DVD Collectors Online

Gymkata, a review by Jimmy

Title : Gymkata (1985)

Overview
Race through swamps. Climb a burning rope. Dangle above raging rapids. Brave fierce hand-to-hand smackdowns. And always be wary of the hurled spears and plunging blades of attacking ninjas. Survive the unsurvivable: It's part of The Game.

My Impression
Remember 1985? It was the year when Women Against Pornography claimed that the Huggies Diapers publicity were pornographic ( ), it was the year of the first Wrestlemania, it was the year the Parents Music Resource Center was formed (you know the crazy group who think that Judas Priest, Twisted Sisters and AC/DC were Satan himself), it was the year of Live Aid, it was the year of the New Coke disaster, it was the year the first Blockbuster Video had opened and it was the year were the First Early Warning Earth Station was placed in Parmistan for the U.S. Star Wars Defense Program. I think that we can all agree that the eighties decade was a weird one. The music was bizarre, the clothes were ugly and the north american cinema was mostly a propaganda instrument. But it was the decade of Reagan so there are no surprise there.

The link is there : this film is a no brainer entertaintment like all the Chuck Norris or Sylvester Stallone ones made in those years. So don't expect a challenging script here 

I like this one even if : the acting is bad (Kurt Thomas the hero isn't an actor but a gymnast), the story is really stupid, the game is really lame (really no one win it in 900 years  ), the fighting scenes aren't that great (even for an art martials movie) and you can hear the screams "USA, USA We are the best" in your head. But how you can not like the fact that some random gymnastic devices appear to help the fight (why do you think the title starts with the letters "gym"), the fact that Buck Kartalian is the Kan (even if he really overact), the karate fighting sound effect (close your eyes and you will think that you are watching a Bud Spencer's movie),...

I recommand it. Not because it's a masterpiece, but because it just make no sense to not laugh at it.

Rating :

(From My Alphabet Marathon Review on November 9th, 2008)

The Invasion, a review by Eric

The Invasion




Summary: Something terrifying has come to Earth, something that attacks us while we sleep and turns us into soulless replicants. The clock is ticking as Washington, DC psychiatrist Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman) and her colleague Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig) embark on a heart-stopping journey into a nightmarish world where the only way to stay alive is to stay awake. No one can be trusted. No one is safe in producer Joel Silver's bold new take on Jack Finney's classic novel 'The Body Snatchers'.

Don't fall asleep! 'The Invasion' is here.

My Thoughts:   It's a good thriller with a good level of action and rebounds.  The special effects are well done.  The 5.1 mix is also well done, I'm usually not a big fan of 5.1 which I find distracting but in this case they didn't overuse use it or made the rear channels too loud so it doesn't interfere.  I'm glad I bought this movie and I will certainly watch it again one day.

I'm probably gonna get copies of the previous versions soon to watch and compare them.

My Score:

(From Eric's DVD watching. on May 31st, 2008)

Birthday Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Tru Calling: Season 2
In the Dark
When the lights go out during a surprise birthday party in the morgue, Tru hears someone asking for help-but due to the darkness, she has no idea who needs to be saved.

My Thoughts:
This is one of my all-time favorite short lived TV Series. I really enjoyed this episode a lot. The fact that she didn't know who it was that called her name really added something to the episode.  Gave it a bit extra mystery.



(From Birthday Marathon on May 26th, 2009)