DVD Collectors Online

Laughter in Paradise, a review by Antares

Laughter in Paradise (1951) 62/100 - This British comedy had a great premise, that unfortunately, never really builds upon the crazy possibilities inherent in its storyline. It's the story of an aristocrat, known as the world's most famous practical joker, who has died, and has, as part of his will, bequeathed his estate to 4 relatives of his extended family. But there's a catch...each must perform a specific task that is completely contrary to their character's nature, and it must be done before thirty days have elapsed since the reading of the will. Being the world's greatest practical joker, each task that the aristocrat has conjured up, is meant to tweak each of its recipients. One relative is a fortune hunting womanizer, and he must marry the first woman he speaks to. The second relative is a stuffy, cruel woman who must take a job as a maid servant. The third is a spineless bank teller who must hold up the bank he works for. And finally, the fourth is a timid, milquetoast dime novelist who must get arrested and spend thirty days in jail. I waited for that crazy kind of dry humor the British are famous for, to surface throughout this film, but sadly, the film plays out mainly as a cute morality tale instead, with the obvious ending attached. It's a fun film, but pales in comparison to what Ealing was cranking out at this time.

What the color coding means...

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on July 28th, 2012)

Ocean's 11, a review by KinkyCyborg

Ocean's 11



Title:Ocean's 11
Year: 1960
Director: Lewis Milestone
Rating: NR
Length: 127 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Peter Lawford
Dean Martin
Frank Sinatra
Henry Silva
Joey Bishop

Plot:Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Closed Captioned


I started watching this with some preconceived notions... that I wouldn't like it because I had seen the remake first, that it would be diluted with singing numbers and that it would seem terribly dated. Of course I was wrong as usual.  

It's easy to resist the temptation to compare this to the remale simply because other than the title of the movie and one character who retained their name, Danny Ocean, there was little these two movies had in common. I enjoyed this and the remake and refuse to say one is better than the other because they both stand on their own merits.

There was a bit of singing in this one, but I can listen to Dean Martin sing all day. Sammy Davis Jr. also had a short snappy number that I liked too. I confess to not having seen Davis Jr. in many movies beyond the Cannonball Run flicks and he impressed me too. Probably my favorite character in this would be Cesar Romero as Duke Santos. Very suave and full of confidence! Also if Julia Roberts had her hair tied up like Angie Dickinson did in this version you would be astonished at the resemblance!

The casino heist theme is common between the two films but the method and direction were completely different. This version of course lacked all the high tech gadgetry, replaced with creative trickery and the art of the con. I think I may have liked the ending better in this version, satisfying and full of irony.

This movie is one I'd like to revisit from time to time so you know it has scored high with me.  

KC


Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on October 20th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

The 4400: Season One (2004/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Paramount Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 217 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles:

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Plot:
Over the last century, thousands of people have gone missing. Suddenly and inexplicably, 4400 missing people are returned all at once, as they were on the day they vanished. Unclear what this world-altering event means, the government investigates the 4400 to piece together where they've been and why they've been returned. It quickly becomes apparent that their presence will change the human race in ways no one could have ever foreseen.

The 4400
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Scott Peters (Writer), René Echevarria (Writer)
Director: Yves Simoneau
Cast: Joel Gretsch (Tom Baldwin), Jacqueline McKenzie (Diana Skouris), Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (Richard Tyler), Laura Allen (Lily Moore Tyler), Patrick Flueger (Shawn Farrell), Chad Faust (Kyle Baldwin), Kaj-Erik Eriksen (Danny Farrell), Brooke Nevin (Nikki Hudson), Peter Coyote (Dennis Ryland), Michael Moriarty (Orson Bailey), Conchita Campbell (Maia Rutledge), Lori Triolo (Linda Baldwin), Chilton Crane (Susan Farrell), Andrew Airlie (Brian Moore), Garwin Sanford (Adam Kensington), Jason Low (Sid Stradner), Terry Chen (Colin Chen), Jesse Hutch (Brad Rossi), Ross Douglas (Gregory Kensington), Sheila Paterson (Elizabeth Bailey), Eric Breker (Kenneth Griffin), Eileen Pedde (Patty Griffin), Genevieve Buechner (Heidi Moore), Adrian Holmes (Lt. Payton), Roger Haskett (Maia's Father), Carrie Ann Fleming (Mary Rutledge), Keith Martin Gordey (Alan Kushner), Pamela Hart (ACLU Lawyer), Patti Allan (Barbara Yates), Link Baker (Air Force Officer), Karin Konoval (Dr. Emily Sanford), John Destry (Homeless Man), Cameron Cronin (Process Server), Jan Bos (Quarantine Official), Jocelyne Loewen (Secretary), Daryl Shuttleworth (Announcer One), Nicolas von Zill (Middle-Aged Man), Gabriel Patrich (Older Man), Julius Chapple (Young Man), Christina Jastrzembska (Older Woman), Layla Alizada (Young Woman), Calvin Lee (Newscaster - China), Nimet Kanji (Newscaster - Africa), Parm Soor (Newscaster - India), Manami Hara (Newscaster - Japan), Nicola Crosbie (Announcer Two), Chris Kalhoon (Reporter)

The first season actually started out as a five episode mini-series. It wasn't originally planned to continue. This is very noticable after the first season. They had to find some new storylines to be able to do a TV series.
I enjoyed the complete series, but the first season is the best for that reason. This pilot episode is a great introduction and am already tempted to continue. If you do not know it, you should at least check out the first season.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 24th, 2011)