DVD Collectors Online

Billy Madison, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Billy Madison: Widescreen
Year: 1995
Director: Tamra Davis
Rating: PG-13
Length: 90 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.0, French: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Adam Sandler as Billy Madison
Darren McGavin as Brian Madison
Bridgette Wilson as Veronica
Bradley Whitford as Eric Gordon
Josh Mostel as Max Anderson

Plot:
He's the heir to the Madison Hotel millions but in order to win his father's respect, and his Fortune 500 company, grown-up, goof-off Billy must repeat all 12 grades of school - in just 24 weeks! Comedy Superstar Adam Sandler stars with beautiful Bridgette Wilson in this laugh-a-minute hit where the subject is always fun! Featuring songs by Electric Light Orchestra, The Jackson 5, The Cars, Culture Club, The Ramones and Styx.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Production Notes
Booklet

My Thoughts:
I must admit... I thought I remembered this one being better then what it actually is. This one really is no more then juvenile jokes and other ignorant  moments. I watched this one expecting at least a few laughs... but I didn't laugh at all through out this entire movie. Was there anything good about this movie... any type of saving grace? Well there is Bridgette Wilson who plays Veronica... if nothing else she was worth looking at!  I think what I need to do when it comes to Adam Sandler movies is stick to the newer ones... and forget he even made some of these older.... more slapstick and juvenile movies.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Anything Goes on April 3rd, 2010)

Friday the 13th, a review by addicted2dvd

Friday the 13th (1980/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Paramount Home Entertainment Director: Sean S. Cunningham Writing: Victor Miller (Writer) Length: 95 min. Rating: R Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Betsy Palmer as Mrs. Voorhees
Adrienne King as Alice
Jeannine Taylor as Marcie
Robbi Morgan as Annie
Kevin Bacon as Jack
Harry Crosby as Bill

Plot:
Terror and suspense abound in this 24-hour nightmare of blood. Camp Crystal Lake has been been shuttered for over 20 years due to several vicious and unsolved murders. The camp's new owner and several young counselors are readying the property for re-opening despite warnings of a "death curse" by local residents. The curse proves true on Friday the 13th as one by one each of the counselors is stalked by a violent killer.This film is widely acclaimed for its horrifying and creative murder sequences.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Closed Captioned

What with today being Friday the 13th... how could I not watch some of these films? This is, of course, the one that started it all. Definitely a classic when it comes to horror. I feel it is a good movie... definitely worth watching... but I have seen better. I really liked the character of Alice in this one. For some reason I keep forgetting there is a young Kevin Bacon in this movie until I watch it again. Though I must say... really liked his death scene. This film definitely has some nostalgia value for me. It is hard to believe I was only 11 years old when this one was made. Where has the years gone? Of course with this film being so old, the special effects can be done more realistically today... but there is something about the way they were done back then that I really like. Doing such things with make-up effects instead of CGI, in my opinion, has a better feel to it. Sometimes the old fashion way is still the better way to go. There is some interesting kills in this film... though I do think some of the more creative kills comes later in the franchise.

This disc is part of the set: Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan which contains the first 8 films from the franchise. This set seems to be out of print now... but you can get used copies from Amazon Marketplace for as low as $14.90 or new copies starting at $88.99 at this time. This set also comes with a bonus disc with special features for all the films included. This is a nice set... though I haven't been keeping up with the newer releases to know if there is anything better out there for the franchise.

(From What Movies I Been Watching on September 13th, 2013)

The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series, a review by addicted2dvd

CAST:
Robert Reed as Mike Brady
Florence Henderson as Carol Brady
Ann B. Davis as Alice
Maureen McCormick as Marcia
Eve Plumb as Jan
Susan Olsen as Cindy
Barry Williams as Greg
Chris Knight as Peter
Mike Lookinland as Bobby

This past Friday I watched the TV Movie Growing Up Brady. This instantly put me in the mood to watch this complete series set again. This is the second time for me to go through this set since I bought it 3 years ago. In only 6 days I watched all 5 seasons of the series.... and the bonus disc with contains 2 reunion movies and  2 episodes of the animated series The Brady Kids. This series started in 1969... the same year I was born. So while I never saw the original run of the series... like many people I grew up watching reruns. When I was a kid I never considered this to be a favorite series of mine... but good enough to watch. Then many years went by without me seeing any episodes. One day I walked in to find my daughter watching some episodes on TV with her grandmother. And she was enjoying it. So I decided to buy this set so she would have a chance to see the entire series. Ironically in the 3 years I have owned it she never bothered to watch the set. But as I was watching the set I found that I oddly enjoyed it more now then when I was a kid. I don't know... maybe it is a strong nostalgic thing. Maybe a reminder of simpler times. But it really grew on me.

Now, about this set...

The first thing to notice is the gimmicky packaging. In my opinion the packaging fails on all levels. It is not pleasing to the eye (come on... green shag carpeting!?!?). All the discs are housed in one (flower shaped) cardboard accordion envelope (Much like the two in the I Love Lucy complete series set). So I am always worried that the discs will scratch. In my personal opinion... the person that designed this packaging should have been fired as soon as he suggested it!

The discs themselves are the same discs that are in the individual season sets. So that means the only thing that makes this Complete Series set worth it is the addition of the bonus disc with the reunion movies and cartoons. Which I enjoyed the reunion movies a lot... so  that made it worth getting the set to me personally.

Of course the show itself is basically what you would figure from the time. A half an hour sitcom where all their problems are solved with a happy ending by the end of each episode (except for the handful of multiple part eps. of course.) The series did bring in quite a few familiar faces...

The Brady Bunch Guests:
- Marion Ross (Happy Days)
- Herbert Anderson (Dennis the Menace)
- Desi Arnaz, Jr.
- E.G. Marshall (The Defenders)
- Marcia Wallace (The Bob Newhart Show)
- David "Deacon" Jones
- Julie Cobb (Charles in Charge)
- Jackie Coogan (The Addams Family)
- Jim Backus (Gilligan's Island)
- Jay Silverhills (The Lone Ranger)
- Davy Jones (The Monkees)
- Don Ho
- Vincent Price
- Nicholas Hammond (Amazing Spider-Man)
- Joe Namath
- Melissa Sue Anderson (Little House on the Prairie)
- Ken Berry
- Natalie Schafer (Gilligan's Island)

The Bonus Disc...
As I said... there is 2 reunion movies which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately the whole gang wasn't completely brought back together for neither one of them. In the first reunion movie, A Very Brady Christmas, Susan Olsen didn't come back so the part of Cindy Brady was played by Jennifer Runyon. And then in the movie the Brady 500 (Which is actually the first 2 episodes of The Bradys edited together to make a movie) Maureen McCormick didn't come back... so the part of Marcia Brady was played by Leah Ayres.

While the 2 episodes of the animated series The Brady Kids was entertaining enough... they are my least favorite of the included extras. It isn't a cartoon I watched much as a kid.... so the interest just wasn't there for me as much.

Over-all I am glad I did add this set to my collection. The bonus disc makes the purchase worth it in my opinion. Though I don't know if I would double-dip this series just to get this bonus disc. If I already had the season sets I doubt I would have bothered.



(From The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series on November 17th, 2011)