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King Kong (1933), a review by GSyren

King Kong (883929-055609)

United States 1933 | Released 2010-09-28 on Bluray from Turner Entertainment Company, Warner Home Video

104 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.37:1 | Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, Portuguese Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono

Directed by Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack and starring Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher, Sam Hardy

My thoughts about King Kong:

The original King Kong (1933) is my favorite film. I don't know how many times I've seen it; in the theater (sadly once only), on VHS, on Laserdisc, on DVD, and on Blu-Ray. I feel a bit sorry for those who cannot recognize what a great picture this is. Back in '33 I guess part of its success was its groundbreaking technical achievements. That's not quite as impressive today, if you compare it to modern effects. But even so it is still a great picture. One of the reasons is that Willis O'Brien had something that very few animators have. He had a fantastic ability to infuse his animation models with a personality. That makes Kong much more than just a moving puppet. Kong Kong takes its time to build up the suspence. It actually takes time to let us get to know and care for the main characters. It doesn't just leap into action sequences like so many of todays movies do. So I guess if you're only weaned on modern action films, King Kong may seem slow for the first part of the movie. Of course, if you do apprectiate the intricacies of the technical effects - and I do - then you can watch this movie over and over and still marvel at them. But even if you don't then you should be able to just be entertained by a great story. And remember, most of the people who have made a name for themselves in visual effects in Hollywood were inspired either directly by King Kong, or indirectly through Ray Harryhausen's films, and it was King Kong that inspired Ray to go into stop motion animation. So we owe so much to this film in general, and to the artistry of Willis O'Brien in particular. It just doesn't get "five-starier" than this for me!

I rate this title

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on December 27th, 2014)

The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, a review by GSyren

Title	The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (5-022366-205047)
Director	Dave Borthwick
Actors	Nick Upton, Deborah Collar, Frank Passingham, John Schofield, Mike Gifford
Produced	1993 in United Kingdom
Runtime	58 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles	None
Overview
My thoughts
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on April 26th, 2014)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Knight Rider (2008)
An iconic TV classic is back and better than ever in the reinvented, updated, and super-charged Knight Rider Season One. From executive producers Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity franchise), David Bartis (The O.C.) and Glen Larson (Battlestar Galactica) comes this action-packed series about the coolest car ever created, K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Three Thousand), that's equipped with artificial intelligence capable of hacking into any computer, the weapons system of a jet fighter, and incredible custom body technology that allows it to transform into other vehicles. Relive every Season One episode as an elite team of crime-fighters work with K.I.T.T. to track down elusive, high-tech villains. Presented in uninterrupted Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, you won't want to miss this fast-paced ride to the wild side!

Knight Rider 2008 Pilot Movie
When it's reclusive inventor is placed in imminent danger, K.I.T.T. revs into action to save him. But even though his super high-tech car is able to self-regenerate, deploy weapons, and change color and shape, it needs a reluctant ex-soldier named Mike Traceur to shift gears and help in the desperate mission.

My Thoughts:
OK... I know the popular view of this series is that it is no where near the series that the '80s version was. But you know... I have liked this one since the very first time I have seen it. Not only that... but the more I watch it (this is the 3rd time I have seen the pilot movie now) the more I enjoy it! That is not to take anything away from the original version. It is awesome too. But I really enjoyed the upgraded features of K.I.T.T. and I liked the characters as well as the storyline. After watching this pilot movie today... I feel like I could watch the entire series again.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on February 23rd, 2010)