DVD Collectors Online

Puss in Boots, a review by GSyren

Title	Puss in Boots (5-051368-237053)
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
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

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on February 18th, 2014)

The Conscientious Objector, a review by Antares

The Conscientious Objector





Year: 2004
Film Studio: Cinequest Entertainment
Genre: Documentary, Special Interest
Length: 101 Min.

Director
Terry Benedict

Writer
Terry Benedict...Writer
Jeff Wood...Writer

Producer
Terry Benedict
Jonathan Sheinberg
Gabe Videla (1944)

Cinematographer
Francis Kenny
Suki Medencevic (1963)
Darko Suvak

Music
Bob Christianson...Composer

Stars
Max Cleland (1942) as Himself
Desmond T. Doss as Himself

Review
       Most film lovers know the story of Alvin York, the World War I soldier who was drafted, yet requested deferment as a conscientious objector due to his religious beliefs. In the film Sergeant York, he was stoically and humbly portrayed by Gary Cooper as a man who must choose between his religious beliefs and fighting for his country. In the end, York comes to understand that the evils of the world must be vanquished, and the only way is to carry arms and fight and kill the oppressive enemies of the United States. He rescinded his application for exemption and was shipped to France in 1918. After capturing an entire company of German soldiers single-handedly, York is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest medal for valor. Sadly, for York, he also had to kill many men in his attempt at capturing the soldiers, and this haunted him in his later years.

       In World War II, another religious man wrestled with the same choices as York, his name was Desmond T. Doss. Doss was also a southerner with a deep theological aversion to war, a man who took the commandments, especially the sixth; Thou Shalt not Kill as sacred law. But where York acquiesced when shown the greater picture before him, Doss held fast to his beliefs and joined the Army as a medic. He refused to brandish any kind of weapon, and as a Seventh-day Adventist, held fast to his duty to remember the Sabbath every Saturday. This would bring him into conflict not only with his fellow soldiers, but with his superior officers, who viewed him as a slacker and a coward unwilling to fight.

       After enduring an endless assault of scorn and ridicule in boot camp, Doss and his company were shipped out to the Pacific theater of operations. It was on an escarpment on Okinawa that the legendary heroics of Desmond Doss would come to life. When the 307th Infantry Division assaulted the Maeda Escarpment on May 5, 1945, heavy ground and artillery fire pinned them to their position. The unit was suffering heavy casualties under the relentless barrage being thrust upon them by the Japanese. Over the course of 12 hours, Doss rescued 75 men by lowering each man by rope from the top of the escarpment, all under enemy fire. This course of action would result in his receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor on Nov. 1, 1945. When President Harry Truman was pinning the medal on Doss, he told the soldier, Another incident, two weeks after the escarpment battle would speak volumes as to the character and bravery of this most amazing man. On May 21, 1945, Doss was once again out on the battlefield attempting to rescue his wounded comrades when he himself was wounded by a grenade. He was stuck out in for five hours before litter bearers reached him. On the way back to the American front lines, he noticed a more seriously injured man, and slipped off the stretcher, instructing the bearers to take the other man first.

       While Sergeant York'Hero'Ratings Criterion
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.

(From The Conscientious Objector (2004) on December 4th, 2009)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Monks have found a 25,000 year old tablet under the ruins of the city Sisko once found. And that tablet mentions the Emissary and an upcoming Reckoning on which the future of Bajor will be decided. Sisko takes that tablet back to DS9 for studying but Kai Winn interfers and demands its return. But that tablet contains more than just a vague prophecy.

My Opinion: Have I mentioned that I hate Kai Winn? And it won't get better in the seventh season. Unfortunately the number of "Emissary" and the "Winn" episodes will increase towards the end of the end of the show. Too bad.

Synopsis: Nog - the only Ferengi in Starfleet - has been assigned to deliver treaty proposal  to the Great Nagus and Jake accompanies him. But they run into a group of Jem'Hadar ships and have to evade. But this leads them directly into Dominion space where they meet the USS Valiant. The Valiant was presumed lost eight months ago but it's still there and the crew - Starfleet Academy's cadet corps "Red Squad" - is fighting the war behind enemy lines.

My Opinion: Eight months ago the war had already started and it's very unlikely that a real Starfleet would give a Defiant-class ship to a bunch of cadets instead of using it on the front lines. But the overestimation of one's own capabilities is exatcly what I would expect of "Red Squad" cadets. And its easy to get sucked into a group that is very self-assured. It was interesting to watch this group and seeing Jake as the voice of reason or rather as Cassandra since no one listened to him.

Synopsis: Brunt has dethroned Zek and installed himself as acting Grand Nagus after Zek has issued an amendment to the Ferengi Bill of Opportunities that allows women to wear clothes. Zek tries to assemble the other FCA commissioners on DS9 to prove to them how profitable his move could be and to convince him to reinstate him. But when Quark's mother has a hard attack he needs another women to speak on their behalf.

My Opinion: I've seen better Ferengi episodes. But I have to say I am surprised that it had been so many of them. I knew there were quite a number of them but I had forgotten that it had been so many Ferengi shows over the course of DS9. But if memory serves, this was the last one.

Synopsis: The O'Briens go on vacation to a lovely planet. But then Molly wanders off on her own and falls into a cave and through an ancient time portal - 300 years into the past. But when O'Brien and Dax find a way to beam her through that portal and through time she comes out as an 18-year-old. She's spent 10 years on that planet alone and she's changed. While Worf and Dax are babysitting Kirayoshi, Miles and Keiko try to reconnect to their daughter.

My Opinion: Again the main plot wasn't as interesting as the side plot. I liked to watch Worf babysit and him trying to prove to Dax that he could be a good father. But the most interesting thing was the fact that abandoned time portals just seem to stand around on every other planet.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on February 28th, 2009)