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Darkman, a review by Jon

Darkman
3 out of 5

Peyton (Liam Neeson) is a scientist working on synthetic skin that only lasts 99 minutes in the light. His girlfriend (Frances McDormand) is uncovering corruption and so hired thug Durant (Larry Drake) blows up him and his lab. Horribly disfigured, without feeling and in a rage, Peyton plots his revenge.

A pure comic book movie from Sam Raimi and an obvious dry run for Spider-Man, but bears a huge resemblance to both Robocop and Batman (especially Danny Elfman's lazy overbearing score that never... shuts... up! )

It's an unusual cast really for this sort of thing which along with Raimi's trademark abstract direction makes for a surreal experience. So it should be much better than it is, but for poor dialogue and a story that plays safe by borrowing far too much. Apparently Raimi's creation, he obviously didn't trust himself. It gets much better in the end, after finally abandoning Robocop (hero dead and buried, except he's rebuilt and looking for his old life while picking off the gang) and Batman (duh), but it's so clearly what would become Spider-Man that even it's best bits are too familiar now. Hero swinging through city, albeit attached to a helicopter, leading to kidnapped girlfriend about to drop many hundreds of feet before he swings in and catches her...  Raimi obviously has a bit of a fetish about swings...

(From Jon's Random Reviews on January 28th, 2009)

The War of the Worlds, a review by addicted2dvd

The War of the Worlds: Special Collector's Edition (1953/United States) Paramount Home Entertainment Director: Byron Haskin Writing: Length: 85 min. Rating: G Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Gene Barry as Dr. Clayton Forrester
Ann Robinson as Sylvia Van Buren
Les Tremayne as General Mann
Robert Cornthwaite [Bob Cornthwaite] as Dr. Pryor
Sandro Giglio as Dr. Bilderbeck
Lewis Martin as Reverend Matthew Collins

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Closed Captioned
• The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents The War Of The World

This is the first time I ever seen this classic sci-fi. And I must say... I enjoyed it quite a bit. I liked how they did the martians... and their ships. I liked the way the story was told. And I enjoyed how the story unfolded. I especially got a kick out of the ending... what finally beat the martians. I like how it wasn't saying the martians were beat by us all-powerful humans... but rather... we humans lucked out. I can definitely see myself watching this one again. If you are like me... and never seen this move before... it is one I would definitely recommend.




(From TV Stars in the Movies: On-Going Mega Marathon on September 4th, 2011)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Diff'rent Strokes
"Whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis?"
When pint sized Gary Coleman uttered that phrase to his TV brother, played by Todd Bridges, audiences were hooked and a star was born. But the show's popularity was based on more then the rise of the diminutive, wisecracking Coleman. DIFF'RENT STROKES was a pop culture phenomenon that broke through cultural barriers as well.

The story of two African-American kids from Harlem who move to Park Avenue with a wealthy white widower (Conrad Bains) and his precocious teen daughter (Dana Plato) not only gave audiences lots to laugh about but gave them something to talk about. Along with their no-nonsense housekeeper (Charlotte Rae), this group was anything but average - but they reflected the changing face of the American family and brought issues of race asn class into households across the nation.

Finally available on DVD, this three-disc set collects all 24 episodes from the hilarious first season. Now you can experiance all the fun of DIFF'RENT STROKES again!

Movin' In
Wealthy widower Phillip Drummond welcomes his late housekeeper's young sons into his lavish penthouse and is surprised when he finds them trying to sneak back to Harlem.

My Thoughts:
This is a fun '70s/'80s sitcom. It is a series I would continue to collect if I could get the season sets cheap... but unfortunately they never went any further then season 2.  I like how this first season has the character of Mrs. Garrett as the housekeeper... before she left to be in the series spin-off The Facts of Life.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on December 28th, 2009)