DVD Collectors Online

An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe, a review by Antares

An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (1972) 62/100 - Edgar Allan Poe was the first author that I fell in love with when I was young. The brevity of his stories, along with their macabre nature and rich imagery, easily cemented Poe's genius in my mind. To that end, like almost anything one reads, you have a preconceived notion of how the characters look and sound in your mind. Unfortunately for me, these notions were at odds with the performances of Vincent Price in four of Poe's short stories. The film clocked in at a meager 53 minutes, but felt like two hours. I love Vincent Price, and I could understand AIP's reason for having him do these one man recitations. The man's a legend of the Gothic horror genre and one would think that this would be a marriage made in heaven. But it's only 25% successful.

The Tell-Tale Heart - This is where my preconceived imagery was most glaringly at odds with Price's performance. I always saw the narrator of the tale as being coldly aloof and calculating in his manner, kind of like Hannibal Lecter. But Price plays him as if he's raging mad and his performance in this segment is overly melodramatic and it ruins the suspense of the matter of the old man's murder.

The Sphinx - Considered a lesser work from Poe, this was probably included to add a bit of whimsy to the four segment structure of stories. It's pretty light fare, but Price plays this one quite well. But that's to be expected as Price always had the knack for devilish type humor in his many portrayals.

The Cask of Amontillado - This was a short story that I never truly cared for when I first read it. But it turned out to be my favorite of the four segments as Price plays this one without the histrionics of the first and last stories in the film. What I found most interesting was the way that the director used alternating, quick edits of both of Price's facial profiles to render the conversation of the two men in the catacombs, a nice touch.

The Pit and the Pendulum - Once again, to augment the mood of dread inherent in the protagonist's plight, Price ratchets his bombast to a delirious and overwrought dimension in this final segment. I probably could have dealt with it better if he hadn't done it in the first segment also, but by now, it just came across as noisy and disengaging.

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 October 13th, 2012)

The Nun, a review by KinkyCyborg

I feel a little ashamed that I'm not actively participating in the horror marathon that's taking place here. Not being able to confidently commit the time to watch a decent string of horror movies coupled with my obsessive compulsive need to stick with my viewing system makes it hard for me to put forth a worthy effort.    I will try to get a horror movie or two in before the month ends.




Title:The Nun
Year: 2005
Director: Luis De La Madrid
Rating: R
Length: 102 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: Spanish

Stars:Plot:
Years ago, a cruel and merciless nun turned boarding school into a living hell for her students until they could no longer bear the abuse . . . then she mysteriously disappeared. Now the alumnae are being brutally murdered one by one. Feeling a familiar and evil presence, the survivors regroup to save their lives and lay the nun to rest one final time.

Extras:
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Closed Captioned


I didn't mind this at all. Apart from a few moments of terrible acting I thought it was a fresh concept, some original kills, and it held the story together pretty well right through to the end. An average entry in the horror genre but much better than I was expecting.

KC

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on October 11th, 2010)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

The Good Life

Episode 1 - Plough Your Own Furrow
After he has celebrated his 40th birthday Tom decides that he is unhappy with his life style so he packs his job in, farms his large garden and becomes self sufficient.



The Good Life stars Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal as Tom and Barbara Good, a middle class suburban couple who on Tom's 40th birthday decide to turn their Surbiton home into a self sufficient allotment. They grow their own food, keep farm animals and have sold or bartered all of their electrical appliances as they have no electricity.
This creates friction with their best friends and next door neighbours, the Leadbetters (Jerry and Margo) played by Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith. But even though the Goods have lowered the tone of the neighbourhood in the Leadbetters eyes they still can't help but be best of friends

Watching this pilot is like pulling on an old cardigan, you immediately feel comfortable, happy and content.
Having watched the series several times over the years, it was good to revisit the original episode as a reminder of how and why it all started. The cast of course are like old friends, warm, approachable, self-assured and accomplished from the get-go.
Excellent entertainment and a true classic from the seventies.
 

(From My PILOT Marathon on September 1st, 2009)