DVD Collectors Online

The Mob, a review by Antares

The Mob (1951) 78/100 - Found this over on YouTube, and though it really is more of a crime film than a noir, I have to say that I really enjoyed this. Broderick Crawford does a good job as the undercover cop who infiltrates the docks, looking for mob related activity. You can see the beginnings of his Highway Patrol character Chief Dan Mathews, from a few years later starting to emerge. The most fun part of the film is spotting some of the better character actors of the fifties and sixties in minor roles. Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, John Marley, Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Lawrence Dobkin and Frank De Kova all have small, but interesting roles in the screenplay. It's a fast paced film that never relents in keeping the story engaging and involving. Toss in some very good camera work and you've got one of those hidden gems from the vaults of Columbia Pictures.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on November 12th, 2014)

Near Dark, a review by KinkyCyborg

Near Dark



Title:Near Dark
Year: 1987
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Rating: NR
Length: 94 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: DTS: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Adrian Pasdar
Jenny Wright
Lance Henriksen (1940)
Bill Paxton
Jenette Goldstein

Plot:
In the dusty heart of the American southwest, innocent country boy Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar of MYSTERIOUS WAYS) is seduced by a beautiful girl (Jenny Wright) into joining a roving pack of vicious drifters led by the enigmatic Jesse (Lance Henriksen of THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS). But this is no ordinary band of outlaws; Caleb is now trapped in a nightmare of soulless evil that waits in the shadows, hellish mayhem that thrives on blood and absolute horror that begins NEAR DARK.

Bill Paxton (TWISTER) and Jenette Goldstein (ALIENS) co-star in this extraordinary shocker co-written and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (STRANGE DAYS) that Entertainment Weekly calls "ultrastylish, ultraviolent and altogether brilliant." This is more than simply the most ferociously original vampire movie of our generation; NEAR DARK is one of the best horror movies of all time.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Closed Captioned
THX


My first time watching this... how embarrassing. 

Not my most favorite vampire movie but I think it cracks my top 5.

What makes this movie great is it's simplicity. There is no shape shifting, no elaborate coffins, no lengthy history about how they came to be. These are just bloodthirsty, marauding vampires who are flying by the seat of their pants and despite their obvious strengths & advantages they are very much living life (death!) on the edge.

Lance Henriksen has always been a favorite of mine and it's great to see him in a meaningful role of yesteryear as he has now pretty much evolved into a STV (Straight To Video) whore. He is the cynical leader of the pack. Bill Paxton was phenomenal as a monster among monsters, stylish with a sense of humor.

Loved the bar scene as you knew what was coming as soon as they walked in. Reminded me of the restaurant scene in Natural Born Killers where a collection of strangers, victims of wrong place wrong time, wait for their deaths in muted horror and myself as the viewer all pumped up to see how it will play out.  I also liked the means for a cure of vampirism, again for how simplistic it was.

Interesting film from Bigelow as this is about as different in content and direction from Hurt Locker as it can possibly be but it presents to us an insightful evolution of a director's work.

Great stuff!

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on May 5th, 2011)

Charmed Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

20. Necromancing The Stone
Halliwell matriarchs who have been summond to bless Piper's baby fall prey to the Necromancer demon who has return to the Spirit Realm to absorb their magical powers.

My Thoughts:
This is a decent, but standard episode. This is actually a pretty big episode for Grams... someone you don't see much of on the series.

21. Oh My Goddess! Part 1 & 2
At the risk of being seduced by their vast new powers, The Charmed Ones are transformed into gorgeous Greek Goddesses possessing the ultimate power to defeat a band of angry Greek mythic gods, the Titans.

My Thoughts:
This was a very good double-length season finale. I really enjoyed every minute of it. This episode started a lot of changes. The biggest which is the introduction of Chris to the show. This is also the episode where Leo becomes an Elder.



(From Charmed Marathon on July 3rd, 2008)