DVD Collectors Online

Harry Brown, a review by Jon

Harry Brown
3 out of 5

[understament]Harry, is not best pleased[/understatement].

The actor who played Jack Carter? A character who is an ex-Marine with a grudge? Going all Gran TorinoGran TorinoGet Carter in the lead is an ace and the rest of the cast are excellent and also avoid stereotypes, especially Joe Cornish in a small role; I know him from soap-land and he is also great in This Is England

(From "Fancy the pictures, me Duck?": The British Film Marathon on February 6th, 2011)

Melody Time, a review by Danae Cassandra

Melody Time
Year of Release: 1948
Directed By: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney
Starring: Roy Rogers, Trigger, Dennis Day, The Andrews Sisters
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Animation

Overview:
In the grand tradition of Disney's greatest musical classics such as Fantasia, Melody TimeMelody Time is a delightful Disney classic with something for everyone in your family!

My Thoughts:
Another of Disney's package films, and like the others I've watched this year sadly sanitized for home video release (excising a smoking bit from Pecos Bill). I enjoyed all of the segments here, though my favorite was Trees (and I'm apparently in the minority with that). Bumble Boogie was also a lot of fun, as is Blame it on the Samba which reunites the Donald, Jose Carioca, and the Aracuan Bird. The more conventional Little Toot, Once Upon a Wintertime, and Pecos Bill are cute cartoons, but I found Johnny Appleseed to be a bit too saccharine. Recommended if you like Disney's short cartoons.

This would make a great 2-pack with Make Mine Music, should Disney decide to release them on blu-ray.

Bechdel Test: Fail
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 7th, 2016)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

Danger UXB

Dead Man's Shoes
Newly-promoted Second Lieutentant Brian Ash joins his new regiment only to find that they are assigned to bomb disposal in London. Ash is thrown in at the deep end when he and his men are sent to a bomb site.



When a young Royal Engineer Officer is killed trying to defuse a bomb, he is replaced by raw officer recruit Brian Ash. Ash is shocked to discover that his new unit, the 97th Tunnelling Company, is in fact a hastily formed bomb disposal squad. With the Blitz devastating London every night and making massive demands on Royal Engineers' manpower, he is to take command of 347 Section forthwith. It's not long before he's facing the real thing at close range, with his men looking on from a safe distance, making bets as to whether he'll go the same way as his predecessor...

An enthralling series we never missed on its original showing on TV, and having rewatched its original episode, glad to say the tension, depth of character, and superb writing (upstairs,downstairs creator) have not dated negatively. In fact if you excuse the opening titles and credit rolls it is hard to believe it is 30 years old.
I realise better now it is also historically accurate for this WW2 era, the backdrops are realistic, and the storylines genuinely factual. The acting is spot on, very in-depth and interesting characters from all ranks, and the background storylines behind the bomb disposals are interesting.
Not sure who blindly would get into the series, possibly those interested in history or WW2, or those interested in more modern period costume dramas? For me it is a bit of all of the above, and my nostalgic return to a childhood favourite.
 

(From My PILOT Marathon on September 25th, 2009)