DVD Collectors Online

Cujo, a review by Rich

Cujo



In a bizarre case of nature versus humanity, a Saint Bernard infected with rabies by a diseased bat attacks a mother and her son. When the family becomes trapped in their car, they must depend on their wits to defeat the crazed canine.
Based on Stephen King's novel about a new England family beset by a murderous terror: the family dog.

Low budget adaptation, never quite reaching the tension/horror achieved in the original novel. The whole movie felt very dated, although the acting was fairly solid. Unfortunately a lot of what King writes can never be transposed on film, such as this case where you do not benefit with what the dog was thinking. In addition when a dogs tail is wagging furiously it is because they are happy, so when it is doing that whilst supposedly in a murderous rabid killing rage it spoils the effect.
A poor ending, and a dog you only felt sympathy for and not fear, makes this a miss.
 


(From Riches Random Reviews on May 20th, 2009)

Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a review by Jon

Zack and Miri Make a Porno  ****
4 out of 5

This film is pure filth! And absolutely brilliant for it. Why does Kevin Smith always seem to be on the sidelines while Apatow has the Midas touch? Smith has been doing it longer and better. The only thing I can think of is that films like Knocked Up play it relatively safe. Much as I enjoy them (although Superbad was a misfire for me) they always feel quite generic by the end. While this also is also predictable (unavoidable in this genre, though Smith did well with Chasing Amy), but it maintains a high standard throughout.

Critics of Kevin Smith films often accuse him of naivety. While I can sometimes see their point, I just think he's a very honest writer. He goes as dirty as he possibly can and matches it at the other end in sentimentality. It's no more sentimental than identikit crap like Sandra Bullock phones in every couple of years and at least this has some bite.

The adorable Elizabeth Banks rounds out a typical View Askew potty-mouthed cast. Her relationship with Seth Rogen feels genuine and while he's playing a similar part to Knocked Up, this feels more natural.

Overall it's a similar format to Clerks, in fact it borders on autobiographical for Kevin Smith who made his first film in the shop where he worked, blanking out the windows, foregoing sleep and getting his mates to help. I bet when he had the idea for Clerks, he considered a porno!



(From Jon's Random Reviews on July 20th, 2009)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Jared Kane comes through the Stargate to aks for SG-1's help. One year after the Rand Protectorate and the Caledonian Federation have been at war (caused by the arrival of SG-1), the Ori have given the Rands a weapon (a satellite) that could wipe out the Caledonians. Kane wants to end the hostilities that have lasted for centuries. Prometheus is dispatched to destroy the satellite.

My Opinion: I always try to find out why an episode is called the way it is called. But I didn't find any connection and thus Wikipedia had to help out. And I was delighted to find out that they've once again made an effort to find an appropriate title.
The end of the episode was especially shattering because I already went into "SG-1 has saved the day" mode. But episodes like this are important to show that you simply can't always win.

Synopsis: SG-1 investigates in a case of chemically modified crop that makes people addicted to it. But then they get captured by the Lucian Alliance and the Stargate is beamed away. The new battle cruiser Odyssey saves them but more Stargates are disappearing and Ba'al seems to be the one who is responsible.

My Opinion: In my opinion the new BC-304 "Daedalus" class is not as pretty as the old Prometheus. Additionally the form reminds me of already existing ships in other Sci-Fi universes. Anyway, that's not the point.
The way the Lucian Alliance was presented wasn't really convincing to me. I didn't understand how they were able to track down Ba'al and how they managed to get a hand on that many Ha'taks. It's unlikely that the Jaffa parked them somewhere after their "god" had died.

Synopsis: SG-1 accompanies some members of the International Oversight Committee to the Gamma Site, on a "Sightseeing Tour" so to speak. But then some bugs escape from a lab and these bugs were made by the Priors and they spread fast - and they are flesh-eating.

My Opinion: I like Cameron a lot and they HK G36 is much for fitting for him than the FN P90. I liked the episode especially because of the symbolism at the end, when SG-1 is standing side by side defending the civilians. I also liked that Woolsey realises that some things can go wrong and that there's nothing anyone could have done to prevent it.
But the best thing was Cameron's line, that they would watch Starship Troopers this evening. 

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on May 1st, 2008)