DVD Collectors Online

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, a review by Dragonfire

This holiday season Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) vows his clan will enjoy "the most fun-filled old-fashioned family Christmas ever." Before you can sing "Fa-la-la-la-lah," he decks the halls with howls of folly in the perennial favorite 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'.

Seeing is believing. There are 25,000 lights on the roof. An exploding turkey on the dining room table. A SWAT team taking siege outside. A festive supporting cast (Including Beverly D'Angelo, Juilia Louis-Dreyfus, Juliette Lewis, William Hickey, and more) and a John Hughes script full of wit, heart and sheer goofiness. Yule love it!

My Thoughts

I saw this movie in the theater back when it came out.  I loved it then and I still love it and it is one of my favorite Christmas movies.  I've watched it every year at least once in December since I got the DVD several years ago.  I know it is silly and goofy, but I like it.  I think it is the best of the Vacation movies and probably the last really great Christmas movie made that wasn't aimed at kids - and several of those have been iffy.  The movie is hilarious with Clark going overboard trying to make Christmas perfect for everyone.  It started out innocent enough by going to get the tree and then everything spiraled out of control from there.  Clark, who I think has been known for having some flip outs, had 2 this one.  The first was a bit more minor when his twinkle lights wouldn't come on and then late in the movie he had the big one that always cracks me up.  It is the best of Clark's various flip outs.  Everything about the movie works, starting with the cute animation for the opening credits.

 

Here are two funny quotes from Clark.

Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, fore-fleshing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is. Hallelujah. Holy shit. Where's the Tylenol?

Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse.


(From 25 Days of Christmas on December 3rd, 2008)

Johnny English, a review by Tom

Title: Johnny English
Year: 2002
Director: Peter Howitt
Rating: FSK-6
Length: 84 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1 , English: Dolby Digital 5.1 , German: DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English, German

Stars:
Rowan Atkinson
John Malkovich
Natalie Imbruglia

Plot:
Johnny English, a British secret agent who dreams of rising beyodn his menial job within the MI-7 organization, is hired to protect the Crown Jewels after all the other agents are bumped off. When the jewels are stolen, he eventually uncovers a plot to replace England's monarch with what the British fear the most: a French king.

Extras:
Deleted Scenes
DVD-ROM Content
Featurettes
Interactive Game
Scene Access
Trailers

Edward Blackadder meets James Bond. It is a decent James Bond parody. Not as over the top as similar parodies (like the Leslie Nielsen one). Rowan Atkinson does fit well in the role. Sadly the screenplay is rather average. This movie could have been much more.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on November 2nd, 2008)

Angel Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Spike and Angel have to got to Rome, to retrieve the head of a demon clanlord. But there is not just the head in Rome, there is also The Immortal (and old enemy of two), Andrew, Dawn - and Buffy.

My Opinion: Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the episode. But it was another episode about Buffy without Buffy. This becomes a running gag without actually being funny.

Synopsis: Angel's friends are more and more concerned about his actions. When the warden of the "Deeper Well" (the prison in which Illyria was held) comes to L.A. and accuses Angel of attempted assassination, they demand answers - including one to the question whether Angel had anything to do with the death of Fred.

My Opinion: Good episode that promises a thrilling finale. Luckily I was right. The show seems to end in a big bang but at least Angel isn't on the wrong side. Now I want to know who is going to die - that someone will die is to be expected by anyone who has seen the finale of "Buffy" and the movie "Serenity".

Synopsis: Angel and the gang plan to assassinate each and every member of the "Circle of the Black Thorn". Illyria and Lindsey join their mission in the knowledge that the Senior Partners's revenge will come swift and will be horrible.

My Opinion: "I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim." (James T. Kirk, "Star Trek: Generations") Wow, what an exit. This was an excellent end to this series because it was no explicit end. Wesley's death was unfortunate but far better staged than the death of Anya. You can only wish that he will find the peace in death that he hasn't found in life. I have already ordered the comic book which will be released in July.

The Season - My Opinion: This was without doubt my favourite season of "Angel". The new setting, the changed situation and Spike did help a lot. Even more than in previous seasons the world has become grey instead of becoming more black/white.

The Series - My Opinion: I liked the series as a whole a great deal, although you have to (even more than in "Buffy") take leave from the idea that it could have played in our world. The demons were way to public for this. The series had a deadbeat in the middle (season 4) but recovered very well with the fifth season. In direct comparison to "Buffy" I prefer the latter one.

(From Angel Marathon on February 28th, 2008)