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Blue Velvet, a review by Rich

Blue Velvet



Beneath the surface of small-town serenity lies a dark domain where innocents dare not tread and unpredictability is the norm. It is the haunting realm of  Blue Velvet. Spawned from the mind of David Lynch (Mulholland Drive, "Twin Peaks"), Blue Velvet is a "shocking, deeply disturbing...startling mixture of the heartfelt and the horrific" (Newsweek).
Clean-cut Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) realizes his Mayberry-like hometown is not so normal when he discovers a human ear in a field. His investigation catapults him into an alluring, erotic murder mystery involving a disturbed nightclub singer (Isabella Rossellini) and a drug-addicted sadist (Dennis Hopper). Soon Jeffrey is led deeper into their depraved existence... to the point of no return.

David Lynch is like the marmite of directors, you either love him or hate him. Unfortunately I fall into the second camp, only ever previously enjoying one of his movies.
My opinion has not changed after viewing Blue Velvet. Certainly there is a shock value to the film, albeit dated after 2 decades, it subtly hits you on the bonce like a sledgehammer, your senses are tickled as if with a taser, and seedier elements of the film will stay with me.
Dennis Hopper as the vicious psycho was superb, but the rest of the cast just didn't work for me in this, Laura Dern was too old for the role, and MacLachlan a feeble lead. Lynch's style is not my cup of tea, very slow and arty, brooding looks, pans to a tree, or to a specific prop, just doesn't work for my simple brain.
I am sure the cardigan and pipe brigade will tell me how wonderful this movie is, exploring the dark side and sexual frustrations of human nature, with the backdrop of suburban America. But I just found it too pretentious, empty, depressing and confused.
 


**Laura Dern mini-marathon


(From Riches Random Reviews on August 27th, 2009)

Cellular, a review by addicted2dvd

Cellular: New Line Platinum Series (2004/United States) New Line Home Entertainment Director: David R. Ellis Writing: Chris Morgan (Screenwriter), Larry Cohen (Story By) Length: 94 min. Rating: PG-13 Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Caroline Aaron as Marilyn Mooney
Brenda Ballard as Irate Customer #1
Kim Basinger as Jessica
Will Beinbrink as Young Security Guard
Jessica Biel as Chloe
Chase Bloch as Timid Boy

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• DVD-ROM Content
• Closed Captioned

This is the first time I ever seen Cellular. It is one of the many movies that were given to me this past year. This one I actually enjoyed quite a bit. Kept my interest from beginning to end. Some pretty good action and chase scenes. If you haven't had the chance to do so yet... I would say it is definitely worth checking out... I recommend it.




(From Alphabet Marathon: The Unwatched Version on August 15th, 2011)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom

2.05 The Promise (1996-01-11)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), Michael Teversham (Writer)
Director: George Bloomfield
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), David Marciano (Detective Ray Vecchio), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Daniel Kash (Detective Louis Gardino), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Catherine Bruhier (Elaine), Camilla Scott (Inspector Margaret Thatcher), Amy Stewart (Andy), Shawn Mathieson (Sid), Sherry Miller (Commander Sherry O'Neil), Todd William Shcroeder (Cobb), Diane Douglass (Celia), Julian Richings (Miles), Warren Sulatycky (Child Welfare Agent), Barbara Law (Sunny), Nicole Crozier (Sung Lee), Rena Polley (Campaign Manager), Adriana Galic (Ms. Downing)

A rather boring episode with an uninteresting main plot. I would have liked to see more of the B-story with Fraser's new boss Inspector Thatcher.

Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on August 11th, 2009)