DVD Collectors Online

The Birds, a review by Dragonfire

Nothing equals 'THE BIRDS' for sheer terror when Alfred Hitchcock unleashes his foul friends in one of his most shocking and memorable masterpieces. As beautiful blonde Melanie Daniels ('Tippi' Hedren) rolls into Bodega Bay in pursuit of eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), she is inexplicably attacked by a seagull. Suddenly thousands of birds are flocking into town, preying on schoolchildren and residents in a terrifying series of attacks. Soon Mitch and Melanie are fighting for their lives against a deadly force that can't be explained and can't be stopped in one of Hollywood's most horrific films of nature gone berserk.

My Thoughts

This was the first time I had watched this one in a long time.  It started off a little slow while the situation with the characters was set up.  Once Melanie was on the island and the birds started to act weird - with the attacks - things got much more interesting.  The pace was still a bit slower, but not so slow that I was bored by what was going on.  Hitchcock slowly built up the suspense and tension in a way that worked very well.  The movie was very entertaining and one of Hitchcock's great movies.  I think part of what made it scarier was the fact that there wasn't an explanation for why the birds were attacking and that aspect of the movie did seem a lot more believable.  The fact that there wasn't a musical score and just all the bird sounds also made certain scenes much more intense.

There was a featurette that featured different people connected to the making of the movie, including some of the cast, that was very interesting.  They talked about how different scenes were filmed and someone explained how special effects were done.

 

(From My November Alphabet Marathon on November 6th, 2008)

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, a review by Dragonfire

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

First he fought for the Crown, now he's fighting for the family jewels!  Mike Myers (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery) returns as the world's grooviest superspy in this latest comedy-adventure!

Intent on world domination, diabolical genius Dr. Evil travels back to 1969 and steals Austin's "mojo".  Now Austin must return to the Swingin' Sixties, recover his mojo and stop his terminally square arch nemesis from liquidating the world.  Together with the fab CIA superchick Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham, Lost in Space, Bowfinger), Austin faces off against an army of outrageous villains including a heinous henchman of tremendous girth and Mini-Me, Dr. Evil's deranged 1/8 sized clone.

My Thoughts

I fully admit this movie is silly and a bit corny..but it is funny and entertaining.  The explanation for getting rid of Vanessa was really out there, but it somehow seemed to fit with the tone of the movie.  Dr. Evil is very funny to me and the addition of Mini-Me was interesting, especially how he interacted with Scott.  I didn't care for Fat Bastard though.  He was just gross.  The time travel wasn't even remotely believable, but it helped make the movie entertaining.  People who liked the first Austin Powers movie might also like this one.

 

(From My November Alphabet Marathon on November 3rd, 2008)

Veronica Mars Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

13. Postgame Mortem
Game over. Hearst's basketball coach is found murdered. Logan, depressed over his breakup with Veronica, turns his attention to another young lady. He plays big brother to a little girl left in his care.

My Thoughts:
This one I liked quite a bit. It is one of the few times that the weekly mystery is spread out to two episodes.

My Rating:

14. Mars, Bars
One down, one to go. Veronica solves the Coach Barry case, but the O'Dell murder just gets more and more complicated. And guess what Logan finds on a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt: a new love interest.

My Thoughts:
This is the only episode of this set that I have seen recently. It is one I watched for Valentines Day. While the entire episode is very good... I especially liked the scavenger hunt scenes... they were just plain fun. It also has the conclusion to the last episode's mystery, a good continuation to the multi-episode mystery and has Keith Mars getting his old job as sheriff back.

My Rating:

15. Papa's Cabin
Who killed Dean O'Dell? The odd-couple detective team of Veronica and Tim wants to know. A taped phone call, two disappearances, one corpse and a few strippers later, they find out. Then...

My Thoughts:
much like all the episodes that has the big reveals... this is an excellent episode! Though I must admit... I would have liked to seen a little of what happened between the time of Veronica figuring it all out in class and the next scene of her home cooking dinner and seeing the outcome on the news. But that is a minor thing.

My Rating:

16. Un-American Graffiti
Not what they expected. An Arab-American (emphasis on 'American') family is the victim of a hate crime. Sheriff Mars targets off-campus bars that have served minors for years. Veronica's love life takes a surprising turn.

My Thoughts:
This is a very good episode. An interesting mystery. And I enjoyed Keith going up against the local bars. And I really like how it ended.

My Rating:



(From Veronica Mars Marathon on April 19th, 2010)