DVD Collectors Online

Millennium Actress, a review by Tom

Title: Sennen Joyu (Millennium Actress)
Year: 2001
Director: Satoshi Kon
Rating: PG
Length: 83 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese: DTS 5.1, English: Dolby Digital Stereo, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Japanese Voices
Miyoko Shoji
Mami Koyama
Fumiko Orikasa
Shozo Izuka
Syouko Tsuda

Plot:
Millennium Actress has the stylistic sophistication of Perfect Blue with the empathy, warmth and truth of Spirited Away.

A gorgeous, theatrical animation from the maker of anime classic Perfect Blue and last year's adorable Tokyo Godfathers. MILLENNIUM ACTRESS begins as a TV crew track down 70-something screen goddess Chiyoko Fujiwara. Chiyoko begins to tell her life story, at which point she literally steps into the past, dragging the confused crew into her memories - one moment they're discussing dramatic art, the next dodging bullets in the midst of a movie as the boundaries between film, memory, fact and fiction become a breathless blur. Chiyoko's history is depicted as a series of screen roles in which she appears as a feudal princess one moment, a lonely astronaut the next, endlessly chasing a lost love across the millennium. This stunning plunge through the centuries is testament not just to the pleasures but also the great strengths of animation: the many ages of screen goddess Chiyoko are achieved not with dubious CGI but artfully drawn. Playing with subjective and objective realities and richly textured with swooningly beautiful imagery, the film is a mental and visual anime feast.

Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

I bought this, because I stumbled across this when browsing amazon.co.uk. It sounded interesting and it was cheap.
The animation is beautiful, the story is an interesting blend of reality and fiction. While the title-giving actress tells about her past, the interviewers are sucked into her world by having her movie roles and her real life search for a lost love mixed together into the surreal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpGrD5wUzKE

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on May 1st, 2009)

Dragon Wars: D-War , a review by addicted2dvd

Dragon Wars: D-War (2007/South Korea) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Director: Hyung Rae Shim Writing: Hyung Rae Shim (Writer) Length: 90 min. Rating: PG-13 Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1, Pan & Scan 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Korean, Spanish

---

Stars:
Jason Behr as Ethan Kendrick
Amanda Brooks as Sarah
Robert Forster as Jack
Craig Robinson as Bruce
Aimee Garcia as Brandy
Chris Mulkey as Agent Frank Pinsky

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Gallery
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Closed Captioned

This is one was in a box of DVDs that a friend had given me. It is one of those bad Sci-Fi Channel movies that they are always airing. So I went into this one with very low expectations... and it is pretty much what you would expect.  All the serpents, dragons and other creatures that they created with CGI was decent enough for the budget I imagine they had to work with (maybe the higher end of a low budget)... so weren't the greatest... but with the subject matter they looked pretty cool. With that being said... it did entertain me. I don't know... I guess I just like a good bad movie every so often. And this one qualified. The movie had Jason Behr in it. If that name sounds familiar to you... it is probably because he was one of the stars of the TV Series Roswell. The story left a bit to be desired as well of course. But over-all a decent way to waste an hour and a half... but at the same time it is something that you really have to be in the mood to watch.




(From What Movies I Been Watching on July 29th, 2011)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

1. Bargaining  (Parts 1 & 2)
The gang resolves to bring the Slayer back from the dead - and succeeds, despite being hindered by a band of biker demons.

My Thoughts:
I can't remember how this aired on TV... but on the DVDs it plays as a double length episode. I think they did a good job on bringing Buffy back. This was of course the first episode to air on the new channel. Was a decent episode.

2. After Life
As Buffy adjusts to life after resurrection, a shadowy presence menaces her sidekicks - a side effect of the spell cast by Willow to bring the Slayer back.

My Thoughts:
Another good episode... They now need to deal with the repercussions of bringing Buffy back.

3. Flooded
A trio of young wannabe-big-bads cause trouble, while Buffy shoulders grown-up responsibilities such as running a household.

My Thoughts:
Another decent episode... and when I say decent episode I mean nothing really bad... but at the same time nothing really stands out as being special in the episode. I have mixed feelings about the trio... first of all... how can you take them seriously on them giving Buffy such a hard time... but at the same time they are just so fun to watch... they are just plain hilarious.


4. Life Serial
The Slayer struggles to readjust to life in Sunnydale by attending classes with Willow and working with Xander, while the Geek Trio test her abilities with a secret campaign of harassment.

My Thoughts:
Once again... a fun episode. The trio each taking turns to see how much they can mess with Buffy's head gives us plenty of fun hijinks to watch. I have to admit... I loved the mummy hand that Buffy had to deal with in the magic shop... that was about as fun as it could get for me. I enjoyed every minute of this episode.

5. All the Way
Dawn sneaks out on Halloween and gets into a dangerous situation with a teenage vampire.

My Thoughts:
If I am not mistaken... this is the last Halloween episode of Buffy.... at least I don't remember a Halloween episode in the final season. It was a fun episode... and I have to admit... Anya looked might fine in her Charlie's Angels costume! Another episode I really enjoyed.

6. Once More, With Feeling
A mysterious force impels the Scooby Gang to burst into song, revealing their true feelings.

My Thoughts:
OK... my asbestos suit is on... don't you all flame me at once... but I HATE this episode! Of course that could have something to do with the fact that I do not like musicals at all!

7. Tabula Rasa
Despite Tara's misgivings about her overindulgence in magic, Willow does a spell that goes awry and gives the gang amnesia.

My Thoughts:
This one was a lot of fun too... enjoyed the episode... but I must say at this point they must be running out of ideas for the demons... whats with a guy with a shark head for a loan shark... yes I get it... he is a loan shark... but come on! LOL

(From Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon on November 26th, 2007)