DVD Collectors Online

Into the Wild, a review by Danae Cassandra

Into the Wild
Year of Release: 2007
Directed By: Sean Penn
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone
Genre: Drama, Adventure

Overview:
Into the Wild is inspired by the true story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a young man who abandons his life of comfort to pursue the freedom of life on the road, a quest that leads him to the Alaskan wilderness and the ultimate challenge of his life. Screenplay and directed by Sean Penn and featuring an all-star cast including William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener and Hal Halbrook, Into the Wild is "as stirring, entertaining and steadfastly thrilling as it is beautiful." (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).

My Thoughts:
Is it better to die young, happy, living life on your own terms?  Or to live to an old age, doing what is expected of you by your family and society, but never reaching for your dreams?  How much courage does it take to do the former?  What do you lose with the latter? 

Wonderful adaptation of a book based on a true story.  Krakauer's book is even further thought provoking, and one I've read several times over.  This is my second viewing of the film, and I still enjoy it very much.  More than once I've heard it said that McCandless needed "sense."  If McCandless took things to one extreme, most of us live the other, comfort and security with never any adventure. 

This is not recommended if you need a happy ending. 

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on March 12th, 2015)

The Pursuit of Happyness, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: The Pursuit of Happyness
Year: 2006
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Rating: PG-13
Length: 117 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Will Smith (1968)
Jaden Christopher Syre Smith
Thandie Newton
Brian Howe
James Karen
Dan Castellaneta

Plot:
Will Smith stars in the inspirational true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman who's struggling to make ends meet. When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise their 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith) on his own. Chris' determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self-confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Music Videos
Interviews
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
Watching this today for Will Smith's birthday.

This is one that I never seen before. Going by the trailer alone I had concerns about this one as I don't normally care too much for the pure drama stories. But this one was good... it was very easy to get into the storyline. Both Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith (who play father and son in the movie) did a great job. While I enjoyed every minute of it... it is not a movie I could watch often as it can get you down.  But if you haven't seen this one yet... I urge you to give it a chance.



(From Addicted2DVD's September Birthday Marathon on September 25th, 2010)

Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon, a review by Tom

19. New Moon Rising (2000-05-02)
Writer: Marti Noxon (Writer)
Director: James A. Contner
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Seth Green (Oz), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), James Marsters (Spike), Amber Benson (Tara), Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates), Bailey Chase (Graham Miller), Robert Patrick Benedict (Jape), Conor O'Farrell (Colonel McNamara), George Hertzberg (Adam), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Seth Green (Oz), James Michael Conner (Scientist #1), Mark Daneri (Scientist #2), Doron Keenan (Commando #2)

Nice to see Oz again. And I am glad that we got the chance to see Willow choosing between Oz and Tara. Though I am glad about the choice that she made, it also means that it was the last time that we got to see Oz (okay Seth Green probably wouldn't have come back often anyway, as he is a very busy man).

Rating:

(From Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon on September 12th, 2009)