DVD Collectors Online

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, a review by DJ Doena

Kevin Costner    ...    Robin Hood
Morgan Freeman   ...    Azeem
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio   ...    Marian Dubois
Christian Slater   ...    Will Scarlett
Alan Rickman   ...    Sheriff of Nottingham
Michael Wincott    ...    Guy of Gisborne
Nick Brimble   ...    Little John
Sean Connery   ...    King Richard

Synopsis: When Robin of Locksley returns home from the crusades, he finds his home burned down and his father killed. Behind this are the Guy of Gisborne and his cousin, the Sheriff of Nottingham. They try to forge an alliance of "noblemen" against the absent King Richard "The Lionheart" and to rob him of his throne. They supress the common folk to finance this plot. But Robin stands up to them and he uses Sherwood Forrest as his base of operations.

My Opinion: I've never understood why Kevin Costner was suddenly "out". I like most of his movies and I like this one, too. Alan Rickman plays an excellent opponent with some comical elements. Although the movie is trying to tell the story earnestly they also insterted enough funny elements to make it not too serious. I also really liked the rants of Azeem when he complains about the english's lack of education but that he is considered the "barbarian".
And the appearance of Sean Connery, however short, crowned the movie for me.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on January 4th, 2009)

Knives of the Avenger, a review by Achim

Title: I coltelli del vendicatore
Year: 1966
Director: Mario Bava
Rating: NR
Length: 85 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: Italian: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Cameron Mitchell
Fausto Tozzi [Frank Ross]
Giacomo Rossi-Stuart [Jack Stuart]
Luciano Pollentin [Louis Polle]
Amedeo Trilli [Michael Moore]

Plot:
In their third and final collaboration, 'Cameron Mitchell' stars for 'Mario Bava' as a Viking drifter torn between guilt, vengeance and his love for a peasant woman and her young son. Co-written by Bava (as 'John Hold'), the film delivers robust raping and pillaging yet proffers a uniquely humanistapproach that virtually re-imagines SHANE as a Viking drama. The result transcends its typically chestthumping genre to emerge as one of Bava's most emotionally complex and visually compelling films.

This remastered presentation of KNIVES OF THE AVENGER includes, for the first time on DVD, the original Italian language audio track with optional English subtitles, as well as the dubbed English track.

Extras:
Scene Access
Trailers
Production Notes


The overview talking about vikings I wasn't sure I'd really want to watch this today; vikings sounding more like Sunday-afternoon entertainment. But, this is Bava and all was well

First of all the whole film felt more like a western than a viking movie. Lots of horse riding (did vikings do that....?) and especially the music made one almost forget that this is played in the north and they used swords rather than guns. The complex, but far from confusing story was told skillfully, always keeping me interested about what was coming next; never is the viewer giving too much or too little information.
Two standout moments where Bava expertly tightens the tension screw were the face-off in the inn and the climax. Also interesting (although possibly not on purpose) was how th emovie started out rather colorful, mainly lush greens, and then as the story progressed into the darker sections the colors on screen became muted.

Acting was quite good, but as usual the fact that everything was dubbed (even the Italian track, guess the on-location sound was unusable) made things difficult to judge.



(From Mario Bava marathon on June 29th, 2009)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title: Dawson's Creek: Season Five
Year: 2001
Director:
Rating: NR
Length: 987 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: Portuguese, Spanish

Stars:


Plot:
They've gone from adolescence to adulthood and now it's time to make their way in the world. Joey, Jen and Jack head to college in Boston, Dawson makes his way to film school in Los Angeles, and Pacey chooses to explore other opportunities instead of going to college. Dawson also finds himself facing some major changes on the home-front. Even though they're starting a new chapter in their lives, there's nothing that can break the bond between these friends.

Awards:

Teen Choice Awards	2003	Nominated	Choice TV - Drama/Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards	2003	Nominated	Choice TV Actor - Drama/Action Adventure	Joshua Jackson
Teen Choice Awards	2003	Nominated	Choice TV Actress - Drama/Action Adventure	Katie Holmes
Teen Choice Awards	2003	Nominated	Choice TV Sidekick	Mika Boorem
Teen Choice Awards	2000	Won	TV - Choice Actor	Joshua Jackson
Teen Choice Awards	2001	Won	TV - Choice Actor	Joshua Jackson
Teen Choice Awards	2002	Nominated	TV - Choice Actor, Drama	Joshua Jackson
Teen Choice Awards	2000	Nominated	TV - Choice Actress	Katie Holmes
Teen Choice Awards	2001	Nominated	TV - Choice Actress	Katie Holmes
Teen Choice Awards	2002	Nominated	TV - Choice Actress, Drama	Katie Holmes
Teen Choice Awards	2000	Won	TV - Choice Drama
Teen Choice Awards	2001	Nominated	TV - Choice Drama
Teen Choice Awards	2002	Nominated	TV - Choice Drama/Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards	2002	Nominated	TV - Choice Sidekick	Busy Philipps

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Scene Access
Trailers

I am still enjoying this series. I think the transition from High School to University went well in this series. In the audio commentaries for season 4 they said they were trying not to pull the same stunt as a lot of other series were doing. I.e. that there is suddenly a university in town where all main characters are going to. Though they didn't exactly do this here, they still managed to put all main characters to the same city (Boston). This started with finding a way why Jack and Jen did not go to New York as originally planned. Then Pacey showing up in Boston and finally for Dawson to quit UCLA to also be in Boston.

Now a small review on the character developments this season (spoilers ahead):

Dawson:
The beginning of this season Dawson had to deal with the sudden death of his father. Mitch (played by "The Flash" actor John Wesley Shipp) was always one of my favorite TV dads so I was a little sad to see him go.
Later on Dawson had a small relationship with Jen. It was okay to get them together for a short while. It shows that they just do not click. Then Dawson pulled a miracle (or it is strange TV timelime): He made a great movie based on a phone book sized screenplay in just a few days. He even changed the main star half-way through without a problem.

Joey:
She seems to be in her element in college. Also her love interests were fun to watch. First she almost started a relationship with her professor. And later on she tamed a resident womanizer.

Jen:
Besides her relationship with Dawson and her starting hosting a radio show, nothing much happened.

Jack:
He joined a fraternity, became an asshole, started drinking and finally pulled himself together again.

Pacey:
Starts working at a noble restaurant and becomes quite a big shot there, until he looses his job at the end of the season. Towards the end he starts a relationship with Audrey.

Audrey:
Joey's new roommate. She is one of the reasons I finally went ahead to watch this series. Because I was curious about her. She is played by Busy Phillips who was part of the cast in Freaks & Geeks. It is a fun character to watch. The friendship which develops between her and Joey is nice. Also her relationship with Pacey seems right.

#	Episode	Rating
01	The Bostonians
02	The Lost Weekend
03	Capeside Revisited
04	The Long Goodbye
05	Use Your Disillusion
06	High Anxiety
07	Text, Lies and Videotape
08	Hotel New Hampshire
09	Four Scary Stories
10	Appetite for Destruction
11	Something Wild
12	Sleeping Arrangements
13	Something Wilder
14	Guerilla Filmmaking
15	Downtown Crossing
16	In a Lonely Place
17	Highway to Hell
18	Cigarette Burns
19	100 Light Years From Home
20	Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
21	After Hours
22	The Abby
23	Swan Song

(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 19th, 2009)