DVD Collectors Online

Jesse James, a review by Rogmeister

Jesse James  (1939)   105m
Directed by Henry King
Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck
Cast: Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Randolph Scott, Nancy Kelly, Henry Hull, Brian Donlevy, Donald Meek, John Carradine

This is one of the earlier film treatments (possibly the first?) on the life of famed outlaw Jesse James and his brother Frank.  Jesse is played here by Tyrone Power with his brother Frank played by Henry Fonda.  Randolph Scott plays a lawman sympathetic to Jesse named Will Wright (I imagine this character is a fictional one).  In this version, the darstardly no-good villains that are the railroad turn Jesse into an outlaw by taking his land and killing his mother by tossing a bomb into his home, planning on getting him but killing his mother instead, the only one inside at the time (Jesse's mom is played by Jane Darwell).  This is a typical Hollywood romanticized version of the James saga with not a lot of credibility to it but it is entertaining.  The film is shot in Technicolor but the close-ups of Jesse and Frank make them look soft and angelic, not quite the image you expect of noted killers and robbers.  For that matter, we don't really see that many of the James' gang's robberies...we basically see one train robbery and one failed bank job though we do get a collage of scenes at one point that do give you the idea there was a lot more to it.  This film proved to be immensely popular and a sequel was released about a year later.  Of course, Jesse couldn't return to life so it was about his brother...Henry Fonda starred in The Return of Frank. James.

 

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 23rd, 2009)

Friday Night Lights, a review by Rich

Friday Night Lights



A genuine stand-up-and-cheer movie about a courageous high school football team's fight to fulfill their destiny and live their dream, Friday Night Lights is "unforgettable and real" (Larry King). Billy Bob Thornton stars in a true American story of how one legendary Texas town made hope come alive under the exhilarating glare of Friday Night Lights! "One of the greatest sports stories ever told" (Sports Illustrated) is now "one of the greatest sports movies ever made" (Larry King).

(From Riches Random Reviews on June 18th, 2009)

Doctor Who Marathon, a review by Tom

Doctor Who
Series 1.04 Aliens of London
Writer: Russell T Davies (Writer)
Director: Keith Boak
Cast: Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Corey Doabe (Spray Painter), Ceris Jones (Policeman), Jack Tarlton (Reporter), Lachele Carl (Reporter), Fiesta Mei Ling (Ru), Basil Chung (Bau), Matt Baker (Himself), Andrew Marr (Himself), Rupert Vansittart (General Asquith), David Verrey (Joseph Green), Navin Chowdhry (Indra Ganesh), Penelope Wilton (Harriet Jones), Annette Badland (Margaret Blaine), Naoko Mori (Doctor Sato), Eric Potts (Oliver Charles), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), Jimmy Vee (Alien), Steve Speirs (Strickland), , Elizabeth Fost (Slitheen), Paul Kasey (Slitheen), Alan Ruscoe (Slitheen)

What I don't like in this episode, is that the aliens are farting constantly. Luckily (as far as I remember), they didn't strife for such a childish humor in later episodes. Also the pigs in space was borderline ridiculous, but luckily that turned out as a hoax, orchastrated by the aliens.
What I didn't notice the first time around is the insistance of the doctor, that Mickey's real name is Rickey. Which is the name, the alternate universe Mickey has. It never made quite sense to me, that all persons in the alternate universe had the same name, except for Mickey. But maybe he really is called Rickey, but he doesn't like to go by it in this universe.
Another now familiar face appeared in this episode. The actress playing Sato on Torchwood. Also here she plays a character called Sato, but it is not made clear, if that is the same person. Here she seems to be a doctor though. In Torchwood she is an engineer/computer genius.
Also U.N.I.T. is mentioned here for the first time, which I now know, that passed doctors (e.g. the third doctor) had worked with.




(From Doctor Who Marathon on January 11th, 2014)