphic violence less now than I did 13 years ago. There are a lot of excellent actors in this movie. I have to admit I haven't been a great fan of Christian Slater, but he is very good in this one. Gary Oldman is marvellous in one of those creepy roles that he excels at. And we have Patricia Arquette, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini, and Tom Sizemore, just to mention a few of the good actors in this movie. Tony Scott was a very good director; perhaps somewhat overshadowed by his big brother Ridley, but still excellent in his own right. True Romance is just one in a string of great movies. I have 10 of his movies in my collection, and a few where he was producer or executibe producer. One of those - The Grey - is still in my unwatched pile. I'm glad I decided to revisit True Romance. It's a very good movie, and it deserved to be viewed when in the right mood. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on December 30, 2014, 05:10:58 PM
Post by: GSyren on December 30, 2014, 07:28:21 PM
Post by: DSig on December 31, 2014, 01:20:36 AM
Post by: GSyren on December 31, 2014, 10:21:12 AM
| Doctor Who: The Invasion (5-014503-182922) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q%2B3hL8%2BOL.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 1968 | Released 2006-11-06 on DVD from 2 entertain Video |
| 194 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Steve Maher, Douglas Camfield, Douglas Camfield, Douglas Camfield, Steve Maher, Douglas Camfield, Douglas Camfield, Douglas Camfield, Douglas Camfield, Douglas Camfield and starring Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Sally Faulkner, Kevin Stoney |
| Investigating the disappearance of an eminent scientist, the Doctor and his companions follow his trail to the London headquarters of International Electromatics, a global supplier of electronic equipment run by the formidable Tobias Vaughan. Teaming up with the newly-formed United Nations Intelligence Taskforce - UNIT - under the command of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, it soon becomes apparent that Vaughan is working to his own sinister agenda. As Cybermen invade in cities all over the world, can the Doctor convince Vaughan to help him defeat their plan for global domination? This story was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 2nd November - 21st December 1968 |
| My thoughts about Doctor Who: The Invasion: |
| I only watched a couple of episodes of the "new" Doctor Who on TV, so I decided to watch some on Netflix. I had watched a couple of episodes of the second season - the one with David Tennant as the Doctor - when I saw that the next episode was Rise of the Cybermen. And I realized that I had one of the old Cybermen stories on DVD in my unwatched pile. So I figured I ought to watch that first. And I did. The Invasion is from Season Six of the old series, in B&W, with Patrick Troughton as the Doctor. The thing about The Invasion is that 2 of the 8 parts are missing video. Only the audio track (and the shooting script) remains. But rather than shelving the story, BBC decided to recreate the missing parts as animation. It makes for a slightly odd experience, but I am glad that they did it. It's quite a fun story. Of course the invasion of "hundreds of Cybermen" looks a bit tame when the budget only allows for six of them. But they are well used, so it doesn't hurt the story too much. I'm no Who expert, but I think this is only the second time that UNIT is mentioned in the series, and the first time it played a major part. I believe that the good Doctor had encountered the Cybermen several times before, though. The image quality is a bit rough, but since this was shot on video back in 1968, that's not really surprising. These old TV shows are really quite fun, as long as you can accept the technical (and budget) limitations of the time, and let your imagination do the rest. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on December 31, 2014, 10:40:15 AM
| Everything or Nothing (5-039036-058704) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81i-PhDFd5L._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 2012 | Released 2013-01-28 on DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 94 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Stevan Riley |
| A new feature documentary from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Passion Pictures and Red Box Films, Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007. Directed by Stevan Riley (Fire In Babylon) and produced by Simon Chinn (Man on Wire, Searching for Sugar Man) and John Battsek (Searching for Sugar Man, The Imposter), Everything or Nothing focuses on three men with a shared dream – Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman and author Ian Fleming. It's the thrilling and inspiring narrative behind the longest-running film franchise in cinema history which began in 1962. |
| My thoughts about Everything or Nothing: |
| James Bond is a phenomenon. I'm old enough to have experienced this phenomenon from its start. In its cinematic form, that is. I had not read any James Bond books before I saw the first Bond films. But I soon rectified that. I have seen the Bond films many times over, but I have not re-read any of the books since the 1960's, so I'm really much more familiar with the movie Bonds. By its name, you'd think that Everything or Nothing was all about the movie Bonds. After all, that is what the "EON" in EON Productions stands for. But fortunately this documentary details a lot more than that. We get a lot of info about Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, and also about Kevin McClory who collaborated on the story on which Fleming based Thunderball. McClory subsequently got the remake rights to the story, and remade it as Never Say Never Again. The documentary may not uncover any earth-shattering scoops, but it does delivery many interesting tidbits of information in its many interviews. This is certainly a worth-while watch for any Bond fan. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on January 02, 2015, 10:01:06 AM
| Attack on the Iron Coast (5-037899-056394) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/A1E5sEUmFqL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 1968 | Released 2014-11-10 on DVD from 101 Films |
| 90 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Paul Wendkos and starring Lloyd Bridges, Andrew Kier, Sue Lloyd, Mark Eden, Maurice Denham |
| Commando Major Jamie Wilson plans an audacious Combined Operations raid on the Axis held French port of Le Clare; if destroyed the Germans would be stripped of their only dry dock capable of servicing their large battleships. Wilson's plan, code named Operation Mad Dog, is to ram a destroyer packed with tons of explosives into the outer gate of the dock. Opposed to Wilson is Royal Navy Captain Owen Franklin, whose own son was killed on Wilson s disastrous last raid on the French coast. Under pressure from Winston Churchill, Wilson's plan is given the go-ahead even though the naval craft requested for the mission are reduced to a minesweeper replacing the destroyer, no escort craft and only four motor launches. |
| My thoughts about Attack on the Iron Coast: |
| Objectively Attack on the Iron Coast is probably a rather mediocre film. But I'm rather partial to these type of "war adventure" films. And after watching Sea Hunt, I'm a fan of Lloyd Bridges. From what I gather, this film is loosely based on a real event. That makes it a little bit more interesting than if it was all fictional. The script does leave something to be desired, though. The portrayal of the German officers is rather stereotypical. Walter Gotell and George Mikell are both fine actors, but they don't get a chance to show it. They are given much better roles in The Guns of Navarone, which is, by the way, a much better film. The special effects, courtesy of Les Bowie, vary quite a bit. The shots of the ships at sea suffer from poor depth of focus, which immediately makes them look like the miniature setups that they are. But Les probably did the best he could with the budget he was given. The explosions in the German docks looked better. This is probably not a film that would suit everybody. It was just right for me, though, so I'll give it 3 1/2 stars. Be aware that this is a highly subjective rating, though. Oh yeah, the DVD is 1.85:1, non-anamorphic! On a DVD that was released 2014! WTF 101 Films? |
| I (still) rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on January 03, 2015, 02:29:45 PM
| Return of the Killer Shrews (802993-214804) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71eEBkFRA5L._SL1000_.jpg) |
| United States 2012 | Released 2013-10-22 on DVD from Retromedia Entertainment |
| 84 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Steve Latshaw and starring James Best, John Schneider, Jennifer Lyons, Jason Shane Scott, Rick Hurst |
| When Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) returns to the island of Killer Shrews after many years he discovers that the Killer Shrews haven't just survived, they absolutely thrived under the care of mad doctor, Bruce Davison. The stars of the original DUKES OF HAZZARD, James Best, John Schneider and Rick Hurst go monster hunting in this shocking tale of nature gone wild! |
| My thoughts about Return of the Killer Shrews: |
| Apparently a sequel to The Killer Shrews has been a running joke between James Best and Steve Latshaw for many years. They should have kept it running. I don't know exactly what they were aiming for; horror, parody or comedy, but I do know they failed miserably, whatever their goal was. Was the bad CGI shrews supposed to be a reference to the original bad dogs masquerading as shrews? Well, fail! The dogs were much better. I thought everyone in Hollywood knew that you cannot make a "so bad it's good" movie on purpose. I just doesn''t work. It has to be a genuine, but very flawed, effort. And there is no way that they thought they were making an actual horror movie. The only reason I don't give this half a star is that I really like James Best, and he is pretty much the only thing worth watching in this mess. There are a few Dukes of Hazzard references that are amusing, but that's pretty much it. I used to like John Schneider in Dukes, and in a few other movies, but he's totally wasted here. And God knows what possesed Bruce Davison to take this horrible role. Is he really that hard up? It says something when the song over the end credits is the best thing in the movie. As for the DVD, the best thing about it was that it had the original Killer Shrews as an extra, in it's proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Small comfort... |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on January 05, 2015, 04:16:07 PM
| Kid Galahad (Disc ID: 2C6C-1ABB-CC74-FC92) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915H%2BLBvTfL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 1962 | Released 2007-07-24 on DVD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 100 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Phil Karlson and starring Lola Albright, Joan Blackman, Charles Bronson, Elvis Presley, Gig Young |
| Immortal heartthrob Elvis Presley stars as Walter Gulick, an ex-G.I. who returns to his rustic hometown in upstate New York looking for work as an auto mechanic. Ambitious but naïve, he's reluctantly roped into becoming a boxer by dubious manager-turned-innkeeper Willy Grogan (Oscar®-winner Gig Young, 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They,' Actor in a Supporting Role, 1969). With his loyal trainer Lew Nyack (screen legend Charles Bronson) at his side, the iron-jawed, anvil-fisted Elvis quickly becomes the top-drawing champion "Kid Galahad." But when the mob tries to muscle in on the action, the cool-headed fighter is forced to pull no punches in the ultimate bout to protect his honor and his dreams. The mesmerizing voice of Elvis, a romantic soundtrack, and breathtaking scenery makes this popular musical remake a knockout hit for the entire family. |
| My thoughts about Kid Galahad: |
| What's wrong with Kid Galahad? Well, for a start it's a musical remake of a much better old non-musical movie. And it's the kind of musical where people (in this case Elvis) bursts out in song ever so often with absolutely no good reason. I'm pretty sure that Pete wouldn't like this movie. And Elvis isn't really a very good actor. And the story is rather predictable. And it is, to a large part, about boxing (which isn't a sport that I like). However — it is Elvis in the early sixties, when he was still good looking and not fat and bloated like he was in the middle seventies. That's my Elvis, the Elvis that I grew up with. And furthermore the film has several other actors that actually are great, like Charles Bronson, Gig Young and Robert Emhardt. And Ned Glass, who always reminds me of Charade. So this is another example of films that work for me if I'm in the right mood, and I was today. No great art, but pleasant enough. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on January 17, 2015, 10:59:53 AM
| River of Death - Fluss des Grauens (4-260261-437694) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61EomO66l4L.jpg) |
| United States 1989 | Released 2013-03-11 on DVD from KSM Klassiker, Hollywood Classics, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 97 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: German Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Steve Carver and starring Michael Dudikoff, Robert Vaughn, Donald Pleasence, Herbert Lom, L. Q. Jones |
| This jungle adventure features an extremely complicated plot that involves a megalomaniacal Nazi doctor who continues to perform inhuman experiments in the Amazon jungle and helms the Lost City of the Nazis, a mecca for war criminals and new followers. He is pursued by three vengeful people: a former colleague whom he double-crossed near the end of the war, a young woman who saw him murder her father, and an angry American physician, whose daughter the doctor kidnapped after they came to the jungle to help the ailing Indians who are dying from a mysterious disease. In addition to coping with each other, the searchers must also deal with the usual Amazon dangers, including ferocious cannibals, before they can make it to the hidden city and get their revenge. The plot is an adaptation of an Alistair McLean novel. ...River of Death ( Alistair MacLean's River of Death ) |
| My thoughts about River of Death - Fluss des Grauens: |
| First they filmed Alistair MacLean's great books, like The Guns of Navarone. Then they filmed MacLean's good books, like Force 10 From Navarone. Then they filmed his OK books, like Puppet on a Chain. And when little else was left, they filmed River of Death. Maybe they thought "Hey, we've got Donald Pleasence. We've got Robert Vaughn. We've got Herbert Lom. We've got a great script. Now all we need is a great leading man — let's get ... Michael Dudikoff!" Well, three out of five ain't bad. Pleasence, Vaghn and Lom are great actors. Unfortunately, the script is not great. It's not even good. It's not... well, you get the idea. And let's face it, if those three cannot save the script, do you really think "Dudi" is going to do it? Well, he doesn't. One sure fire warning sign: Voice-over narration. Nine times out of ten that signifies a bad script. It works in old noir films, but outside of that it usually means that they just failed to tell the story cinematically. It's not that the film is really terrible, it's just boring most of the time. Occasional pyrotechnics isn't enough to lift it out of the mire. Steve Carver may not be a great director, but he has certainly made a lot better films than this one. I'm still hoping that his Steel from 1979 shall be released on DVD (or blu-ray). Bottom line, unless you are a MacLean, Carver, Pleasence, Vaughn, Lom or Dudikoff completist, there is no real reason to waste an hour and a half of your life on this film. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: Achim on January 19, 2015, 06:06:13 AM
Maybe they thought "Hey, we've got Donald Pleasence. We've got Robert Vaughn. We've got Herbert Lom. We've got a great script. Now all we need is a great leading man — let's get ... Michael Dudikoff!" Well, three out of five ain't bad. Pleasence, Vaghn and Lom are great actors. Unfortunately, the script is not great. It's not even good. It's not... well, you get the idea. And let's face it, if those three cannot save the script, do you really think "Dudi" is going to do it? Well, he doesn't.In the late eighties Dudikoff had been some level of action star; nothing like Schwarzenegger or Stallone, of course, but for the direct to video type of films. The other three were available cheap, as their stars had waned and they probably needed cash to pay the bills. I mean, Pleasance did those Halloween sequels as well... So they made another Dudikoff film (I have never seen one, but assume they are all of similar quality as this one) and added the other three guys to broaden the audience...? Many old stars went this route in those days, like Christopher Lee and I-am-running-out-of-examples-already...
Post by: GSyren on January 20, 2015, 11:47:16 AM
| Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (5-051368-257433) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91MXr48RjwL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2014 | Released 2014-06-02 on Bluray from Paramount Home Entertainment |
| 106 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 2.40:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, Lenn Kudrjawizki |
| "Look out Bond and Bourne... Ryan's back" in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, the origin story of Tom Clancy's most iconic character. The thrills are non-stop as CIA recruit Ryan (Chris Pine) is caught in a dangerous web of intrigue spun between his unsuspecting fiancée (Keira Knightley), a shadowy government agent (Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner*), and a ruthless Russian criminal (Academy Award® nominee Kenneth Branagh**). Ryan must quickly evolve from analyst to fully-fledged operative to stop a devastating terrorist plot against the United States. The stakes have never been higher in this "clever, super-suspenseful" thrill ride. *Director; Best Picture, Dances with Wolves, 1990 **Actor in a Supporting Role, My Week with Marilyn, 2011; Adapted Screenplay, Hamlet, 1996; Short Film, Swan Song, 1992; Actor; Director, Henry V, 1989. |
| My thoughts about Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit: |
| Well, here's another case of a movie that I didn't have any high expectations for. In fact I had very low expectations. Chris Pine as a young Harrison Ford character? No way! Well, it turns out that Chris Pine isn't the problem with this film. It's the script. It's definitely below par. And Keira Knightley trying to pass for an American. If they wanted an American, why didn't they cast one. It's not that there is a shortage of US actresses that could play that part. I wonder if that was Kenneth's idea? If you turn your brain off, this film can be moderately entertaining. But I wouldn't really recommend it. If you're looking for brainless action movies there are far more entertaining stuff to be had. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 05, 2015, 11:23:43 AM
| The Boxtrolls (5-053083-022105) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91jhBIPaCYL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 2014 | Released 2015-01-26 on Bluray from Universal Pictures |
| 96 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English DTS ES 6.1 (Discrete), French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Arabic Dolby Digital 5.1, Hindi Dolby Digital 5.1, Dutch Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Dutch DTS 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi and starring Steve Blum, Dee Bradley Baker, Max Mitchell, Ben Kingsley, Jared Harris |
| From the creators of Coraline and ParaNorman comes a magical family adventure about heroes in all shapes and sizes: The Boxtrolls. Quirky, mischievous and good-hearted, these box-wearing creatures have lovingly raised a human boy named "Eggs" (voiced by Isaac Hempstead Wright) in a charming cavern below the bustling streets of Cheesebridge. But when evil Archibald Snatcher (voiced by Ben Kingsley) decides to capture the lovable misfits, it's up to Eggs and his feisty young friend, Winnie (voiced by Elle Fanning,) to save the Boxtrolls. Also featuring the voice talents of Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Toni Collette and Tracy Morgan, critics are calling The Boxtrolls "a delectable treat!" (Brian Truitt, USA Today) |
| My thoughts about The Boxtrolls: |
| I was really excited to see The Boxtrolls. I loved Coraline and ParaNorman, so I had very high hopes for the next film from Laika. And technically it is absolutely brilliant. I love the stop-motion. In fact, I love almost everything about this movie — except the story. It just didn't grab me the way that their previous stories have done. And that's kind of a big thing. If I hadn't seen Coraline and ParaNorman, I might have given this four stars. But now that I know that Laika can do better storywise, I don't feel that it's worth more than three and a half. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 07, 2015, 04:31:47 PM
| Lost Horizon (851789-003375) |
| (https://images.sae-cdn.com/gifs/large/22926.jpg) |
| United States 1973 | Released 2012-12-04 on Bluray from Twilight Time |
| 149 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 2.40:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Music Only DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Michael York |
| Uber-producer Ross Hunter's sumptuous 1973 musical version of James Hilton's best-selling novella, Lost Horizon, spotlights a charming Burt Bacharach/Hal David score and an all-star cast, including Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Michael York, Olivia Hussey, Bobby Van, James Shigeta, Charles Boyer, and John Gielgud. When their plane crash-lands in the Himalayas, a disparate group of travellers is rescued by residents of the Utopian valley of Shangri-La; gradually, they discover that the community's inhabitants enjoy perfect health and harmony and the possibility of living well beyond the normal human life span—but only if they remain within Shangri-La's narrow confines. Stunningly photographed by Robert Surtees, with extravagant costume design by Jean Louis. |
| My thoughts about Lost Horizon: |
| For a very long time I did not know that there was a remake of Lost Horizon. It was only when I checked someone's films (it may have been Liv Ullman) on IMDb that I learned of it. I also learned that it had quite a bad reputation, but it still intrigued me. So when Twilight Time released it on blu-ray, I could not resist. Now, watching it was an interesting experience. It's not the worst film I have ever seen. I have seen some truly awful films. But it is probably the worst musical I have ever seen. The late, great, Roger Ebert put it so well that I feel I have to quote him: I don’t know how much Ross Hunter paid Burt Bacharach and Hal David to write the music for “Lost Horizon,” but whatever it was, it was a too much. Not that the movie would have been better if the music were better; no, the movie is awful on its own. How true! With one or two exceptions, the song and dance numbers are truly awful and excruciatingly boring. Actually, the only number that I liked was Bobby Van doing a song and dance with a group of small kids. And I liked the kids better than Van. This was Hermes Pan's penultimate job as a choreographer in the movies (and his last in the US). It's obvious that he had lost the touch, and one would have wished that this once great choreographer would have ended his career on a higher note. The best thing I can say about Lost Horizon is that it looks great. Twilight Time has done a very good job with the blu-ray. So if you happen to be one of those masochists who actually like the movie, then you'll want this. The rest of you, beware. And Pete, if anyone tries to talk you into watching this — just say NO. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on February 09, 2015, 05:29:28 PM
Post by: GSyren on February 09, 2015, 05:53:39 PM
Just kidding :surrender:
Post by: DSig on February 09, 2015, 11:05:58 PM
Post by: GSyren on February 09, 2015, 11:24:55 PM
Post by: DSig on February 10, 2015, 05:13:29 PM
Of course it is hard to go wrong with Richard Burton, Justin Hayward, David Essex, Chris Thompson, Phil Lynott.
And when Thunder Child heads out .. YEOW!!
Post by: GSyren on February 17, 2015, 03:33:30 PM
| The Black Scorpion (888574-100049) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81uv08iMS1L._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 1957 | Released 2014-12-09 on DVD from Warner Home Video |
| 88 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro, Carlos Muzquiz |
| They're big. They're bad. They scuttle along in caverns miles beneath the Earth – until an earthquake opens paths to the surface. Now, these monsters of genus Arachnida are invading our world with deadly force! With top special effects co-designed by King Kong's Willis O'Brien, The Black Scorpion is horror with a sting more lethal than the king-sized ants that overran Los Angles' sewers in the classic Them! Can humankind survive thses invincible juggernauts? That fate rests on the shoulders of Hank Scott (1950's monster-movie stalwart Richard Denning) as the creatures rip a train from its track, snatch a helicopter from the sky and, in the film's most gripping sequence, battle each other in their subterranean lair. Watch out! |
| My thoughts about The Black Scorpion: |
| I recently double-dipped on The Black Scorpion because it was finally released in its proper widescreen format. Unlike what many seem to think, the animation in this film was not done by Willis O'Brien. It was done by Pete Peterson. And it's a quite remarkable achievement since Peterson suffered from multiple sclerosis. O'Brien is credited as Supervisor of Special Effects. You can read more about Pete Peterson here (http://www.roguecinema.com/pete-peterson-stop-motions-forgotten-man-by-philip-smolen.html). The Black Scorpion may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it certainly didn't deserve being ridiculed in MST3K. It's a fine example of fifties monster bug movies. Yes, it starts out slow, but that's the way most of these films did it. They built up to the reveal of the monster(s). The worst aspect of the movie is the silly close-ups of the drooling scorpion head. They don't match the animation model, and they're used way too long and too often. Another problem is that they apparently ran out of money before they could finish all the effects, so a few of the animation scenes just have the black matte of the scorpion, presenting it as a silhouette. But it kind of works anyway. Finally, the little Mexican boy, Juanito, is really both annoying and unnecessary. But all this doesn't stop me from liking this movie. I guess it helps that I'm a huge fan of fifties monster movies in general, and stop motion movies in particular. On first viewing I rated this movie three stars. Now, after seeing it in widescreen, I add half a star to that rating. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 20, 2015, 10:47:46 AM
| Anaconda (Disc ID: 123E-EAED-891E-3350) |
| (http://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/00/07/48/31/94/3/2468cf4c-44b8-41e8-a2c3-8645a243e5a3.jpg) |
| United States 1997 | Released 2009-12-09 on DVD from Columbia TriStar Home Video |
| 86 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.35:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, English Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, German Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Luis Llosa and starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde |
| Anaconda stars JENNIFER LOPEZ (The Wedding Planner), rap superstar ICE CUBE (XXX: State of the Union), Academy Award®-winner JON VOIGHT (1978 Best Actor, Coming Home) and ERIC STOLZ (Almost Famous). A documentary film crew heads into the Amazon where they meet a man who is searching for a legendary snake. When they find the snake a wild, thrill ride begins. ANACONDA will grab you and take your breath away. |
| My thoughts about Anaconda: |
| I am a glutton for punishment, right? Well, I must be. I was browsing one of my favorite DVD retailers' website, and I noticed a box set sale. One of the box sets was the Anacondas set. I had never seen any of them, but I knew about Anaconda. Not a good film, but with some good actors, especially Jon Voight. So how could a crappy film like that spawn three (count'em three) sequels? I was intrigued. Now, I'm sure lots of people were intrigued by that fact, but that wouldn't make them want to buy that box. Well, guess what ... So I started at the beginning, and my hunch was correct. Anaconda isn't a good film. It does have some moments, but it's also silly as hell. Let's admit it, though — Jon Voight owns this movie. He is so over-the-top that he overshadows everyone else. Except possibly the snake. Or snakes, actually. Because there must have been (at least) two different giant anacondas. Either that, or the snake has some incredible regenerating powers. What else can you say about Anaconda? Well, let's just say that it wasn't nominated for an Academy Award® for best script. But then again, few movies in this category are nominated for anything, except possibly the Razzie® awards. And I don't know who we have to thank for that WTF moment near the end, when the boat backs away and the waterfall runs oh so visibly backwards, the editor or the director? Okay, I have to admit that I had some fun watching this movie, because I knew what I was in for, and I was in the right mood. Will watching the sequels be as smooth sailing? I kind of doubt it. As I said, glutton for punishment ... |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 21, 2015, 10:22:06 AM
| Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (Disc ID: 7B45-8677-3645-979F) |
| (http://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/00/07/48/31/94/3/2468cf4c-44b8-41e8-a2c3-8645a243e5a3.jpg) |
| United States 2004 | Released 2009-12-09 on DVD from Columbia TriStar Home Video |
| 93 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.40:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Dwight Little and starring Johnny Messner, Kadee Strickland, Matthew Marsden, Nicholas Gonzalez, Eugene Byrd |
| The blood orchid is a rare flower that holds the secret of eternal life. A scientific expedition is sent deep into the jungles of Borneo to locate the legendary plant. Battling their way upriver, the explorers are unaware they're being stalked by a nest of giant anacondas, fifty-foot-long flesh-eaters who'll stop at nothing to protect their breeding ground. |
| My thoughts about Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid: |
| I came to this movie with very low expectations. After watching Anaconda, I expected the sequel to be even worse. To my surprise I liked it about as much as I liked the first one. I really don't know why. One thing that I liked about it was that it actually had an explanation for why the anacondas had grown so big. Unfortunately it was a totally bogus explanation. As before, the quest is one for money. But the target is not the anacondas, they are just an obstacle on the route. The target is the Blood Orchid, which is said to have properties that prolong life. So obviously they would be of immense worth in medicinal applications. And the reason why the anacondas grow so big is that they keep growing throughout their whole life, and they live where the orchids grow, they eat the orchids and thus get very old (and big). Farfetched much? Never mind that anacondas aren't even herbivores. The movie also has a couple of really annoying characters. The worst is Burris (Eugene Byrd). He is so damned whiny that you wish one of the anacondas would come and finish him off. But no. The whole thing is a jungle (mis)adventure, where one thing after another goes wrong, mostly not due to the snakes. And for the most part the snakes actually look pretty good. Until the end, that is, when they become just too much. Still, not entirely unenjoyable if your in the right mood. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 25, 2015, 10:23:57 AM
| Bullitt (Disc ID: 2A7D-4211-AF07-FD9C) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91QqZ1dn8CL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 1968 | Released 2012-05-01 on Bluray from Warner Home Video |
| 114 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, French Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Peter Yates and starring Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall |
| His new assignment seems routine: protect a star witness for an important trial. But before the night is out, the witness lies dying, and cool, no-nonsense Detective Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) won’t rest until the killers are nailed. Bullitt crackles with crisp dialogue and iconic scenery of San Francisco. This Oscar® winner for Best Film Editing (1968) features one of film’s most memorable car chases. |
| My thoughts about Bullitt: |
| Well, I noticed that Piffi just got Bullit on blu, and I watched it a few days ago, so I thought I'd share my views on it. And hopefully we'll hear Piffi's reactions some time later. There had been many car chases on film, but Bullit set a new standard back in 1968. I remember seeing it on the big screen back then, and what a roller coaster ride it was! If you haven't seen Bullitt in a cinema, you haven't really seen it. You can re-live it at home on DVD or (preferably) on blu-ray, but you can never really get the full experience unless you watch it on a big cinema screen. That said, it's still a whopping good time watching it on blu, and don't let what I just said stop you if you haven't had the chance to watch it "properly" before. Steve McQueen is in top form here. And to be fair, the film is much more than just the car chase. Many people describe Bullitt as a rogue cop movie, and a precursor to Dirty Harry. I don't see it like that. Frank Bullitt refuses to be bullied by the politician Chalmers, and does some things that aren't in the book in order to pursue the truth. But he is nowhere near the indifference to the individual's rights that Harry Callahan displays. Bullitt may be a bit slow compared to today's slam-bang movie making, but how anyone can describe it as boring is beyond me. I truly feel sorry for anyone who is so jaded as to think that. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: Piffi on February 25, 2015, 05:26:49 PM
Post by: GSyren on March 21, 2015, 10:37:54 AM
| Love me tender (7-340112-705220) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91SRAmHsFTL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 1956 | Released 2013-10-23 on Bluray from Fox-Paramount Home Entertainment |
| 90 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.35:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, German DTS 5.1, Italian DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Polish Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Robert Webb and starring Elvis Presley, Richard Egan, Debra Paget, Robert Middleton, William Campbell |
| Moviegoers were introduced to Elvis Presley in this film set during the dying hours of the Civil War. Elvis sings four songs, including the title song. The year is 1865, and the three Confederate Reno brothers don't know the war has ended. They manage to steal a Union Army payroll, and head for home with the money. While Vance (Richard Egan) can think only of the love of his life, Cathy (Debra Paget), it turns out that the brothers have been reported dead, and Cathy has married their youngest brother Clint (Elvis Presley). Vance accepts this until he learns that Cathy still loves him. To complicate things, the U.S. Army knows of the brothers' theft and is hunting them down. |
| My thoughts about Love me tender: |
| Love Me Tender was a blind buy for me. I did not know what to expect, but I did not expect this. Love Me Tender feels a bit like it's suffering from split personality. On the one hand it's a fairly good B-movie western. On the other hand it is an Elvis movie. Or perhaps I should say "an Elvis movie wannabe". Anyway, the two does not mix very well. Elvis' routines seem very anachronistic in an 1865 setting. Love Me Tender is the one and only Elvis movie where Elvis does not receive top billing. And it is probably also the only Elvis movie where Elvis was an afterthought. And that explains the duality of the movie. There are no real big names in the cast, but many competent actors like Richard Egan, Debra Paget and Neville Brand. And in uncredited small roles actors like L. Q. Jones and Dick Sargent. If you're expecting a "regular" Elvis movie, then you probably will be disappointed. If you watch it as just another B-movie western, you'll be OK if you can disregard the rather uncalled for musical numbers. I had no problems with that, so I thought it was fine enough. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on March 21, 2015, 06:24:42 PM
Post by: GSyren on March 23, 2015, 09:57:15 PM
I think quite a few of Elvis' films are very entertaining, but they don't call for any great acting. I thought Flaming Star showed that Elvis had good potential as a serious actor. It would have been fun if he had been allowed to do both kinds of films.
Post by: GSyren on March 23, 2015, 10:28:03 PM
| Diary of a Madman (883904-237914) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DpqbsqKcL.jpg) |
| United States 1963 | Released 2011-01-28 on DVD from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 97 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.66:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Reginald Le Borg and starring Vincent Price, Nancy Kovack, Chris Warfield, Elaine Devry, Ian Wolfe |
| Vincent Price turns in a classic performance as a sculptor, possessed by an evil spirit, who hires a model (Nancy Kovack) to pose for him – then learns she has been brutally murdered. |
| My thoughts about Diary of a Madman: |
| A so-so horror movie that is saved largely by Vincent Price. I can't remember seeing Price give a bad performance, and he's good in this one, too. Based very loosely on "The Horla" by Guy de Maupassant, this seems to be an attempt to cash in on the Poe films by Roger Corman. I liked Nancy Kovack, too. I remember her from Jason and the Argonauts, and I have seen her in a few other minor film roles, and in some TV show episodes. I'm surprised she didn't have a better career. An OK movie, but Price's performance can't quite make up for the rather pedestrian direction. Still, if you're a Price fan (and shame on you if you're not) you should see it. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on March 26, 2015, 02:58:04 PM
| The Long Goodbye (5-027035-010717) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71Z5TziAp2L._SL1024_.jpg) |
| United States 1973 | Released 2013-12-16 on Bluray from Arrow Academy, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) |
| 112 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 2.35:1 | Audio: English PCM Mono, Special Effects PCM Mono |
| Directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson |
| When private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) is visited by an old friend, this sets in train a series of events in which he’s hired to search for a missing novelist (Sterling Hayden) and finds himself on the wrong side of vicious gangsters. So far so faithful to Raymond Chandler, but Robert Altman’s inspired adaptation of the writer’s most personal novel takes his legendary detective and relocates him to the selfish, hedonistic culture of 1970s Hollywood, where he finds that his old-fashioned notions of honour and loyalty carry little weight, and even his smoking (universal in film noir) is now frowned upon. Widely misunderstood at the time, The Long Goodbye is now regarded as one of Altman’s best films and one of the outstanding American films of its era, with Gould’s shambling, cat-obsessed Marlowe ranking alongside more outwardly faithful interpretations by Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum. |
| My thoughts about The Long Goodbye: |
| I feel a bit guilty for not loving The Long Goodbye. Perhaps I just had the wrong expectations. I knew that many people rated this film so very highly. I'm not sure what it was about it that didn't click with me. I really liked Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe, though. The story seemed a bit convoluted, but then again so do many film noir stories. Well, maybe it was just the wrong film at the wrong time for me. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on March 28, 2015, 11:47:49 PM
Post by: GSyren on March 30, 2015, 10:00:46 AM
| Night and the City (5-035673-006153) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71PRGNKvTuL._SL1124_.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 1950 | Released 2007-10-15 on DVD from BFI (British Film Institute), Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 92 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.37:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Hugh Marlowe, Francis L. Sullivan |
| Richard Widmark delivers an indelible performance as Harry Fabian, a small-time American nightclub tout and desperate dreamer who tries to worm his way into the wrestling rackets of post-war London. In his path lie the formidable obstacles posed by a vengeful club owner Phil Nosseross (Francis Sullivan) and the racketeer Kristo (Herbert Lom). The club owner's sultry wife (Googie Withers) schemes with him, and a long-suffering girlfriend (Gene Tierney) does her best to save Harry from himself. Like many a noir hero before him, Harry thinks he can outrun his fate. He's wrong. Jules Dassin, under suspicion in Hollywood for his political beliefs, made the film at great speed, shooting night scenes in a London still shattered and skeletal from wartime bombings. Adapted from the lowlife novel by Gerald Kersh, Night and the City is a baroque masterpiece of corruption, paranoia and doom. |
| My thoughts about Night and the City: |
| It's always fun to see films shot on location in London. Although there is not a lot of it that I recognize in this film. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. The film itself is very good. It's an interesting story, and I always liked Richard Widmark. Hugh Marlowe seems a bit wasted. Not sure why they would cast such a well known actor in such a nothing role. But other than that, the casting is really good. One would never guess that wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko had no previous acting experience. Herbert Lom looks really menacing, a far cry from his later Chief Inspector Dreyfus character. But there are also a lot of great characters in smaller roles. I really liked the uncredited Maureen Delaney as Anna O'Leary late in the film, for example. Apart from some old Hammer films, I haven't seen a lot of British film noir. But this is an excellent example of the genre, directed by the great Jules Dassin. I always thought that Dassin was a Frenchman. His name sounds French, and his best known film - Rififi - is French. It wasn't until I started reading about this film that I realized that Dassin was in fact a US citizen, born in Connecticut. But this is really Widmark's film. He was a great actor, and he really shines here. I wish Dassin would have had the opportunity to use him in other films, too. They make a great combination. And they make a very good film. Highly recommended. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on April 05, 2015, 01:53:59 PM
| Streets of Fire (5-028836-040279) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71RlKh7RlJL._SL1098_.jpg) |
| United States 1984 | Released 2013-11-18 on Bluray from Second Sight, Universal City Studios |
| 94 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.85:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English PCM 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Walter Hill and starring Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe |
| WALTER HILL'S classic, highly stylized 'rock & roll fable' has gained a huge cult following since its original 1984 release and with its backdrop of rain-drenched, neon-lit streets is one of the most visually iconic films of the decade. Big time rock singer Ellen Aim is playing her hometown when she is grabbed from the stage by local bike gang The Bombers, led by the menacing Raven. Tom Cody, a tough ex-soldier and Ellen's ex-boyfriend returns home to get her back and he's ready to take on the whole gang. |
| My thoughts about Streets of Fire: |
| Maybe I should have bought Walter Hill's The Warriors and have watched it before I watched Streets of Fire, because many people say that Streets of Fire is basically a musical version of The Warriors. Well, I can't comment on that, but I can say that I'm a bit ambivalent about Streets of Fire. The best thing about this movie is definitely its visual style. The second best is the rock songs. But I'm not especially impressed by the story itself. When it comes to performances, I liked Diane Lane and Willem Dafoe. Michael Paré seemed kind of stiff, but maybe that was Hill's intention. I had a hard time accepting Rick Moranis in a straight role. I kept seeing him as Wayne Szalinski (Honey I shrunk the Kids and its sequels). Possibly intentional by Hill, but that just didn't work for me. All in all, not quite my thing, but still a good enough film experience. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on April 05, 2015, 07:44:34 PM
Have you seen Eddie & The Cruisers. Very similar movie and music
Post by: GSyren on April 05, 2015, 11:45:46 PM
Post by: GSyren on April 16, 2015, 01:27:52 PM
| H.G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon (5-051561-032103) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513SfSuCDqL.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 2010 | Released 2010-10-25 on DVD from 2 entertain Video |
| 88 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Damon Thomas and starring Rory Kinnear, Mark Gatiss, Alex Riddell, Peter Forbes, Katherine Jakeways |
| One small step. That had been taken before... The year is 1909. Bankrupt businessman Julius Bedford is going nowhere – until he meets the eccentric scientist Professor Cavor. Because Cavor has invented an extraordinary substance. Anything it touches becomes lighter than air! Together, the two men devise a wild scheme. Why not go to the Moon? But the lifeless world isn't quite as dead as it seems. Soon Bedford and Cavor are pitched into a thrilling struggle deep beneath the Moon's surface and an encounter with its terrifying alien masters – the Selenites! Adapted from the classic novel by H.G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon is a delightful, funny and scary adventure for all the family. |
| My thoughts about H.G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon: |
| It was interesting to compare the BBC version of First Men in the Moon to the 1964 Harryhausen version. I must say that for a low budget TV movie, this one looks really good. It is more Wells and less Harryhausen. Well, obviously Harryhausen didn't participate in the making of this film, but the Selenites bear a striking resemblance to Harryhausen's. I'm fairly sure I read the book back in the 50's or 60's, and I know for sure that I read the Classic Illustrated. But my memory of either is totally overshadowed by the memory of the 1964 film. So it's hard for me to determine how closely this film follows the book. Like the 1964 film, this one has a framing story set at the time of the first "modern" moon landing. The 1964 film only speculated on how the modern moon landing would look, of course, since that film was made 5 years before the actual moon landing. While not as good as the Harryhausen film, I still liked this one quite a lot. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on April 25, 2015, 10:03:03 PM
| Finders Keepers (5-060057-210994) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Zvl%2B8U11L.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 1966 | Released 2015-03-09 on DVD from Hollywood Classics, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Media Sales |
| 86 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.53:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Cliff Richard, Bruce Welch, Hank B. Marvin, Brian Bennett, John Rostill |
| When a mini bomb is dropped by accident from an American plane over Spain, the "spies" from various foreign countries converge in an attempt to find it. Leading the pack is a young Englishman named Cliff, who arrives with his singing group, called the Shadows. Cliff and the Shadows hitchhike to a hotel which, they find deserted. With the help of a local girl named Emelia (Ventura), they decide that it is in their interest to locate the bomb and hand it over to the American troops, who have moved in on a similar mission. But Mr X (Le Mesurier), the sinister representative of a foreign power, has the same idea and blackmails Colonel Roberts (Morley), the English manager of the hotel to do the job for him. Burke (Stark), the hotel clerk, is also in on the scheme. Before all the confusion and skulduggery ends, Cliff and the Shadows have uncovered the bomb for the Americans, and Cliff has enjoyed a romantic liaison with Emelia |
| My thoughts about Finders Keepers: |
| I was a teenager in the sixties, so I grew up with sixties music, which included Cliff Richard and the Shadows. And I guess that's why I found this film quite entertaining. It's a very sixties musical comedy, with a bit of spy stuff thrown in for good measure. One reviewer on IMDb wrote "The plot is so thin you could floss your teeth with it". Well, that gave me a laugh, but it's true. It's a fun bit of nonsense. It may not be to everyone's liking, but if you're into the sixties you'll probably like it. I did. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on April 27, 2015, 08:10:22 PM
| Predestination (5-051162-332978) |
| (http://s2.discshop.se/img/front_large/126897/predestination_blu_ray.jpg) |
| Australia 2014 | Released 2014-12-10 on Bluray from Sony Picture Home Entertainment |
| 98 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig and starring Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Christopher Kirby, Christopher Sommers, Kuni Hashimoto |
| Critics are hailing Predestination as 'the best film of the year' and 'enthralling from start to finish'. From the directors of Daybreakers, PREDESTINATION chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent (Ethan Hawke, Boyhood, Training Day) sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to stop crimes before they are committed. Now, on his final assignment, he must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time. |
| My thoughts about Predestination: |
| Predestination isn't an easy film to write about. First of all, you don't want to give away any plot points. Secondly, it's really hard to describe the film, plot points or no plot points. It's not your ordinary time travel movie. It's kind of science fiction noir. It starts out with an action scene, but then it turns into two guys talking in a bar for quite a while, and you're left wandering what they have to do with the opening scene. But after a while that falls into place. And then as the film goes on you start understanding other things bit by bit. Some of it may be rather easy to spot, some takes a little longer, but it's not like there is a big all encompassing reveal at the end. Let's just say that it takes the time travel paradox to a new level. Some call it a "mind fuck". Others call it crap. I really liked it, but your mileage may vary. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: Achim on April 29, 2015, 06:30:40 AM
Post by: DSig on April 29, 2015, 04:30:01 PM
Post by: GSyren on May 02, 2015, 08:26:12 PM
| Annie (5-050629-007237) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Ji-DJTGGL.jpg) |
| United States 1982 | Released 2012-11-26 on Bluray from Sony Picture Home Entertainment |
| 127 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Italian Dolby Digital 4.0, German Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Japanese Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by John Huston and starring Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters |
| ANNIE, the story of everyone's favorite plucky, red-haired orphan finally makes the leap from DVD to Blu-ray*! One day Annie (Aileen Quinn) is chosen to stay for a week with the famous billionaire "Daddy" Warbucks (Albert Finney). One week turns into many, and the only person standing in the way of Annie's fun is Miss Hannigan, the tyrannical ruler of the orphanage (played to hilarious perfection by Carol Burnett). Will Miss Hannigan's zany attempts to kidnap the irrepressible any succeed? Sing along to the unforgettable songs and experience the beloved musical like never before! |
| My thoughts about Annie: |
| I'm disappointed. I usually like musicals, but Annie did nothing for me. I didn't like the songs (with one or two exceptions) and I didn't like the dance numbers. I suppose the big dance number in the cinema was supposed to be an homage to Busby Berkeley, but it didn't impress me at all. Whoever choreographed it obviously is no Busby Berkeley. I didn't much care for Aileen Quinn as Annie, either. Carol Burnett, Albert Finney, Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters were all OK, but they couldn't save the film, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood? Maybe I would have liked it better if I had actually known anything about Little Orphan Annie? I know of the comic strip, but I have never read it. Well ,for whatever reason, this was not my cup of tea. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on May 25, 2015, 08:32:46 PM
| Quatermass and the Pit (Disc ID: 8821-4144-4F6A-93E1) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SNB0KTBGL.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 1958 | Released 2005-04-04 on DVD from BBC Worldwide |
| 207 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Rudolph Cartier and starring Andre Morell, Cec Linder, Anthony Bushell, John Stratton, Christine Finn |
| When ancient bones and something resembling an unexploded bomb are found on a London building site, the military and scientists are baffled. As further astounding discoveries are made, the renowned Professor Quatermass begins to unravel a terrifying thread of chaos and terror. |
| I rate this title |
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| Quatermass and the Pit (5-055201-815569) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71z1k6RQpiL._SL1184_.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 1967 | Released 2011-10-10 on Bluray from Optimum Releasing, Studio Canal |
| 98 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.66:1 | Audio: English PCM 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary PCM 2-Channel Stereo, English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring James Donald, Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley, Julian Glover, Duncan Lamont |
| Hobbs End, Knightsbridge, London. Whilst working on a new subway tunnel for the London Underground a group of construction workers uncover a strangely shaped skull amongst the rubble. Nearby is another discovery: a large, mysterious and impenetrable metal object. Initially mistaken for an unexploded bomb the origins of the object and its strange power are far more horrific and terrifying than anybody could have possibly imagined. Is it of this earth? Could it be the ancestral link to mankind's evolution? Or could it be an ancient link to unleashing ultimate evil? There's only one man capable of unravelling the clues, his name is Professor Bernard Quatermass, a man of science who thrives on the dark mysteries of the world, a man with answers. Written by legendary screenwriter Nigel Kneale, Quatermass and The Pit is a seminal British sci-fi classic. Highly influential, it’s renowned for its creepy plot and eerie, disturbing atmosphere. There is nothing else like it. |
| I rate this title |
|
It's fascinating to watch these two versions back to back. Almost everything from the 3 1/2 hour TV series is also in the 1 1/2 hour movie. And the TV series doesn't seem slow or the movie rushed. There are a few things that are omitted from the movie, but nothing that you really miss. Most notably there is a journalist in the TV series that is not in the movie. And a major difference between the series and the movie is the location of "the pit". In the series it's an excavation for a building, in the movie it's inside a tube station.
The endings are a little bit different, too. For my money, the ending is set up better in the series, but executed better in the movie. When it comes to the main actors, I think the movie is a bit better. Professor Quatermass is OK in both version (Andre Morell vs Andrew Keir). But for Dr. Roney I definitely prefer James Donald over Cec Linder. The close-minded Colonel Breen is played by Anthony Bushell in the series, and by Julian Glover in the film. I prefer Glover.
When it comes to picture quality, the comparison is simple but perhaps not fair. There is no way that the b&w TV show from 1958 can compete with the film that's in color and 1.66:1 widescreen. But one shouldn't let that weigh in too much. Watch the TV series for what it is, and it's quite enjoyable. I have given them both 4 stars. The movie is perhaps a little bit stronger, but both version are well worth watching.
Post by: GSyren on May 28, 2015, 11:16:07 PM
| Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (5-039036-072373) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91OwSnQ-pML._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2014 | Released 2015-04-13 on Bluray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 98 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.85:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Danish DTS 5.1, Finnish DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Norwegian DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian DTS 5.1, Swedish DTS 5.1, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1, Other Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais |
| If it's laughter you're after, get ready for the most hilarious night ever! Ben Stiller leads an all-star comedy cast, including Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Rebel Wilson and Ricky Gervais, for one final, fun-filled Night at the Museum. This time, Larry Daley (Stiller) and his heroic friends embark on their greatest adventure yet as they travel to London in order to save the magic that brings the museum exhibits to life! |
| My thoughts about Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb: |
| It's strange. By every indication I should not like the Night at the Museum series. I'm not particularly fond of Ben Stiller in comedic roles. I hate overuse of CGI. And still these movies work for me. The story in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb isn't that spectacular, but the acting is fine and there are a few interesting sequences. I particularly liked the scene inside the Escher painting, and a contributing reason for that is probably that it's done without any CGI. Greenscreen, yes. Multiple takes combined, sure. But that's all old school effects, and there is something about those that I really like. And when it comes to the CGI, and there is lots of it, at least it's very good CGI. There is nothing that can put me off as much as sloppy CGI. But even good CGI can turn me off when there is too much of it. As far as I'm concerned, CGI just doesn't have any soul. Seeing Robin Williams here is both good and sad. The film has dedications to Mickey Rooney and Robin Williams, who both passed away during the film's post-production. Mickey was 30 years older than Robin, though. I'd say that Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is quite OK entertainment if you're in the mood for some whimsical fantasy. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on May 29, 2015, 07:30:35 PM
Post by: GSyren on May 29, 2015, 10:34:04 PM
I agree about CGI unless it is really an integral part of the movie. And here that is just what you have.Yeah, but you could say the same thing about Pacific Rim, and I hated that one. So it has to be something more.
Post by: DSig on May 30, 2015, 05:05:24 AM
Post by: GSyren on June 03, 2015, 10:43:17 AM
| The Day Mars Invaded Earth (024543-104995) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61cwasz4JBL._SL1000_.jpg) |
| United States 1963 | Released 2015-03-17 on DVD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 70 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.20:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Maury Dexter and starring Kent Taylor, Marie Windsor, William Mims, Betty Beall, Lowell Brown |
| Martian invaders are in the process of making exact doubles of an entire town and then killing the original models. The terrifying facts are discovered by a scientist working at Cape Canaveral who is trying to figure out why a recent Martian probe simply exploded after landing on the Red Planet. He has been in Florida working on the project for so long that his wife in California is about to divorce him. Wanting to save his marriage and see his family, he goes home and suddenly ends up fighting for not only his own life, but for all humanity. |
| My thoughts about The Day Mars Invaded Earth: |
| I am a big fan of fifties and sixties science fiction and horror movies, so I was very surprised to find one that had gone totally below my radar. It's Invasion of the Body Snatchers without any pods, or Invaders from Mars without any martians. In fact, no real monster at all. It's a really low budget movie , so it's a bit surprising that it was filmed in CinemaScope. The movie is slow but creepy, and it has a twist ending that I did not see coming. The thing that bothered me most about the script is that the characters seem to accept a totally unbelievable situation without any questioning whatever. That's more unbelievable than the the unbelievable situation itself. The contrived story and the slow pacing drags the movie down, but the surprise ending makes up for it to some extent. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on June 04, 2015, 01:08:52 PM
| Commando (5-039036-073196) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/913Acm3w2qL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 1985 | Released 2015-05-04 on Bluray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 92 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.85:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, French DTS 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Mark L. Lester and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells, James Olson |
| Now on Blu-ray™ for the first time ever, experience every awesome moment of Commando the way it was intended! This special edition Director's Cut includes amazing action, extensive special features and all the Arnold you could ask for. Retired Delta Force operative Colonel John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger), lives a secluded life with his daughter (Alyssa Milano). Whe she is kidnapped by a brutal former team member seeking revenge, Matrix must travel to South America and get her back. Somwhere... somehow... someone's going to pay! |
| My thoughts about Commando: |
| I'm not a huge fan of Director Mark L. Lester. Apart from Firestarter, the only other of his films that I have liked is Commando. Although, in all fairness I should admit that I haven't watched all that many of his films. When I first watched Commando, I gave it three stars. But I guess it has grown on me over the years. Watching it again I like it better. Perhaps because this time is was prepared for how over the top the action is. It's eighties action at its ... eightiest. Arnie guns down (or kills in other ways) a whole regiment, and none of them manages to get a single hit on Arnie. It also has a load of one-liners from Arnold, for example: - Remember, Sully, when I promised to kill you last? - I lied! Well, technically I guess that's a two-liner, but who's counting? Vernon Wells was great as the main villain, even though they dressed him up to look like Freddy Mercury. And Alyssa Milano as Arnold's young daughter was surprisingly (for me, anyway) good. The one thing in the movie that I didn't like was when Arnie's character climbs down to the nosewheel of an airliner and jumps off after it has taken off, landing safely in a reed bed with just a bit of water. Suspension of disbelief just goes so far, and my disbelief isn't quite that suspensible. Still, that gimme-a-break moment is soon forgotten, and the rest of the movie is a fun ride. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on June 06, 2015, 02:53:39 PM
| Edge of Tomorrow (aka Live Die Repeat) (5-051892-163484) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91rEGAkMEoL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2014 | Released 2014-10-13 on Bluray from Warner Home Video |
| 113 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton, Jonas Armstrong |
| An alien race, undefeatable by any existing military unit, has launched a relentless attack on Earth, and Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) finds himself dropped into a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage is thrown into a time loop, forced to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again and again. Training alongside warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), his skills slowly evolve, and each battle moves them one step closer to defeating the enemy in this fun action thriller. |
| My thoughts about Edge of Tomorrow (aka Live Die Repeat): |
| Tom Clancy supposedly once said "The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense". I don't know if he actually said that, but I like it. And this is one of the points where Edge of Tomorrow fails. It doesn't make sense, especially not the ending. The documentary reveals that the script wasn't written when production started. They made it up as they went along. I suspect that this is a major contributing factor to the sloppy ending. I'm sorely tempted to buy the book ("All You Need is Kill") that the story is based on, just to learn how it should have ended. Also, time travel is a tricky subject for me. I find that it works best in comedy or full on fantasy. In a sci-fi movie that tries to emulate the feeling of WWII, albeit in the future, it feels a bit out of place. Then, of course, there is the matter of the CGI effects. Too many movies today suffer from "too-much-ities", and this one is no different. This just takes me out of the story. For me, less is more. As for the actors I really liked Bill Paxton as Master Sergeant Farrell. And Tom Cruise is just Tom Cruise. Anyway, what could have been a great film was reduced to a rather mediocre experience by the script and the CGI. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on June 12, 2015, 07:15:38 PM
| Dark Shadows (5-051895-206256) |
| (http://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/movie/blu-ray/image4/dark_shadows_blu-raynordic-15176618-frntl.jpg) |
| United States 2012 | Released 2012-09-19 on Bluray from |
| 112 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.85:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian Dolby Digital 5.1, Turkish Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Other Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley |
| Vampyren Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) ligger begravd i två hundra år tills han återuppstår 1972 i en helt förändrad värld. Han svär på att återställa sitt hem och släktnamn till forna glansdagars prakt, trots motansträngningar av hans före detta älskarinna – den förförande häxan Angelique (Eva Green) – i detta märkligt fantasifulla äventyr (Sam Hallenbeck, NBC-TV). |
| My thoughts about Dark Shadows: |
| After hearing the news of Christopher Lee's passing I thought it would be a good idea to see if I had anything unwatched with Mr. Lee. I had - of course - no major roles of his in my unwatched pile, but I did have a couple of films where he had small roles, so I chose Dark Shadows. As it turned out, his contribution to this film is hardly more than a cameo, but even so he makes a great impression. As for the rest of the film, I thought it was OK, but certainly not one of Tim Burton's best films. I am not familiar with the long running TV series that this film is based on, so I have no opinion as to how well it emulates the style of the show. The script didn't impress me all that much, and much of the cast seemed wasted in their roles. I'm not a big Depp fan, and I'm not quite sure how to evaluate his performance. I do like Michelle Pfeiffer, but I felt she was underused. And it felt like Victoria (Bella Heathcote) got lost in the script. Still, the film had its moments, so it wasn't a total waste of time. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: DSig on June 13, 2015, 03:27:36 AM
I first saw this in the theater 1st day and wasn't that impressed .. like you i thought .. ok not a waste but not their best work. But I have watched 2-3 times since then an it has grown on me. I really like the visuals and enjoy the characters very much. They are (in a small way) caricatures of those form the TV series.
I have to admit I really like Johnny Depp in most of the things he has done. And his role in Benny & Joon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_%26_Joon) really sealed it for me. I find him to be pretty wide range in his capabilities and in this one was just good fun.
Like you I don't think this is their best work but for me almost a 4 .. so at least a 31/2. Wait a bit and watch it again .. it might grow on you.
Post by: GSyren on June 13, 2015, 02:04:18 PM
although our tastes normally seem to be similar (probably a wiser more knowing age thing :) ) I think this one you have under rated (though by just 1/2 star :) ).Perhaps. Or maybe you and I aren't prefect clones after all ;)
We'll see. I'm not planning to revisit it any time soon, though.
Post by: GSyren on June 13, 2015, 02:06:47 PM
| Big Hero 6 (8-717418-451097) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81cbF60CgTL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2014 | Released 2015-05-25 on Bluray from Buena Vista Home Entertainment |
| 108 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Portuguese DTS 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, Catalonian DTS 5.1 |
| Directed by Don Hall, Chris Williams and starring Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Daniel Henney, T. J. Miller, Jamie Chung |
| With all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Big Hero 6 is an action-packed comedy adventure that introduces Baymax, a lovable personal companion robot, who forms a special bond with robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada. When a devastating turn of events catapults them into the midst of a dangerous plot unfolding in the streets of San Fransokyo, Hiro turns to Baymax and his diverse group of friends — adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred — who transform into a band of unlikely heroes. Bring home Disney's Big Hero 6, featuring comic-book-style action and hilarious, unforgettable characters — it's fun for the whole family! |
| My thoughts about Big Hero 6: |
| When I saw the trailer for Big Hero 6 I thought it looked like a fun film, like a Disney-Pixar movie. I was dismayed when I realized it was more a Disney-Marvel movie. I usually don't respond well to Marvel superhero movies or TV shows, Daredevil being the exception, and as it turns out I didn't much like this one either. For one thing, the story was way too predictable. Baymax was fun, but that couldn't save the movie for me. A lot of people loved this movie. Good for them. I'm not going to knock the movie, but I'll just say that it wasn't my cup of tea. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on June 13, 2015, 06:43:07 PM
| The Land Unknown (4-041036-370213) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61LgMptIoRL.jpg) |
| United States 1957 | Released 2014-08-15 on Bluray from Anolis Entertainment, Hollywood Classics, Universal Studios International |
| 78 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.35:1 | Audio: German DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono |
| Directed by Virgil Vogel and starring Jock Mahoney, Shawn Smith, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Douglas R. Kennedy |
| Eine Hubschrauber-Expedition zur Antarktis endet nach einem Zusammenstoß mit einer unbekannten Kreatur mit der Notlandung. Doch entgegen einer Eiswüste finden die Forscher einen tropischen Dschungel. Hier wimmelt es von urzeitlichen Monstern, darunter ein ausgewachsener Tyrannosaurus Rex. Doch neben den Dinosauriern macht die Hubschrauberbesatzung auch die Bekanntschaft eines Forschers, der seit zehn Jahren als verschollen gilt. Die lange Zeit im Urwald hat den Mann zu einem mental instabilen Eremiten gemacht, dessen Verhalten zu weiteren unvorhersehbaren Problemen führt. Kann die Gruppe dieser gefährlichen Welt je wieder entkommen? Mit FLUG ZUR HÖLLE schuf die Firma Universal einen weiteren klassischen Monsterfilm, der tricktechnisch eine Herausforderung darstellte. Erstmals schuf die Effektabteilung des Studios aufwendige animatronische Monster ein, um den Kinozuschauern das Fürchten zu lehren. |
| My thoughts about The Land Unknown: |
| I love fifties sci-fi and horror movies. Even when they are bad they are entertaining. The Land Unknown isn't really bad. It has it's weaknesses and its strength. You know it's far from perfect when the lizards are scarier looking than the dinosaurs. The T-Rex is just embarrassing. I can overlook that, but only just. Some of the special effects look quite good, though. The story is essentially fine. It's kind of The Land that Time Forgot, but at the other pole. Is it sexist? Yeah, by today's standard, but you can't measure a 50+ year old movie with today's yardstick. The German blu-ray release looks fantastic. I enjoyed this very much, but of course Jurassic World it is not. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on June 19, 2015, 04:31:05 PM
| The Unliving (802993-217508) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71rzdsO-fxL._SL1000_.jpg) |
| United States 2004 | Released 2015-01-27 on DVD from Retromedia, Bayview Entertainment |
| 96 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.66:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Fred Olen Ray and starring Paul Naschy, Jay Richardson, Michelle Bauer, Stephanie Bentley, Stephanie Bentley |
| The last of the great horror legends, PAUL NASCHY, revives his most famous monster creation, the doomed werewolf, Count Waldemar Daninsky, in this blood-soaked Gothic nightmare. For the first time ever, Naschy brings his classic werewolf character to life in America as he ioins Scream Queen, MICHELLE BAUER and Late Night Cinemax favorite, BEVERLY LYNNE in director Fred Olen Ray's tribute to the great Spanish horror films of the l970s. The story begins as a TV crew makes its way to Castle Daninsky in search of a story. The Castle is rumored to possess a secret treasure hidden within its walls, but ultimately death is all they find as the eternal Countess Elizabeth Bathory seeks to sacrifice them in order to please the Lord of Darkness, bathe in their blood and revive Daninsky from his tomb. |
| My thoughts about The Unliving: |
| This movie doesn't get a lot of love, and I think I know why. People are expecting a Paul Naschy movie, but they are getting a Fred Olen Ray movie. Fred's movie are, to a large extent, an acquired taste. And this isn't even a very good Fred Olen Ray movie. I don't know how this movie came about, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was something like this: - Hey, Paul Naschy is coming to L.A. Let's see if we can get him for a couple of days to do a werewolf movie! - We're not going to get enough scenes for a full movie in a couple of days. You're not Roger Corman, Fred! - I know, but we can pad it out with something. Tits and ass, and some soft-core sex always sells! This was originally released as Tomb of the Werewolf, but the DVD that I got is the uncensored, uncut version, known as The Unliving. I suspect that the bits that were previously cut were some sex scenes rather than some horror scenes, so if you've seen the old version and was hoping for more gore, you're probably going to be disappointed. If you're a fan of Paul Naschy it's fun to see his last attempt to play Waldemar Daninsky. If you like T&A, there are some nice looking women here, but you'll have to overlook the werewolf bits. If you're a fan of Fred Olen Ray, you might find the mix of the two genres amusing, but you would still realize that it doesn't really work. I fall into the latter category, so if you don't, you might want to take my 2 1/2 star rating with a grain of salt. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on June 22, 2015, 12:25:58 PM
The Carnosaur Quadrilogy? Wasn't there just three Carnosaur movies? Well, yes and no. I'm actually counting Raptor as a fourth installment. It contains massive amounts of stock footage from the three Carnosaur movies. In fact, pretty much all of the dinosaur footage is lifted from these movies.
I re-watched all four of these movies. Why? Because I'm a sucker for punishment. Actually, I read some comments about Raptor, and I just got a hankering to see all these movies again, just to see how much of the footage in Raptor I could recognize from the Carnosaur movies. And it was a lot.
Although all of these movies are pretty silly, there are two things that annoyed me more than anything else in the first one. First of all, the dinosaur puppets just don't work. They just look silly. The closeups may look good in some shots, but the shots of the full puppets don't work at all. Secondly, there is that damned disco light "laser" containment.
Diane Ladd certainly is not a bad actress. With three Academy nominations for best supporting actress in her baggage, how did she end up in this movie? And her daughter (Laura Dern) appeared in Jurassic Park the same year! Raphael Sbarge is also talented, but I bet he doesn't list this role on top of his CV.
I actually liked Carnosaur 2 a bit better than the first one. By this time they had fixed some of the problems with the dino puppets, so they moved a bit more natural. Again we have some capable actors. The top billed John Savage is usually very good. Another familiar face is Cliff De Young. We also get Don Stroud, but he is underused and his character gets killed of rather too soon. The script steals a lot from Aliens. Or - if you interpret it kindly - pays homage to Aliens.
Unfortunately Carnosaur 3: Primal Species is as bad as the first one. The acting is worse - only B-movie actors. Here the dinos end up in a ship out at sea. Nothing noteworthy at all about this one. Except possibly the life preservers, but I'll come back to them.
Now, for Raptor producer Roger Corman turned to director Jim Wynorski. Corman figured that he had three dinosaur movies and he could reuse action footage from these to make a new movie, and what director was best known for doing that? Jim Wynorski, that's who. So with some new footage starring Eric Roberts and Corbin Bernsen, all this footage is cut together seemlessly, right? Well, not quite. In fact you would have to be half asleep not to notice at least some of the glaring inconsistencies. Perhaps the most obvious one is the final battle between the T Rex and ... well, it switched between a big yellow forklift and a small Bobcat.
And then we have the matter of those life preservers. We get scenes lifted from Carnosaur 3 that takes place on a ship, and there are life preservers hanging on the walls. But Raptor takes place underground! Now, the ironic part is that the life preservers are misplaced even in Carnosaur 3. They're on the walls deep down inside the interior of the ship. You don't hang life preservers there! You wouldn't want to drag them all through the ship if something should happen. They should be on deck, near where they would be used.
As far as the acting goes, let's just say that when Corbin Bernsen gets outacted by Eric Roberts, he's not having a good day.
To sum it up, these four movies are fine if you are either a dinosaur completist, or if you enjoy so-bad-that-they're-good movies. If you don't fall into one of these categories, stay away from them!
Post by: GSyren on June 30, 2015, 10:12:22 PM
| Crocodile (089859-829826) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5153PZRWJ0L.jpg) |
| Thailand 1981 | Released 2002-08-27 on DVD from VCI Entertainment |
| 92 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.66:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Sompote Sands and starring Nat Puvanai, Tany Tim, Angela Wells, Kirk Warren |
| Dr. Akom and Dr. Roger are planning a family vacation at the beach, but their trip turns to tragedy when three people from their family turn up missing. After the bodies are discovered, the doctors examine the remains of their family members and determine a giant crocodile has ripped through their bodies. They set out to destroy the crocodile at all costs. Dr. Akom hires an expert to kill the beast but it is too large to be hunted and trapped. Soon the giant, ravenous crocodile devours dozens of the local people and after a long search they find the monstrous beast and do everything to blow it to bits. |
| My thoughts about Crocodile: |
| Ineptitude, thy name is "Crocodile". I guess I have to check this down to morbid curiosity. I like movies with big animal monsters, but I had heard that this one was especially incompetent. And oh boy, is it ever. Among my 6000+ DVD titles it is easily the most inept piece of filmmaking I have seen. And I own such groaners as "Frankenstein Island". But this one tops them all. Everything is just awful; script, direction, cinematography, editing, music, "special" effects. You name it, it's crappy. And to add insult to injury, the DVD that VCI put out some 13 years ago is cropped from 2.35 to 1.78 and non-anamorphic. In fact, I would guess that it's a 4:3 p&s version that has then been further cropped vertically to make it 1.78. The composition looks so awkward that it's either that or the cinematographer was criminally incompetent. The best thing I can say about this move is that they spelled "The End" correctly. I just wish it had come a lot sooner. So heed my warning: Unless you suffer from a bad case of masochism, stay away from this one! |
| I rate this title |
 (Well, actually that ought to be half a star, but that's not in Profiler's vocabulary, so to speak) |
Post by: Achim on July 01, 2015, 06:16:13 AM
;D
You "simple put "0.5" (without the quotes, of course) between the tags.
EDIT:
On second thought, I understand your comment now. It's about DVD Profiler, where your template takes the movie's data from... You just didn't take the time to change the rating here on the site. :bag:
Post by: GSyren on July 01, 2015, 06:43:39 PM
You "simple put "0.5" (without the quotes, of course) between the tags.Thanks! I'll keep it in mind the next time I need to rate anything 1/2 star, which I hope will be never.
Post by: Achim on July 02, 2015, 06:09:31 AM
Thanks! I'll keep it in mind the next time I need to rate anything 1/2 star, which I hope will be never.I hope so too... It's already amazing that you saw a ½* movie and still found the energy to write about it :laugh:
Post by: GSyren on July 02, 2015, 01:44:15 PM
It's already amazing that you saw a ½* movie and still found the energy to write about it :laugh:Well, I love old B-movies. Many of them have a certain charm in their simplicity. And I know that many others share that enthusiasm. Maybe not so many here, but certainly on Letterboxd where I also post my reviews. So when something comes my way that is so awful that it's way beneath "so bad that it's good", I feel that I should warn others.
On Letterboxd, Fred Anderson claimed that the original version (which differs significantly from the US edit) is "quite good". I find that hard to believe. If I had understood Thai I might have been tempted to try to seek it out, but since I don't, and as there is no English-friendly version, I guess I'll never know. But I think I can survive that. 8)
Post by: GSyren on July 05, 2015, 12:19:42 PM
| Interstellar (5-051895-390726) |
| (http://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/movie/blu-ray/image3/interstellar_blu-ray_nordic-25163819-frntl.jpeg) |
| United States 2014 | Released 2015-03-30 on Bluray from Paramount Home Entertainment, Warner Bros Pictures |
| 169 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1, German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Ellen Burstyn, Matthew McConaughey, Mackenzie Foy, John Lithgow, Timothée Chalamet |
| From director Christopher Nolan comes the story of a team of pioneers undertaking the most important mission in human history. Oscar® winner* Matthew McConaughey stars as Cooper, who leads an expedition beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars. Oscar® winner** Anne Hathaway and Oscar® nominee† Jessica Chastain also star. |
| My thoughts about Interstellar: |
| There is something to be said for reading up on movies before you watch them. Usually I don't. I don't want to go into a movie with my expectations too high. But then again, not knowing anything may still set your expectations too high. In the case of Interstellar, I wish I had read more about it. If I had, then I wouldn't have bothered to watch it at all. I would have realized that it was not my cup of tea. That's not to say that it's a bad movie. I have no respect for people who dismiss a movie that millions of people love as crap. You should acknowledge that people have different tastes. I belong to the small minority that didn't like 2001 at all. So I should have realized that I wouldn't like Interstellar either. It looked darn impressive, and I liked some of the performances. Surprisingly, I didn't much care for Anne Hathaway. I've liked her before, but not here. Don't quite know why. So if by chance you haven't seen it yet, and you wonder what to trust, my two stars or IMDb's 8.7 score, I say ... Trust no one! |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on July 07, 2015, 07:11:57 PM
| Voodoo Woman (5-025539-960583) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MHPNF4KRL.jpg) |
| United States 1943 | Released 2001-09-03 on DVD from Orbit Media |
| 67 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.37:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Marla English, Tom Conway, Touch Connors, Lance Fuller, Mary Ellen Kay |
| Tom Conway plays the mad scientist determined to create the perfect human being. Using a combination of science and black voodoo he creates a new species - a cross between man and beast. When his creations will not kill upon his telepathic command he meets the murderous English and turns her into his kiler monster. |
| My thoughts about Voodoo Woman: |
| I knew Voodoo Woman was a crappy movie, so why would I subject myself to it? Well, for me there are two main reasons to watch crappy fifties B-movies. Some of them have a naive charm that I find endearing. Some people might call it "so bad that it's good". I don't quite buy that. For me it's more "bad but yet it's good". It's not the badness in itself that makes it good. I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Then there is the other reason I may watch a movie like that. It's because it has something special that interests me. In the case of Voodoo Woman it was the monster suit. I knew that they used Paul Blaisdell's She Creature suit, slightly modified, mainly with a different head. I saw pictures of it in Famous Monsters back in the sixties, being compared to how it looked in The She Creature. It might be a bit of an overstatement to say that I'm a fan of Paul Blaisdell, but I do admire how he managed to create monsters on a budget that one wouldn't even call "shoestring". Some of them look rather crappy, but that was not always Blaisdell's fault. "Beaulah", the monster in It Conquered the World was originally flat topped, but deemed to short, so it was redesigned with that pointy head. It was also only supposed to be shown inside the dimly lit cave, but ultimately shot outside in full daylight. The design for The She Creature wasn't bad at all. Unfortunately the film wasn't very good, though. When it was modified for Voodoo Woman the design didn't make much sense, and the head looked terrible. And when the woman changed into the monster, her clothes changed as well. Oh, well, logic was never the strong suit in these films. Anyway, I blame Forry Ackerman for my interest in this title. In fact, I blame him for my interest in 50's genre B-movies in general. No, on second thought I shouldn't say that I blame him. I credit him. He piqued my interest, and I've had a lot of fun watching these movies over the years. It would be a gross exaggeration to say that Voodoo Woman is a good movie. It isn't. But I have to say that I find it easier to watch than movies with choppy fast cutting like for example Quantum of Solace. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on July 09, 2015, 02:34:03 PM
| Revenge of the Zombies (5-025539-960583) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MHPNF4KRL.jpg) |
| United States 1943 | Released 2001-09-03 on DVD from Orbit Media |
| 59 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Steve Sekely and starring John Carradine, Gale Storm, Robert Lowery, Bob Steele, Mantan Moreland |
| Down in the Bayou scientist John Carradine is creating a Zombie army for the Nazis. His wife played by Veda Ann Borg has also been made into a Zombie and when her relatives arrive to investigate her mysterious death, they begin to unearth the evil doings of the mad Dr. Max Heinrich von Altermann. Can they stop him before his army is unleashed on the world? |
| My thoughts about Revenge of the Zombies: |
| Why Revenge of the Zombies, you may ask. Well, the other day I watched Voodoo Woman. Feel free to read my review of that one to understand why I watched it. It came on a double feature DVD. And guess what the second feature was ... Revenge of the Zombies. I wouldn't have bought Revenge on its own, but now I had it. And I noticed that it was directed by Steve Sekely who directed one of my guilty pleasures, The Day of the Triffids, so I figured "How bad can it be?" Apart from Triffids, the only other Steve Sekely film I had seen was Waterfront, which I thought was OK, even if it was no masterpiece. But Revenge of the Zombies? The best thing about it is that it's short - 61 minutes (59 with PAL speed-up). The worst thing - in my opinion - is Mantan Moreland doing his "Scared Negro" routine. And yes, I know that the n-word is considered derogatory, but Moreland's whole schtick IS derogatory, so it fits. I guess this kind of thing was acceptable in the 30s and 40s, but it sticks out like a sore thumb today. As for the zombies, well suffice to say that pre Night of the Living Dead movie zombies weren't very scary. Here they mostly walk around like obedient robots. And as for John Carradine, he is quoted as saying "I am a ham! And the ham in an actor is what makes him interesting." Well, I'd agree with the first part of that statement. But personally I never found him terribly interesting. Given how prolific his career was, I guess I'm in a minority there. The story is thin, but not entirely uninteresting. However, this being a Monogram picture, everything about it has that Monogram cheapness. So my advice would still be - move along, nothing to see here. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on July 23, 2015, 04:10:25 PM
| The Great Race (085391-109129) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91kiqxqfGXL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 1965 | Released 2002-06-04 on DVD from Warner Home Video |
| 160 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.35:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Blake Edwards and starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn |
| Crank your engines! With a roar, sputter and pop (and more Academy Award®-winning Best Sound Effects*), drivers wheel westward in wacky turn-of-the-century autos for a New York-to-Paris race. Ahead lie 20,000 miles, a barroom brawl, a sinking iceberg, 2,357 pies in the face and incalculable laughs. Blake Edwards turns a marvelous cast loose on a round-the-world highway booby-trapped by some of the funniest screen gags ever. Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk are nasty Professor Fate and his dim henchman Max. Tony Curtis is their good-guy nemesis, the Great Leslie. And Natalie Wood is cheroot-puffing suffragette reporter Maggie DuBois. Zestily scored by Henry Mancini and ravishing in a new digital transfer with revitalized digital audio from restored elements, The Great Race is great fun! *1965 |
| My thoughts about The Great Race: |
| The Great Race is a fun movie with many great gags but it has some problems. The great humor in the movie comes mainly from Professor Fate's misadventures. The trouble is that the movie spends too much time in various subplots, making it drag. At 2 hours 40 minutes it's almost an hour too long. I guess long roadshow movies with intermission were very much in vogue in the sixties. But there just isn't enough story to support it. The film could do without the suffragette subplot. In fact, as much as I love Natalie Wood, her character could go as well. The Great Leslie isn't very exciting, but he is necessary as a foil for the professor. Miss Dubois isn't. The saloon sequence is nicely done, and I like Dorothy Provine's song "He Shouldn't-a, Hadn't-a, Oughtn't-a Swang on Me!", but the whole sequence would work better in another movie. Here it just slows things down. Likewise the whole Prince Hapnik subplot, although I have to admit that the pie throwing sequence is hilarious. And then there is a subplot within the subplot; the takeoff on The Prisoner of Zenda. It is quite good, but again not really relevant to the main story. The unfortunate result of this is that the funniest part of the movie is the part before the race actually starts. Then the story starts to bog down. Sure, there are several good laughs within the race as well, but it never really lives up to the expectations that were built up before. In comedy, repetition is part of the fun. Up to a point. I feel that Blake Edwards is milking "Push the button, Max" a little too much. But even though the film is much too long, it's worth watching (and re-watching) just for Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on July 25, 2015, 04:44:36 PM
| Guardians of the Galaxy (8-717418-440114) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91H3FqKHHmL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2014 | Released 2014-11-24 on Bluray from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
| 121 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, Hindi DTS 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt, Zoë Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper |
| From Marvel, the studio that launched the epic franchises of Marvel's Iron Man, Marvel's Thor, Marvel's Captain America and Marvel's Avengers Assemble, comes an unlikely new team – the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Marvel Cinematic Universe expands into the cosmos when brash adventurer Peter Quill steals a coveted orb and becomes the object of a relentless bounty. To evade his enemies, Quill forges an uneasy truce with Rocket, a gun-toting racoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly assassin Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb, he must rally his ragtag band of misfits for a desperate battle that will decide the fate of the galaxy. Featuring amazing new characters and exclusive bonus features, this must-own blockbuster will have you hooked on a feeling... of pure adrenaline! |
| My thoughts about Guardians of the Galaxy: |
Curiosity got the better of me. I should have known I was going to dislike this movie strongly. And here is why: - As a general rule I seldom like movies that are over 2 hours. It takes a lot to keep me interested that long. - As a general rule I don't like anything Marvel. Daredevil is the exception. The show, that is, not the movie. God no, not that! - I don't like overuse of CGI. For me less is more. And there are few more "lessless" movies than this one. It's not entirely without merit, though. It has a few great songs on the soundtrack. Especially the one with Björn Skifs & Blåblus. Oh, yeah, most of you may not know who they are. That's because that name would have been hopeless in an international launch of that song. So you might know them as Blue Swede instead. Björn is still going strong and performing, 68 years old. This was a one star movie for me, but I'm adding another half star for Björn and for dancing baby Groot. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on August 10, 2015, 02:30:44 PM
| Contamination (5-027035-012827) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516Epbws%2BlL.jpg) |
| Italy 1980 | Released 2015-07-06 on Bluray from Arrow Video, Arrow Films |
| 95 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.85:1 | Audio: English PCM Mono, Italian PCM Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Luigi Cozzi and starring Ian McCulloch, Louise Marleau, Marino Masé, Siegfried Rauch, Gisela Hahn |
| Starring Italian horror veteran Ian McCulloch (Zombie Flesh Eaters), Contamination, from director Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash, Hercules) is one of the brightest stars in the firmament of early '80s Italian Splatter. A cargo ship drifts into New York harbour. Its crew: all dead, their bodies horribly mutilated, turned inside-out by an unknown force. Its freight: boxes upon boxes of glowing, pulsating green eggs. It soon becomes clear that these eggs are not of this planet, and someone intends to cultivate them here on Earth. But who? And to what end? Contamination takes the premise of Ridley Scott's classic Alien and peppers it with exploding guts galore and a dangerously infectious soundtrack from celebrated Italian prog-rockers Goblin (Deep Red, Suspiria). |
| My thoughts about Contamination: |
| First of all, let's make it clear what this film is not. It's not an Alien ripoff. The eggs are clearly inspired by Alien, but that's pretty much it. And another thing - it's not a big budget movie. In part it looks better than it deserves, especially on Arrow's blu-ray release. Some of the acting is so-so, but judging Italian actors by the English dubbing is a bit unfair. Ian McCulloch is quite OK. Why this was classified as a video nasty is beyond me. I guess it was because of the exploding bodies, but they look more comical than horrific. Back in 1980 no Swedish distributor even tried to get it past the censors. Well, those were different times. Today it hardly raises any eyebrows. I watched this the first time 12 years ago. I gave it three stars back then. Today I like it just a little bit better. Perhaps because I know what to expect. Or more importantly, what not to expect. And perhaps because the blu-ray looks so good. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on August 17, 2015, 11:32:56 AM
| The Castle of Fu Manchu (827058-100892) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51THHPE90PL.jpg) |
| Spain 1969 | Released 2003-09-30 on DVD from Blue Underground |
| 92 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Jess Franco and starring Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, Tsai Chin, Maria Perschy, Howard Marion-Crawford |
| Christopher Lee returns as the diabolical super-villain who along with his sadistic daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin of THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU and THE JOY LUCK CLUB) creates a fiendish new chemical weapon that will turn the seas into a giant block of ice. But when his Archenemy Nayland Smith (Richard Greene of TALES FROM THE CRYPT) tracks the madman's trail of kidnapping, murder and massive global destruction, he himself becomes trapped in Fu's impenetrable lair of cruelty. Can any of the world's top secret agents (including a wild performance by Director Jess Franco) now stop the cold-blooded terror that lives in the CASTLE OF FU MANCHU? Maria Perschy (99 WOMEN) and Rosalba Neri (JUSTINE) co-star in this notorious sequel to THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU directed by Jess Franco (THE BLOODY JUDGE, VAMPYROS LESBOS) that marked Christopher Lee's final performance as the infamous Chinese madman. This definitive edition of THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU has been newly restored from it's original print and packed with exclusive new Extras for a disc full of Fu Manchu mayhem! |
| My thoughts about The Castle of Fu Manchu: |
| I recently got the idea that I should rewatch all five Fu Manchu movies starring Christopher Lee. And I did so in the span of three days. Producer Harry Alan Towers is supposed to have said that Jess Franco managed to do what no one else could - he killed Fu Manchu. And I'm rather inclined to agree, although I think that Towers must bear part of the responsibility. After all, he re-hired Franco for this second film! So, The Castle of Fu Manchu was the nail in the coffin for the Fu Manchu franchise. And when you watch all five films in close order, the start of Castle really makes no sense. But in order to explain why, I need to describe the ending of The Brides of Fu Manchu. In Brides, Fu Manchu has developed a weapon that transmits energy in the form of radio waves. When enough energy is transmitted, the receiver turns the radio waves back into energy with a force of a big bomb. And the explosion is supposed to level a large part of London. But the signal is being jammed, and Fu Manchu orders his henchmen to turn up the output beyond the safe level. Feng (played by Burt Kwouk) protests and tries to retract the lever. Fu Manchu shoots him, and when Feng falls on the lever he pushes it down to the point where Fu Manchu's entire lair is blown sky high. Now, at the beginning of Castle we see the exact same sequence. So is this a flashback? No, because this time the target is not London, but a passenger ship in the Caribbean. And this time the machinery somehow creates an iceberg. So, if this is not a flashback, what is it? Are we supposed to believe that Fu Manchu built a new lair just like the old one, and now commits the same fatal error as he did the last time, in exactly the same fashion? A genius like Fu Manchu? And since he already killed Feng, I guess that this time it's Feng's twin brother being shot? The fact that the sequence showing the stricken ship is actually lifted from the black-and-white movie A Night to Remember (about the sinking of Titanic) doesn't really make things any more believable. Later in the movie there is even more borrowed scenes, a dam collapse lifted from Campbell's Kingdom. I guess Franco (like many a b-movie director) is an acquired taste, and one that I never really have acquired. The only Franco film that I have really liked was The Bloody Judge, also with Christopher Lee. Christopher Lee adds something to any film that he appears in, but even he can't save The Castle of Fu Manchu from being a hopeless mess. Recommended only if you are a Christopher Lee, Jess Franco or Fu Manchu completist. Or if you are a masochist. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on August 19, 2015, 08:10:10 PM
| Howling II (5-055201-810359) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41EXl92g4HL.jpg) |
| United States 1984 | Released 2010-01-18 on DVD from Optimum Home Entertainment |
| 87 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Philippe Mora and starring Christopher Lee, Annie McEnroe, Reb Brown, Marsha Hunt, Sybil Danning |
| Following on from the first Howling the details of TV journalist Karen White's death remain a mystery. During her funeral her brother Ben is approached by a strange figure by the name of Stefan Crosscoe. Stefan claims to be a werewolf hunter and is convinced that Karen had transformed into a creature of the night. He is also convinced that a supernatural uprising is about to take grip of the world. An uprising lead by the evil wolf queen Stirba: mother of all harlots and all abominations of the earth. From the mean streets of L.A. to the surreal, hazardous lands of Transylvania, Ben and Stefan have vowed to destroy any beast that stands in their way and Stirba's plans of world domination. Originally titled Stirba: Werewolf Bitch and directed by Philippe Mora (Communion, Pterodactyl Women From Beverly Hills), Howling II stars horror legend Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man, I, Monster) and unforgettable B-movie pin-up Sybil Danning (Amazon Women On The Moon, Panther Squad, Chained Heat). |
| My thoughts about Howling II: |
| It took me a long while before I decided to watch Howling II. I had heard that it was bad. But then I thought, it's got Christopher Lee, how bad can it be? How bad can it be? This from someone who had just recently watched Castle of Fu Manchu! It's got Christopher Lee, how bad can it be? HOW BAD CAN IT BE? Well, I guess I found out. It's an effin' mess. Poor Christopher does his best with what he's given, but that doesn't help much. The best you can do is laugh at this hopeless mess, but I found even that hard to do. How bad can it be? Well, if you haven't already subjected yourself to it, you're better off not knowing. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: Achim on August 20, 2015, 06:21:05 AM
Just like eating steak and shrimp everyday would not be very special, if not occasionally interspersed with more mundane, even bad food.
Post by: GSyren on September 03, 2015, 12:17:26 PM
| Shaun the Sheep Movie (5-055201-827494) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91xQutQjdzL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 2015 | Released 2015-06-01 on DVD from StudioCanal |
| 82 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Mark Burton, Richard Starzack and starring Justin Fletcher, John B. Sparkes, Omid Djalili, Richard Webber, Kate Harbour |
| When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it's up to Shaun and the flock to return everyone safely to the green grass of home. |
| My thoughts about Shaun the Sheep Movie: |
| I love clay animation (I won't call it claymation, because for me that means Will Vinton). I especially love Wallace & Gromit, because in my opinion those films combine excellent scripts with outstanding animation into nearly perfect movies. Shaun the Sheep comes from the same studio, Aardman, and is originally a TV show that was a spinoff off Wallace & Gromit. The show is, understandably, not as complex as the W&G movies. It has simple, yet funny, scripts and a bit limited animation. In order to make an enjoyable movie they had to break out of those limitations. So the story is no longer confined to the farm where Shaun & co. live, and the story is more complex with more advanced animation. The moral of the story is simple enough, though - "There's no place like home". I really enjoyed this movie. It doesn't reach the same height as the W&G movies, but it's quite good enough. It has something for kids and adults alike. There are some references that the kids will not understand (I hope), like the cat that does a Hannibal Lecter impression. But that doesn't matter. It's good fun and highly recommended. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on October 02, 2015, 04:35:57 PM
| The Curse of the Werewolf (5-060057-211090) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GZ6uj%2BL-L.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 1961 | Released 2015-09-21 on Bluray from Final Cut Entertainment |
| 93 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.85:1 | Audio: English PCM Mono |
| Directed by Terence Fisher and starring Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Catherine Feller, Anthony Dawson |
| In 18th Century Spain, a small village is ruled over by an evil Marquis. A beggar goes to the castle of this unfair ruler and asks for a small amount of bread and is consequently humiliated and jailed. He is soon forgotten and becomes more animal than human, the only contact he has with humanity is through the mute servant girl who feeds him . When the servant girl is thrown into the beggar s cell and raped in a fit of lustful rage she falls pregnant. After being released from the cell she escapes the castle and is taken in the the kind Alfredo Corledo. On Christmas Day, Leon is born. His mother dies at birth and Corledo takes to raising the boy. Leon grows up to be a normal boy until age 6 when he begins to go missing at night and goats are reported savaged the next day. Leon is a werewolf, a condition brought on by his traumatic heritage. However, with love and attention the transformations can be fought and they are until Leon becomes a man. One full moon he again turns into a werewolf and terrifies the town. |
| My thoughts about The Curse of the Werewolf: |
| It's been a long time since I saw The Curse of the Werewolf previously. But it's still as good as I remembered it. To a great degree that is of course thanks to Oliver Reed's excellent performance. And of course - like in most of the Hammers filmed at Bray - Production Designer Bernard Robinson, who according to Jimmy Sangster could build great sets "for tuppence ha'penny". In this case the sets were actually built for a film about the Spanish Inquisition that was never shot, so the story that originally took place in Paris was quickly relocated to Spain to take advantage of those sets. But that's not a bad thing. It gives the film a rather unique look. The film takes it's time setting up the backstory before it comes to the werewolf bits. It seems like many in the modern audience do not have to patience for this. They want to get to "the good stuff" as quickly as possible. Personally I feel that the backstory is as much "good stuff" as the somewhat brief werewolf action. Much of this is because Hammer employs excellent character actors, like for example Michael Ripper. There is a disadvantage when you know a bit too much about the tricks of filmmaking. When you spot something it can take you out of the story. And there is such a trick in this film. Oliver Reed's character jumps from a balcony, lands hidden behind something, and then immediately reappears and runs towards the camera so we can see that it's actually Oliver Reed. And immediately I know that the jump was made by a stuntman and Ollie was already hiding, ready to jump out. I've seen this trick so many times that I always recognize it. But hey, if it's a good film, it draws you right back into the action again. And this is a good film. It's only in the last 10 minutes or so that we actually see the werewolf. I would perhaps have liked a little more werewolf action, but that's a minor quibble. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: Danae Cassandra on October 04, 2015, 05:45:21 PM
Post by: Achim on October 06, 2015, 10:09:40 AM
Post by: GSyren on November 04, 2015, 12:39:32 PM
| San Andreas (5-051892-189637) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/912s%2BN%2BmUML._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2015 | Released 2015-10-12 on Bluray from WarnerHome Video |
| 114 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Brad Peyton and starring Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Archie Panjabi |
| After the infamous San Andreas Fault finally gives, triggering a magnitude 9 earthquake in California, a search and rescue helicopter pilot and his estranged wife make their way together from Los Angeles to San Francisco to save their only daughter. But their treacherous journey north is only the beginning. And when they think the worst may be over...it's just getting started. |
| My thoughts about San Andreas: |
| Loves: Disaster movies Likes: The Rock Dislikes: Illogical scripts Hates: Overuse of CGI Let's get the CGI part over with first. I don't hate CGI. However, I hate in-your-face CGI, the kind that screams "Look what we can do!" The kind where they use lots of CGI when just a little would be enough to tell the story. And there are several such moments in this film. But if the action and the acting is good enough I can look past that. I can also get hung up on illogical details, like - why is the tsunami coming towards the quake zone rather than going away from it? Or - isn't Carla Gugino a bit young to be Alexandra Daddario's mother? Dwayne Johnson isn't likely to win any Academy Awards, but he works well as an action here. Carla Gugoni and Paul Giamatti are fine. Alexandra Daddario looks fine. The script is a cliché-fest, but who expected anything else? It's dumb fun, but I don't have any problems with that, when it doesn't pretend to be anything else. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on November 04, 2015, 03:28:16 PM
| Jurassic World (5-053083-044992) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91CWv2%2Bz0RL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2015 | Released 2015-10-19 on Bluray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
| 124 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.00:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Hindi DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins |
| Directed by Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) and executive produced by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, one of the biggest movie franchises of all time gets even bigger with Jurassic World. 22 years ago, John Hammond envisioned a theme park where guests could experience the thrill of witnessing actual dinosaurs. Today, Jurassic World welcomes tens of thousands of visitors, but something sinister lurks behind the park's attractions: a genetically modified dionsaur with savage capabilities. When chaos erupts across the island, Owen (Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Help) race to restore order as a day in the park becomes a struggle for survival. |
| My thoughts about Jurassic World: |
| Same, same but ... not all that different. Jurassic World is too much like Jurassic Park, but not as exciting. There are very few surprises, it's all so predictable. The mix of practical effects and CGI works well enough, but no better than it did 22 years ago in the original. In 1993, Jurassic Park was a game changer as far as CGI creatures were concerned. In 2015 Jurassic World looks pretty much like a SyFy movie, although with much more money thrown in. OK as undemanding entertainment, but nothing to get really excited about. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on November 14, 2015, 03:32:52 PM
| Taste the Blood of Dracula (5-051889-547174) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91BpVMiQmoL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United Kingdom 1969 | Released 2015-10-07 on Bluray from Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. |
| 95 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.78:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, French Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Gwen Watford, Linda Hayden, Peter Sallis |
| It's the boys' night out, time for bawdy fun. Yet revelry alone can't satisfy these community leaders out on a lark. There's still an adventure they can be duped into trying, one that will transform a certain Count from moldering dust into blood-lusting flesh. Taste the Blood of Dracula, the fourth film in Hammer Studios' cycle of hemogobbling Victorian-Era horror, is a showcase of why Hammer became the name in Gothic terror. The solid cast and rich production design raise goosebumps of real-life fear and otherworld dread. And Christopher Lee dons his red-lined cape again to become Evil Incarnate. He's Count Dracula, a being neither dead nor alive... but his movies are livelier than ever. |
| My thoughts about Taste the Blood of Dracula: |
| Rewatching Taste the Blood of Dracula, I still don't find it quite satisfying. I know that initially the plan was to do it without Dracula since Lee was reluctant to reprise the role. Hammer had done it before, in Brides of Dracula, and that worked well enough. But in the end they did persuade Lee to come back to the role, and it just seems that the script could have been reworked better to include him again. There seems to be little logic to Dracula wanting revenge for the three men killing Drac's disciple. After all, if it wasn't for those three, Dracula wouldn't have been revived at all. But perhaps it is too much to ask for logic from the undead? Also, we really see very little of Dracula. It isn't until halfway through the movie that he is revived. And even then we don't get to see that much of him. And what do we mainly see him do? Count, Dracula! ;) The ending is really confusing. Probably the worst ending of any of Hammer's Dracula films. A big mistake, in my opinion. The ending of a film is really important. A bad ending can ruin the experience of an otherwise good movie, and a good ending can save an otherwise mediocre film. Still, Christopher Lee rarely, if ever, disappoints. And the first half of the movie is quite good, even without Dracula (if we don't count the death scene repeated from Risen). So, good enough, but should have been better. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: Achim on November 16, 2015, 05:20:38 AM
The ending is really confusing. Probably the worst ending of any of Hammer's Dracula films. A big mistake, in my opinion. The ending of a film is really important. A bad ending can ruin the experience of an otherwise good movie, and a good ending can save an otherwise mediocre film.I totally agree.
Quote
Still, Christopher Lee rarely, if ever, disappoints. And the first half of the movie is quite good, even without Dracula (if we don't count the death scene repeated from Risen). So, good enough, but should have been better.I think for the most part it's simply because he didn't put in any effort to begin with, and that was because he just didn't want to do these anymore. Yet Hammer ran after him, throwing wads of cash at him, why wouldn't he do it...? That's why Dracula usually doesn't speak a lot in the later sequels, Lee refused to utter too many of the stupid words that had been written for him.
Funny, really, as it is the main role he will always be remembered by. Except for Lord of the Rings, maybe.
Post by: GSyren on November 16, 2015, 09:34:08 AM
Yet Hammer ran after him, throwing wads of cash at him, why wouldn't he do it...?Actually, from what I've read one of the reasons that Lee didn't want to do this film was that Hammer did not throw wads of cash at him, i.e. they didn't want to pay his going rate. Rather they "blackmailed" him into coming back by telling him how many people he would put out of a job if he didn't.
Post by: Achim on November 17, 2015, 05:13:06 AM
Actually, from what I've read one of the reasons that Lee didn't want to do this film was that Hammer did not throw wads of cash at him, i.e. they didn't want to pay his going rate. Rather they "blackmailed" him into coming back by telling him how many people he would put out of a job if he didn't.Ouch. Not classy. not classy at all.
Lee was the first Dracula I have seen, so I will associate that character with him. The three I saw were Dracula (a.k.a. Horror of Dracula), Prince of Darkness and Dracula, 1972A.D. and I still feel close to that experience now (the latter more of a guilt pleasure at this point).
Post by: GSyren on November 26, 2015, 10:14:26 AM
| Black Eagle (5-037899-059647) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91RkZUPre1L._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 1988 | Released 2015-05-04 on Bluray from 101 Films |
| 104 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Eric Karson and starring Sho Kosugi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Doran Clark, Bruce French, Vladimir Skomarovsky |
| 'Black Eagle' takes as its inspiration Reagan-era cold war paranoia. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays Andrei, a KGB operative and Shô Kosugi as CIA agent Ken Tani aka Black Eagle. This was Van Damme's second movie and helped to secure his reputation as one of the world's leading action heroes. After an F11 fighter plane gets shot down over the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S. Government cannot afford to lose the top-secret laser tracking device on board. But unfortunately, the KGB team lead by the infamous Andrei (Jean-Claude-Van-Damme - KICKBOXER) are beating the CIA in the race to find it. The CIA has no choice but to call in their best man, master martial artist Ken Tani (Shô Kosug - ENTER THE NINJAi), code name…Black Eagle. In response the KGB resorts to an all-out war, with the powerful Andrei matching Ken blow for blow. |
| My thoughts about Black Eagle: |
| Good news, bad news and worse news... Bad news: This isn't a very good Jean-Claude Van Damme film. It's actually not a JCVD film. It's a Sho Kosugi film with JCVD in a rather minor role. Worse news: This is not a very good film, period. It's not terrible, it's just not terribly good. Ok, those tidbits aren't really news, since the movie is a good quarter of a century old. But ... Good news: The Blu-ray release from 101 Films is absolutely flawless when it comes to image and sound quality. I'm pretty sure that this movie has never looked or sounded better, even in the cinema. If you're a JCVD completist (or, for that matter, a Sho Kosugi completist) you'll kick yourself if you're in the wrong region without a region free BD player. Or perhaps you'll get the German release, which seems to be region free, but I don't know anything about its quality. For the rest of you - this is a serviceable action movie, but no need to lose sleep over it if you decide to pass it by. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on November 29, 2015, 04:26:30 PM
| Bear Island (5-035822-012233) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91n3qLDKBoL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| Canada 1979 | Released 2013-03-11 on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment |
| 113 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.35:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Don Sharp and starring Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Barbara Parkins |
| Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee and Richard Widmark star in this hi-octane 1979 British suspence thriller from the pen of Alistair MacLean ( The Guns of Naverone, Where Eagles Dare) An international team of scientists arrive on the remote, NATO-controlled Bear Island high up in the Arctic Circle. Their mission is to study the effects of global warming on the polar ice caps – or is it? As the scientists begin their tasks, they are swiftly betrayed by one or members of their team – and murder quickly follows. Bear Island has a secret – one worh killing for. Trapped and alone in one of the most remote regions of the world, the survivors must discover that secret and fight to stay alaive in the frozen wastes while never knowing who to trust... Beatifully filmed on location in Alaska and Canada, Bear Island is directed by Hammer Films stalwart Don Sharp (Rasputin: The Mad Monk, Kiss of The Vampire) and has never been available to own on UK DVD before. This new release has been extensively remastered and restored. |
| My thoughts about Bear Island: |
| At some point in my youth I must have read Bear Island, but I have absolutely no memory of it. I know that the movie is "loosely based on" the book. Can MacLean's writing be improved on? Certainly. Does this script do that? I doubt it, MacLean's book can't have been that bad! With so many good actors, this should be a great movie. But alas, no. Sir Christopher Lee is pretty much wasted in his role. The same can be said for Richard Widmark, who I really liked in his earlier roles. Perhaps the script and the direction are to be blamed. The script certainly left many unanswered questions, like - What were those weather researchers actually supposed to be doing on Bear Island? We never saw any researching. - Why would NATO insist on radio silence from a research party? - If there was a NATO installation on the island, why was the research station so far from it? and also why does Bear Island in the movie look nothing like the real Bjørnøya? With a decent script, and possibly a better director, this could have been a cracking movie. Instead it's just a passable action movie. Not the worst of MacLean adaptations, but quite far from the best. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 08, 2016, 04:25:16 PM
| Doctor Mordrid (859831-008163) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/919jtlb4lyL._SX425_.jpg) |
| United States 1992 | Released 2014-09-23 on Bluray from Full Moon Features |
| 75 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Albert Band, Charles Band and starring Jeffrey Combs, Yvette Nipar, Jay Acovone, Keith Coulouris, Ritch Brinkley |
| Two beings from another dimension; two sorcerers with immeasurable powers. One has sworn to destroy the Earth; the other has vowed to protect it. Their timeless battle has crossed over from the fourth dimension and only one man will reign in the end... Doctor Mordrid (JEFFREY COMBS) is the chosen guardian who can protect the Earth from eternal darkness; Kabal (BRIAN THOMPSON) is his vengeful enemy whose implacable wrath has escalated with time. Kabal has arrived on Earth and is planning to use his infinite powers to unleash a horde of hellish demons to devour and destroy humankind. Bound by hate and a mystical amulet that holds the powers of life and death, the immortal wizards will meet for the last time. Their centuries-old rivalry has matured into the ancient struggle of good versus evil. Now, their battle takes on majestic proportions as Mordrid and Kabal give life to prehistoric skeletons and begin their final conflict... |
| My thoughts about Doctor Mordrid: |
| I have seen Doctor Mordrid before, and I thought it was only so-so. I gave it 2.5 stars at the time. I probably wouldn't have double dipped for the blu-ray release if it wasn't for Dave Allen's stop motion animation. As a big fan of stop motion I wanted those sequences in HD. I don't know if it was just the better picture and sound quality, or if I was just in a better mood for it, but I liked the film a bit better this time. The mythology seems pretty muddled. Apparently the script was originally an adaptation of Marvel's Doctor Strange, but Full Moon lost the rights to it, and changed it to Doctor Mordrid. Perhaps it would have made more sense to me if I had been familiar with Doctor Strange. It's an OK time-killer, but not a very good movie. But how many Full Moon movies are? |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 12, 2016, 10:09:27 AM
| That Little Monster (790594-467326) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416G62286XL.jpg) |
| United States 1994 | Released 2002-07-30 on DVD |
| 56 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Paul Bunnell and starring Melissa Baum, Reggie Bannister, Wolper Willock, William Mills, Andi Wenning |
| Like the unforgettable horror films of the past, THAT LITTLE MONSTER draws you into its world from frame one. In a dead-on recreation of Edward Van Sloan's prologue to the 1931 FRANKENSTEIN, sci-fi professor emeritus Forrest J. Ackerman steps before a curtain to forewarn us that the movie is not for the faint of heart. The screen blazes white and slowly refigures into two feminine hands in tight close up which pull away to reveal the face of a quite pretty young girl. Her name is Jamie (Melissa Baum). She's a foreign student, awaiting an interview with the parents of an infant boy she hopes to baby-sit. Everyday situation, to be sure. Ah, but nothing is ordinary here! At once the house and its bizarre appointments begin to close in on Jamie, unsettling her and creepily unnerving us. The photography pays homage to the great horror films of the 1930's. A devilish, strange, disquieting little chiller that will cap your evening with some delicious shudders. Some of its images may stay on in your mind to become part of your film vocabulary. |
| My thoughts about That Little Monster: |
| Way too Lynch-ian for me, and I never really liked Lynch. The opening homage to Frankenstein by Forrest J Ackerman was brilliant, but really ill advised since it set totally wrong expectations for the rest of the film. Not my kind of film, at all. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 15, 2016, 07:20:07 PM
| The Good Witch's Garden (018713-612700) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91Yz4e1E8fL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2009 | Released 2014-04-22 on DVD from Cinedigm |
| 86 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Craig Pryce and starring Catherine Bell, Chris Potter, Catherine Disher, Peter MacNeill, Rob Stewart |
| Cassie has settled into Middleton and is busy making a home of Grey House. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Jake Russell, and his kids are happy to have Cassie in the neighborhood, but she has yet to gain the trust of some people in town. Before long, a stranger rolls into town with papers entitling him to legal ownership of Grey House. Cassie is left without a home and is convinced Middleton isn't where she belongs. Ultimately, everyone will learn holding on too tightly to something can make it more likely that thing will slip through your fingers. |
| My thoughts about The Good Witch's Garden: |
| Sweet, inoffensive and just a bit too bland for my taste. But it has Catherine Bell, and I really like her. Not as good as the original Good Witch movie, but fair enough. Not sure I'll go for any of the following sequels, though. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 17, 2016, 12:39:01 PM
| Dragonheart (5-050582-368086) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519lbjo2eDL.jpg) |
| United States 1996 | Released 2005-08-01 on DVD from Universal Pictures |
| 99 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.35:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Polish Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Rob Cohen and starring Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Dina Meyer, Jason Isaacs |
| Long ago, when majestic fire-breathers soared through the skies, there lived a knight who would come face-to-face and heart-to-heart with the most remarkable creature that ever existed. Dennis Quaid stars with the voice of Academy Award winner Sean Connery in director Rob Cohen's heroic adventure that blazes with fantasy, humor, and the most amazing special effects. Bowen (Quaid) is a knight dedicated to The Old Code - a noble creed of honour. When his pupil,Prince Einon,becomes an even crueller king than his father,Bowen's idealism turns to bitterness.Believing Einon's soul to have been poisoned by a dragon,Bowen vows to destroy them all.On his quest for revenge he meets "Draco" (Connery),a dragon whose power,strenght and wit prove to be more than a match for the disillusioned knight.Soon,what begins as a life or death struggle between the two evolves into a friendship that will change the face of their medieval world. Co-starring David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Julie Christie and Dina Meyer, this epic adventure will move and thrill the entire family. |
| My thoughts about Dragonheart: |
| I like the story. Or rather - I don't dislike the story. But the film has problems. And one of them - for me - is Sean Connery. In the documentary Rob Cohen says that Connery's voice is immediately recognizable, as if it's a good thing. It isn't. Not for me, at least. The 20 year old CGI is also "immediately recognizable". Combined, this means that Draco never becomes its own character, but is always an animated dragon with the voice of Sean Connery. And thus I can never really get involved in the story, and the tagline "You will believe" just never comes true. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 19, 2016, 04:33:49 PM
| Hell's Angels (025192-593321) |
| (http://cloquetriverpress.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hell.jpeg) |
| United States 1930 | Released 2004-12-07 on DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
| 132 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Howard Hughes and starring Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow, Lucien Prival |
| Billionaire HOWARD HUGHES produced and directed Hell's Angels, the most expensive film ever made of its time. Hughes spared no expense in capturing an exciting dogfight between R.A.F. and German fighter planes, using 137 pilots in all. Hell's Angels is perhaps more notable for introducing JEAN HARLOW to the screen in her first major film role. Set during World War I, Hell's Angels is the story of three Oxford buddies: two brothers (BEN LYON and JAMES HALL) and one German (JOHN DARROW). When all three are conscripted to fight on opposing sides of the war, each is torn between obedience to his country and that of his conscience. Jean Harlow is the woman who comes between the three men in this lavish period adventure. |
| My thoughts about Hell's Angels: |
| Hell's Angels is a remarkable film in many ways. For one thing, it was filmed twice. Howard Hughes had filmed it silent back in 1928. When sound equipment became available, Hughes scrapped the silent film and reshot it with sound. One sequence is shot in an early color process, and some other sequences are tinted. Also remarkable are the flying sequences. While there is some model work, most of the flying was done for real, and three pilots were killed during filming. The zeppelin is a model, but the crash looks very good. The story is interesting, but the film drags a bit in some sequences. Jean Harlow looks cute as hell. Hard to believe that she's still a teenager, though. She was 19 at the time. It's interesting that they had Rittmeister von Richthofen shoot down the brothers' plane. Unfortunately Snoopy was not there to save them. It's hard to rate this film without taking into account its historical value. You can't really compare it to modern films when it comes to story and acting. If you have no interest at all in film history, then this is possibly not the film for you. Otherwise, watch this and then watch Scorsese's The Aviator as sort of a docudrama making-of feature. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: Achim on February 22, 2016, 05:47:56 AM
Post by: GSyren on March 03, 2016, 09:02:23 PM
| Creature from the Black Lagoon (Disc ID: 3825-BE80-10AB-BAC6) |
| United States 1954 | Released 2012-10-01 on Bluray from Universal Pictures |
| 79 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.85:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, French DTS Mono, Italian DTS Mono, German DTS Mono, Spanish DTS Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Jack Arnold and starring Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, Nestor Paiva |
| A hideous creature kidnaps the woman he loves, forcing scientists to hunt him all the way back into the depths from where he came in this iconic horror film. |
| Revenge of the Creature (Disc ID: F1EC-7146-656B-CC33) |
| United States 1955 | Released 2004-10-19 on DVD from Universal Home Entertainment |
| 82 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Jack Arnold and starring John Agar, Lori Nelson, John Bromfield, Nestor Paiva, Grandon Rhodes |
| In this provocative follow-up to the original, the Creature (John Agar) has been captured by scientists who will stop at nothing to uncover his secrets. Miserable in captivity, the Creature finds only one source of sympathy – a beautiful female researcher (Lori Nelson). Soon he escapes and kidnaps her, determined to take her to his underwater lair. Acting legend Clint Eastwood’s first screen appearance is among the surprises found in this clever sequel, directed by the original’s Jack Arnold. |
| The Creature Walks Among Us (Disc ID: F1EC-7146-656B-CC33) |
| United States 1956 | Released 2004-10-19 on DVD from Universal Home Video |
| 78 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by John Sherwood and starring Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Leigh Snowden, Gregg Palmer, Maurice Manson |
| Once again, scientists underestimate the Creature (Jeff Morrow), this time in a failed surgical attempt to transform him from a mutant into a human. Being able to live on land is not enough to make the Creature comfortable with humans. Enraged, he turns his wrath on anyone who comes near as he desperately tries to return to the deep-water world where he truly belongs. Highlighted by the original's eerie underwater photography and distinctive makeup, the film is an enduring tribute to the series' inventive creators. |
| Creature Feature: 60 Years of the Gill-Man (737088-096426) |
| United States 2015 | Released 2015-10-27 on Bluray from Shadowplay Enterprises |
| 73 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.37:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Matt Crick and starring Keith David, Ben Chapman, Julie Adams, Benicio Del Toro, Daniel Roebuck |
| First surfacing in 1954, the Creature From the Black Lagoon has been one of the most important and influential monsters of the silver screen. Featuring Ben Chapman, Julie Adams. Oscar-Winner Benicio Del Toro, Arthur Ross and more, Creature Feature: 60 Years of the Gill-Man tells the story of the era behind the creation and distribution of this classic genre film. Narrated by Keith David, Creature Feature covers all three films in the Universal trilogy, including a special segment on the “copycat creature films." Flash forward 60 years to see the impact it has had with fans and collectors. Written and produced by Sam Borowski and directed and produced by Matt Crick, this feature length documentary will take you on a journey down Monster Lane! |
So, I decided to rewatch all three Creature films plus the documentary. I wish I could have watched the first one in 3D, but unfortunately I don't have a 3D TV. And I have no plans to buy one. I would like to see some of the classic 50's 3D movies in 3D, but I have rather little interest in any of the recent ones. I did actually see Creature in anaglyph 3D on television many years ago, but that system was flawed, and I only had a 21 inch TV at the time, so the impact was not that great.
However, even in 2D, Creature from the Black Lagoon is a great movie. It is definitely better than the sequels. No surprise there. But the sequels are fun, too. Ricou Browning plays the creature in the underwater sequences in all three films. The creature on land is played by a different actor in each film. I was hoping that the documentary would shed some light as to why that was, but no such luck. Apart from Browning I think the only actor that appears in more than one of the films is Nestor Paiva, who plays the captain of the boat that takes them to the lagoon. He is in Revenge as well.
Creature from the Black Lagoon is available on blu-ray, either as part of the Universal Monsters boxset or separately. The sequels are only available on DVD in the Creature from the Black Lagoon Legacy Collection, as far as I know. Creature Feature: 60 Years of the Gill-Man is available on both BD and DVD. It has some interesting facts and interviews, but much of it concerns the Creature fandom and wasn't really very interesting, in my opinion. At around $20 it's not very good value for money, unless you are really into The Creature.
Post by: Achim on March 04, 2016, 06:00:20 AM
In fact, when I was a kid I saw Jack Arnold's science fiction films on TV and liked them a lot. He was a great B-movie director of his time, with Tarantula, The Incredible Shrinking Man and more to his credit.
Post by: GSyren on March 06, 2016, 05:05:28 PM
| Spione (5-060000-400878) |
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vftGgFbiL.jpg) |
| Germany 1928 | Released 2005-04-18 on DVD from Eureka! Video |
| 145 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.33:1 | Audio: Music Only Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Fritz Lang and starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Lien Deyers, Louis Ralph, Craighall Sherry |
| Newly restored to its original length, Fritz Lang's penultimate silent film, 'Spione [Spies]', is a flawlessly constructed labyrinthine spy thriller. Hugely influential, Lang's famous passion for meticulous detail combines with masterful storytelling and editing skills to form a relentless tale of intrigue, espionage, and blackmail. An international spy ring, headed by Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), uses technology, threats, and murder to obtain government secrets. As master spy, president of a bank, and music hall clown, Haghi leads several lives using instruments of modern technology to spearhead a mad rush for secrets — secrets that assert his power over others. Setting in stone for the first time many elements of the modern spy thriller, 'Spione' remains remarkably fresh and captivating over 75 years since its first release. Presented here with original German intertitles (and optional English subtitles), marvel as Lang carefully reveals the elaborate methods of the spies as they move through his unknown city - a mirror of troubled Weimar Germany. |
| My thoughts about Spione: |
| I'm normally not a real big fan of silent movies, and I find that I prefer movies that are about 1½ hours. So could a 2½ hour silent movie hold my attention. In this case, the answer is a resounding Yes. I wasn't really surprised, because I liked Dr. Mabuse - the Gambler as well, and that one is almost 4 hours. Fritz Lang really is a most remarkable director. Spies actually feels very much like a Dr. Mabuse film, if Mabuse had turned into a master spy instead of a master criminal. There are several versions of this film. The one I watched was the restored version released by Eureka. The US Kino release is essentially the same, except it has English intertitles, whereas Eureka has German intertitles with optional English subtitles. The story does have a few weak spots, but this movie is still well worth watching. Especially if you have any interest at all in film history. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on October 27, 2016, 05:33:44 PM
| A Very Long Engagement (7-321900-389723) |
| (http://invelos.com/mpimages/73/7321900389723.4f.jpg) |
| France 2004 | Released 2005-06-13 on DVD |
| 123 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.40:1 | Audio: French Dolby Digital EX 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), German Dolby Digital EX 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and starring Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jean-Pierre Becker, Dominique Bettenfeld, Clovis Cornillac |
| In 1919, Mathilde was 19 years old. Two years earlier her fiancé Manech left for the front at the Somme. Like millions of others he was killed "on the field of battle." It`s written in black and white on the official notice, but Mathilde refuses to believe it. If Manech had died, she would know. A former sergeant tells her in vain that Manech died in the no man`s land of a trench called Bingo Crepescule, in the company of four other men condemned to die for self-inflicted wounds. Her path is full of obstacles but Mathilde is not frightened. Anything is possible to someone who is willing to challenge fate... |
| My thoughts about A Very Long Engagement (Un long dimanche de fiançailles): |
| Un long dimanche de film... Well, I don't know if that's proper French, but I just wanted to say that the film was a little too long for my taste. I would have preferred a few less subplots. That would have made it easier for me to keep my interest up throughout the movie. There certainly are movies over 2 hours that never feel too long for me, but this didn't quite make the grade. That said, I thought the cinematography was fantastic. I like Audrey Tautou quiet a lot. It was quite a bit gorier than I had expected, given that it was on Yves' grandchildren's top lists. The story was fine, but I'm not really fond of that many flashbacks. I prefer a somewhat more linear storytelling. Still, not a bad movie at all. Well worth the time put in to watch it, as Pete likes to say. ;) |
| I rate this title: 4/5 |
Post by: surfeur51 on October 27, 2016, 06:28:56 PM
It was quite a bit gorier than I had expected, given that it was on Yves' grandchildren's top lists.Well, it was not a movie that I wanted to show them, but after they learned about WWI at school, and heard about Verdun's commemorations this year, they insisted to see a movie showing trench warfare. In fact, they were not really scared by the war scenes, but very interested by Mathilde's search for her lost fiance. But I was surprised to see this film on their lists.
Post by: GSyren on November 13, 2016, 07:35:12 PM
| The Jungle Book (8-717418-484675) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/912yJrv2H5L._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2016 | Released 2016-08-22 on Bluray from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
| 106 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.85:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o |
| The man-cub Mowgli flees the jungle after a threat from the tiger Shere Khan. Guided by Bagheera the panther and the bear Baloo, Mowgli embarks on a journey of self-discovery, though he also meets creatures who don't have his best interests at heart. |
| My thoughts about The Jungle Book: |
| I had very low expectations for this version of The Jungle Book. I loved the old Disney version, and I thought that the whole liven action / CGI combination was just an awful idea. I very often hate movies that depend heavily on CGI, so I expected to hate this one as well. I was wrong. I really liked it. Especially at first. But then there were two things that just didn't work for me. First of all, the songs. They just felt so wrong. They just didn't fit the mood of the film at all. Secondly, I disliked the whole King Louie sequence (not just the song). I don't have a problem with celebrity voices per se, but somehow King Louie became just too Christopher Walken. It felt like a big monkey doing a bad impression of Walken. On the other hand, I had no problem with the kid. I know many people didn't think he could act. I thought he did an amazing job for a ten year old kid acting in a blue screen environment. And the CGI worked surprisingly well for the most part. For the first half of the movie this was easily a 4 1/2 start movie for me. But then it took a dip. Still, I'm glad I finally overcame my suspicions and sat down to watch it. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on November 21, 2016, 02:12:16 PM
| The Loreley's Grasp (8-717903-485408) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71dBEpzHxZL._SL1200_.jpg) |
| Spain 1974 | Released 2014-05-23 on DVD from Shock DVD |
| 81 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.78:1 | Audio: German Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Amando de Ossorio and starring Tony Kendall, Helga Line, Silvia Tortosa, Josefina Jartin, Lolita Tovar |
| The legendary Loreley has been living for centuries in a grotto beneath the river Rhein in Germany. Every night when the moon is full, she turns into a reptile-like creature craving for human blood. When one girl after another of a nearby boarding school is killed by her, a hunter named Sirgurd is engaged to kill the monster. |
| My thoughts about The Loreley's Grasp: |
| Sitting in Sweden watching a German DVD release of a Spanish movie dubbed in English - that feels international. ;D It's always fun to find a monster movie that you had not heard of before. Although you never get a real good look at the monster, and that's probably a good thing. There is one moment when you see the monster through some shrubbery and it isn't blurred by movement. Although you only see it partially, and for quite a short while, it's kind of obvious that it's not a very good design. There are a few scenes that are rather graphic when the Loreley digs out the hearts of its victims. And you get some mutilated faces. Other than that, there's not a whole lot of horror. Some suspense, but the story is rather weak. Fun if you're in the right mood. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on November 23, 2016, 04:45:18 PM
| 2103 The Deadly Wake (750723-109626) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/519n0%2BkG0LL._SX466_.jpg) |
| Canada 1997 | Released 2001-10-09 on DVD from Maverick Entertainment, York Entertainment |
| 100 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.37:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Directed by Philip Jackson and starring Malcolm McDowell, Michael Paré, Heidi Von Palleske, Mackenzie Gray, Hal Eisen |
| The mega-tanker Lilith needs a captain and the huge Proxate corporation wants the desperate and half drunk Sean Murdoch (Malcolm McDowell, Star Trek: Generations, A Clockwork Orange). Murdoch hasn't captained a ship since sinking his last assignment and is desperate for a job. However, he quickly realizes he is in far more than he bargained for when he discovers that the Lilith is a prison ship, crewed by the viciously insane. The tough-as-nails warden Tarkis (Michael Paré, Men of Means, Carver's Gate) doesn't agree with Proxate's decision for captain, as the two have a long-standing hatred. When crewmembers start dying under mysterious circumstances, mutiny seems inevitable. Just as things reach a fever pitch, Murdoch and Tarkis uncover a hidden bomb and realize that Proxate has a deadly agenda for the voyage. |
| My thoughts about 2103 The Deadly Wake: |
| There are some actors whose name should raise a warning flag when you see it in the credits. Michael Paré is one such actor. He isn't a bad actor, he just makes some awful choices of films to appear in, whether by financial necessity or bad judgement. And 2103: The Deadly Wake is an awful choice, for the actor and for the viewer. Malcolm McDowell isn't a bad actor either. He is, in fact, usually very good. And if there is a saving grace in this film, it is McDowell. But that is unfortunately far from enough to make the film palatable. It has an excruciatingly high WTF-count. That's the number of times you think to yourself "What the fuck?". The script - if there even was one - is pretty much an incomprehensible mess. And most everything else is just as bad. Some call this film "So good it's bad." I beg to disagree. As far as I'm concerned it's just bad. No, strike that. It's not bad - it's awful! It's actually not the worst film I have ever seen, and that's the only reason I'm not giving it just 1/2 star. But make no mistake about it, it's a very weak one star (on the verge of collapsing into a black hole). (By the way, the image on the cover has absolutely nothing to do with the film.) |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on December 23, 2016, 07:23:10 PM
| Zootopia (8-717418-478940) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91cqtQYvjgL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2016 | Released 2016-07-25 on Bluray from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Buena Vista Home Entertainment |
| 109 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.39:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish DTS 5.1, Portuguese DTS 5.1, Catalonian DTS 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence |
| From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes a comedy-adventure set in the modern mammal metropolis of Zootropolis. Determined to prove herself, Officer Judy Hopps, the first bunny on Zootropolis's police force, jumps at the chance to crack her first case – even if it means partnering with scam-artist fox Nick Wilde to solve the mystery. Bring home this hilarious adventure full of action, heart and tons of bonus extras that take you deeper into the world of Zootropolis. It's big fun for all shapes and species! |
| My thoughts about Zootropolis: |
| The day before Christmas Eve I was feeling a little "bah humbug", so I tried to pick a movie that would lift my spirits. And Zootopia (or Zootropolis as it is called over here for some undisclosed reason) seemed to fit the bill. And it sure did. I really liked this movie. Great animation, great voice acting, good story. So why not "great story"? Well, there were two things that were not quite perfect, in my opinion. I thought the movie wasn't as funny as I would have hoped. Sure, there were many cute bits that made me smile a little, but no laugh-out-loud moments. But that's a minor gripe. The other thing was the message. Nothing wrong with the message in itself. Racial discrimination is a big issue. But I felt that it wasn't very subtle. Rather, it felt like they were hitting me over the head with it. But maybe that's what it takes to make some people understand it? Still, the movie was well paced, and I enjoyed it a lot. Probably worth seeing again just to absorb all the little background details. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: Tom on December 23, 2016, 08:43:23 PM
Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk
Post by: GSyren on December 24, 2016, 05:43:17 PM
| Speedway (012569-517721) |
| (http://i.ebayimg.com/13/!!eBt7,!BmM~$(KGrHqJ,!i4E0FlSuh8tBNQ2j,jBG!~~_12.JPG?set_id=89040003C1) |
| United States 1968 | Released 2004-08-03 on DVD from Warner Home Video |
| 94 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.40:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono, French Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, Bill Bixby, Gale Gordon, William Schallert |
| He races. She chases. Yet love and laughter find a way when "World 600" stock car driver Elvis meets Internal Revenue Service collection agent Nancy Sinatra in Speedway. "There Ain't Nothing like a Song," pedal-to-the-metal Elvis and go-go-booted Nancy sing. For the first time since he and Ann-Margret proclaimed 'Viva Las Vegas', Presley pairs with a high-octane singing, dancing leading lady. Bill Bixby is the manager who mismanages Presley into a $145,000 jam with the IRS and laughs are further fueled by veteran TV funnymen Gale Gordon ('The Lucy Show') and Carl Ballantine ('McHale's Navy'). The supersonic songlist includes 'Let Yourself Go', 'Your Time Hasn't Come Yet', 'Baby' and 'Your Groovy Self'. Have a groovy time! |
| My thoughts about Speedway: |
| Elvis actually had some acting skills. It's a shame that so few of his films take advantage of that. Most of them are just shallow musical comedies designed to take advantage of his singing. And this one isn't even one of the better of those. Elvis is fine, and Bill Bixby is OK too. But Nancy Sinatra looks bored, and Elvis + Nancy sparks like a wet blanket. Who would think that the cutest girl in an Elvis comedy would be a 7 year old? William Schallert is in there, too. He is one of those dependable supporting actors that seemed to turn up everywhere in movies and on TV. He has 279 entries an TV actor in IMDb, and 96 movies credits. And yet most people probably don't know his name even if they recognize his face. This is a very forgettable movie. It might be worth seeing if you're an Elvis fan, otherwise - stay clear. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on December 31, 2016, 12:17:21 PM
| Peur sur la ville (3-259130-237276) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61JnACj1VrL._SL1000_.jpg) |
| France 1975 | Released 2007-08-20 on DVD from StudioCanal |
| 121 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.66:1 | Audio: French Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Henri Verneuil and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Denner, Adalberto-Maria Merli, Rosy Varte, Roland Dubillard |
| Après la mort de Nora Elmer, un certain "Minos" prend contact avec le commisaire Letelier, chargé de l'anquête. "Minos" revendique l'assassinat de Nora et annonce d'autre meurtes en série... |
| My thoughts about Peur sur la ville: |
| Peur sur la ville is a good film that could have been a great film. It has some great chase scenes with stunt work by Belmondo himself that makes your palms sweat. At least mine did, but I do have a fear of heights. There are, in my opinion, several flaws in this movie: 1) The chase scenes come too early in the movie. An action movie should build up to an exciting climax. This is more like a premature ejaculation. 2) The car chase part (or rather car vs motorcycle) is disappointing. They had Rémy Julienne working for them. He was one of the best car stunt arrangers in the world! Surely they could have made something more of this? 3) Minor quibble, but changing the chase target in the middle of the chase sequence lessens the impact, in my opinion. 4) Having Belmondo and the SWAT team rappel from a helicopter to the roof of the building makes no sense. The bad guy and the hostages were in an apartment. Surely it would have been possible to reach the roof from inside the building? I guess this is just an attempt to create an exciting finish to the movie. It doesn't cut it. Still, it's not a bad movie. And Belmondo is always Belmondo. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on January 28, 2017, 01:31:52 PM
| Has Anybody Seen My Gal (Disc ID: A324-A5AA-D893-5360) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516DXC3B61L.jpg) |
| United States 1952 | Released 2006-11-14 on DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
| 88 minutes | Aspect ratio Non-anamorphic 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Piper Laurie, Rock Hudson, Charles Coburn, Gigi Perreau, Lynn Bari |
| In this charming musical comedy, Rock Hudson plays a faithful soda jerk who finds his attentions to the lovely Millicent (Piper Laurie) turned down after her family gains a large sum of money. |
| My thoughts about Has Anybody Seen My Gal: |
| When your unwatched "pile" contains many hundreds of movies, DVD Profiler can help pick something at random. That's how I came to be watching Has Anybody Seen My Gal today. Although Piper Laurie and Rock Hudson are top billed, the film really belongs to Charles Coburn and young Gigi Perreau. It's a delightful, lightweight musical comedy, warning us that money can't buy happiness. I think of Piper Laurie foremost as the fanatic mother in Carrie, so it was really fun to see a much younger Piper here. James Dean is in a scene that's so short that if you blink you'll miss it. Or so I'm told. I guess I blinked. |
| I rate this title |
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Post by: GSyren on February 08, 2017, 04:54:40 PM
| Deepwater Horizon (5-055761-908626) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/9129pZ98ZZL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| United States 2016 | Released 2017-01-30 on Bluray from Lionsgate |
| 107 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.40:1 | Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Douglas M. Griffin, James DuMont, Joe Chrest |
| MARK WAHLBERG LEADS AN ALL-STAR CAST in this unforgettably powerful film inspired by a thrilling story of real-life heroes. For the one hundred and twenty-six people aboard the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig, April 20, 2010, began like any normal day. Before day’s end, the world would bear witness to one of the greatest man-made disasters in U.S. history. Deepwater Horizon reveals the brave acts of the men and women who rose to the challenge—and risked everything to lead others to safety. |
| My thoughts about Deepwater Horizon: |
| Kurt Russell and Mark Wahlberg are among my favorite actors, and they do a great job in a very good movie here. I don't go to the cinema any more, I just watch everything at home, mostly on Blu-ray. I seldom miss the cinema experience, preferring the calm of my own living room, but this is a movie that probably should be watched on the big screen. Still a great experience, though. Two notes: 1. I feel sorry for those who comment that they were bored by the movie and couldn't get through the first half. I guess some people just don't have the patience to watch the important set-up that lets us know the characters and the situation. They just want to get to "the good part", i.e. the disaster. That's sort of like going straight for the dessert and bypassing the entre and main course of a meal. It's all part of the experience. 2. Those who know me know that I abhor overuse of CGI. This movie is a good example of CGI done right. What can be done practical is done practical, and then augmented by CGI. This makes it feel very real. I approve! |
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Post by: GSyren on February 10, 2017, 02:33:09 PM
| Race with the Devil (5-039036-028684) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51dGAqfMYDL.jpg) |
| United States 1975 | Released 2007-08-20 on DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| 84 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono |
| Directed by Jack Starrett and starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, Lara Parker, R. G. Armstrong |
| Frank, Roger and their wives take off for Colorado in a recreational vehicle, looking forward to some skiing and dirt biking. While camping en route, they witness a satanic ritual human sacrifice, but the local sheriff finds no evidence to support their claims and urges them to continue on their vacation. On the way, however, they find themselves repeatedly attacked by cult members, and they take measure to defend themselves. |
| My thoughts about Race with the Devil: |
| I had high hopes for Race with the Devil but alas ... I just couldn't get over the absolute improbability of the whole state (almost) being part of a satanic conspiracy. In addition, it takes well over an hour for the titular race to actually get going. Also, I've never been a big fan of Peter Fonda. I do like Warren Oates, and I love a good car chase and good stunts, but they just cannot save the movie for me. This is probably a case of me coming to the movie with too high expectations. |
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Post by: GSyren on March 27, 2017, 07:26:33 PM
| The Mighty Peking Man (5-060103-798902) |
| (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81d86-xrdaL._SL1500_.jpg) |
| Hong Kong 1977 | Released 2017-03-13 on Bluray from 88 Films, Celestial Pictures |
| 90 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.35:1 | Audio: English PCM Mono, Cantonese PCM Mono, Commentary PCM 2-Channel Stereo |
| Directed by Meng-Hwa Ho and starring Evelyne Kraft, Danny Lee, Feng Ku, Lin Wei-Tu, Hsu Shao-Chiang |
| The success of the Japanese GODZILLA movies led to all kinds of strange cash-in capers - including the legendarily bizarre North Korean opus PULGASARI (1985). However, it was with THE MIGHTY PEKING MAN in 1977 that the Shaw Brothers studio cast their own attempt at a mega-sized monster movie and, for many, this is the one that even outdoes the Tokyo originators for sheer sublime cinematic genius. Featuring the iconic Danny Lee (THE KILLER/ THE UNTOLD STORY/ CITY ON FIRE) as an explorer in the Himalayas who gets caught up with a ravishing jungle Jane (played by the delicious Evelyne Kraft), and discovers a huge King Kong-inspired ape hiding in the forest, THE MIGHTY PEKING MAN is a creature feature that is packed full of sex appeal, city-smashing theatrics and monstrous moments. Acclaimed by Quentin Tarantino, who considers it a personal favourite, and highlighting assured direction from the great Ho Meng Hua (whose genre career also spans such sleazy classics as BLACK MAGIC and THE OILY MANIAC), MIGHTY PEKING MAN sets a gold standard in Hong Kong grindhouse glory and is finally back on British shelves, ready to pummel its way into the hearts of a new generation! The |
| My thoughts about The Mighty Peking Man: |
| When I watched Mighty Peking Man on DVD 16 years ago I was not impressed. Watching it on blu-ray was a different experience. Or maybe I have just grown more forgiving. Anyway, I liked it better now. It's still not a good movie, but it's a fun rip-off of King Kong. And Evelyne Kraft looks stunning. But then there's that ape suit. It looks marginally better than Toho's Kong suit, but that's faint praise indeed. The drawback with the improved quality of the blu-ray is that some of the subpar special effects look even "subber". But a lot of effects are still impressive, and I certainly prefer them to CGI effects. Slightly off topic: The UK blu has a commentary by Bey Logan. I haven't listened to it yet, but all of his commentaries on those old Hong Kong Legends DVDs have been spectacular. He is by far the best commentator that I have listened to. Eagerly anticipating this one. |
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Post by: GSyren on May 10, 2018, 08:01:02 PM
The Sea Wolf (888574-541958)
(http://invelos.com/mpimages/88/888574541958f.jpg)
United States 1941 | Released 2017-10-10 on Bluray from Warner Bros. Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
100 minutes | Aspect ratio: 1.37:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Alexander Knox, Gene Lockhart
Jack London's novel The Sea Wolf had it all: action, mystery and widespread popularity. But Jack Warner, claiming the title was too similar to the studio's The Sea Hawk, wanted to give the 1941 film version something else: a new name. Producer Henry Blanke resisted, saying it would be "a detriment to the box office...(like changing) Gone With the Wind to Molly From the South." As film fans know, Molly stayed in the South and the haunting nautical adventure took a big bite out of the box office, becoming one of the top moneymakers of 1940-41.
Edward G. Robinson and a superb cast are the hands on deck for this voyage into nightmare. Robinson is Captain Wolf Larsen, a hell-bent seadog who ranks with Moby Dick's Ahab and Mutiny on the Bounty's Captain Bligh. Doom is the mad seafarer's fog-shrouded port of call...and he intends to take a roughneck recruit (John Garfield), two castaways (Ida Lupino and Alexander Knox) and his crew (including Gene Lockhart and Barry Fitzgerald) with him. Adventure - and eerie suspense - ahoy! The Sea Wolf was such a box-office hit that it was given a national theatrical reissue in 1947, but to do so, the film was cut to a length of 86 minutes, and remained that length for 70 years. Long thought to exist only in substandard form, Warner Bros. is proud to present this film as first released in 1941, restoring its original 100-minute running time from 35mm nitrate elements.
My thoughts about The Sea Wolf:
I knew that Jack London had written about Wolf Larsen. I did not, however, know that the original title of the book was "The Sea Wolf", so I did not immediately realize that this was the movie about Wolf Larsen. I had always thought that Wolf Larsen was kind of a heroic figure. I was mistaken. But that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the movie. On the contrary. It has great performances all around. Edward G. Robinson is almost always good, and I don't remember Ida Lupino ever being better than this.
Director Michael Curtiz has a whopping 178 movie credits on IMDb. Not all of them are masterpieces, but I think it's safe to say that he was an accomplished director. This may not rate is high as Casablanca, Robin Hood or Mildred Pierce, but it's still a damned good picture.
I rate this title