DVD Collectors Online

Sanshiro Sugata, a review by Antares

Sanshiro Sugata (1943) 3/5 - Interesting for those who want to see what Kurosawa's first film making experience would show, and in that aspect, it's revealing. He already shows a mastery of framing and the use of scene wipes is on hand. Unfortunately with 18 minutes of footage lost due to war time censorship, we' ll never know what a good story this could have been. Of course it was nice to see my favorite actor, Takashi Shimura in a somewhat prominent role, but the rest of the cast is rather lackluster. You can see the seeds of greatness in many shots of the film, namely the finally fight sequence in the open field. Which must have been influential to Masaki Kobayashi, who used similar settings in both Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion. Definitely a film for Kurosawa disciples only, and from that standpoint, an interesting, historical curiosity.

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 13th, 2012)

The Broken, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: The Broken: After Dark Horrorfest III
Year: 2008
Director: Sean Ellis
Rating: R
Length: 88 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Lena Headey
Daren Elliott Holmes
Howard Ward
Damian O'Hare
Melvil Poupaud

Plot:
A successful radiologist (Lena Headey) watches her life spiral out of control after she sees the spitting image of herself driving down a London street. Attempting to discover the identity of her double, she stumbles onto a terrifying mystery that involves her family and closest friends, leaving her with no one to trust.

Extras:
Scene Access
Trailers
Closed Captioned
Miss Horrorfest Webisodes

My Thoughts:
The Broken is one of the movies I blind bought back in October. It is one that I knew absolutely nothing about. But it was recommended to me by a few different people. And I like that Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) stars in it. After watching the trailer for it I became a little concerned. I mean it definitely looked like it had potential of being good.. but at the same time what the story is about I could see them messing it up and it becoming slow and tedious to watch.

What I found in this psychological horror is that it was good enough to entertain... but I was hoping for a bit more. The movie itself felt slower then it needed to be for the most part. At least until the last 15 to 20 minutes where it ties everything together. But then it went from slow to a bit on the confusing side. I watched the last several minutes 2 or 3 times and I am still not sure I got this movie completely. Though I did get enough of it to understand the answer to the main plot. And it was interesting enough to get some enjoyment of it. And there was a couple pretty cool kill scenes as well. So I am glad I got it in my collection... and I am hoping on the next viewing I will get some more of the subtle points in the movie.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Horror on December 26th, 2009)

Charmed Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

20. Womb Raider
When Phoebe's baby shows signs of demonic powers, The Seer plots to steal the baby and gain the power bestowed upon the heir of The Source.

My Thoughts:
This was a good... but not great episode. Was interesting to see how strong the fetus was. I do think it was a pretty good ending to the baby arc. But I don't know... I think I was just expecting a little more from it.

21. Witch Way Now?
As a reward for vanquishing The Source of All Evil, the Angel of Destiny offers the sisters a chance to relinquish their powers and lead normal lives.

My Thoughts:
This was an OK season finale... but far from the best. Actually it didn't even feel like a season finale while watching it. I mean it was nice to see the season end on a good note. Not to mention one hell of a surprise at the very end. But I think it was a little on the weak side for a season finale.

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(From Charmed Marathon on June 30th, 2008)