DVD Collectors Online

The Lineup, a review by Antares

The Lineup (1958) 97/100 - Now this is my kind of crime film! It starts off a bit slow, with the obligatory scenes for exposition sake, but once we meet Eli Wallach and the outstanding Robert Keith, this film shifts into overdrive. What made this movie resonate for me was the realism that Don Siegel puts on screen. Correct me if I'm wrong, but was this the first film to show blood dripping from a murder victim's body? I can't recall any other film before this that showed it, as it was banned by the Breen office. Another aspect that I loved were some of the tracking shots that Siegel used and of course the wonderful panoramic shots of San Francisco. Eli Wallach plays the hit man with a maniacal, yet calculating cockiness that proves what a great actor he has been throughout his lengthy acting career. But for my money, the real star of this film is Robert Keith. I had only recognized him from a classic episode of The Twilight Zone called The Masks, in which he was quite good. But in this film, he steals almost every scene he's in, even outperforming Wallach. And one last note on the acting... I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the little girl who played the daughter who used the heroin on the doll's face. Her name was Cheryl Callaway, and in an endless sea of robotic, wooden or cloying child actors, she was a breath of fresh air. She's never too saccharine when she is first introduced and her transformation into a terrorized and scared kid is completely believable. It's a shame her career never blossomed any further. If you are looking for a crime procedural that hits all the right marks, then you can't go wrong with The Lineup. This is definitely going to be cracking into my top 20 of all time. I've got two more films left in the Columbia Film Noir collection Volume 1 and I already know that I'll be purchasing this set in the near future.

What the color coding means...

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 October 14th, 2013)

The Fighter, a review by Jon

The Fighter
5 out of 5

Rocky and Raging Bull The Fighter

(From The Fighter ***** on February 2nd, 2011)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Superman II (1980/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United Kingdom) Director: Richard Lester Writing: Jerry Siegel (Original Characters By), Joe Shuster (Original Characters By), Mario Puzo (Story By), Mario Puzo (Screenwriter), David Newman (Screenwriter), Leslie Newman (Screenwriter) Length: 127 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 1, German: Dolby Digital 1, Italian: Dolby Digital 1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

---

Stars:
Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor
Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent
Ned Beatty as Otis
Jackie Cooper as Perry White
Sarah Douglas as Ursa

Plot:
Unwittingly released from Phantom Zone imprisonment, three super-powered Planet Krypton criminals (Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran) plan to enslave Earth - just when Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides to show a more romantic side to Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Gene Hackman (as Lex Luthor) also returns from the first film and with a top supporting cast, witty Richard Lester direction and visuals that astound and delight, Superman II saves the day any day you watch it.

Awards:
Won:

Saturn (1981)

Best Science Fiction Film

Nominated:

AFI (1980)		100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
AFI (1980)		100 Years... 100 Thrills (2001)
Saturn (1981)		Best Actor (Christopher Reeve)
Saturn (1981)		Best Actress (Margot Kidder)
Saturn (1981)		Best Music (Ken Thorne)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

Chances that I would revisit the theatrical cut of Superman II were slim since I saw the superior Donner Cut, but since I just double-dipped on the Blu-ray set, I planned to watch all movies therein.
The theatrical cut isn't as bad as I remembered, and I could enjoy it again as I did in the past before knowing anything about the Donner/Lester controversy. Still some stuff are obviously unfitting. Especially since they chose not to use any Marlon Brando scenes, which results Jor-El missing in the flashbacks to the first movie (launch of Superman's ship and the imprisonment of General Zod). And also the need to use Superman's mother in the Fortress of Solitude scenes.
But I have to say, that there is only one moment, which I miss from the theatrical cut in the Donner Cut. And that is Clark's resignation of keeping up the charade and admitting to Lois that he is Superman. There is something similar in the Donner cut, but because it is a scene never originally shot and taken from screen test footage, it is not as effective (Christopher Reeve not yet the perfect Superman. Acting-wise and body-wise).

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 14th, 2011)