DVD Collectors Online

Lissi und der wilde Kaiser, a review by Tom

Title: Lissi und der wilde Kaiser
Year: 2007
Director: Michael Bully Herbig
Rating: FSK-6
Length: 81 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1 , German: DTS 5.1 , German: Other
Subtitles: German

Stars:
Michael Bully Herbig
Christian Tramitz
Rick Kavanian
Lotte Ledl
Waldemar Kobus
Badesalz

This movie is the director's third movie based on a regular skit from his TV comedy show "Bullyparade". The first was a parody of the Winnetou movies and Western in general. The second a parody of Star Trek and Science Fiction movies in general.
This one now is a parody of the Sissi movies. It is the first one done as a CGI animated film instead of live-action. It stars the voices of director Michael 'Bully' Herbig (Sissi) and Christian Tramitz (Franz) who both played these roles in live-action skits on the 'Bullyparade'. Bully has said as a joke in interviews, that he decided to do this movie as an animated film, because Christian Tramitz didn't want to do the kissing scene with Bully
The movie is much better than I had feared when I first heard about this undertaking. The animation is top (especially because such movies are rare in German productions). I especially liked the facial expression of Lissi. They were modeled after Bully himself. I often forgot that this is animated and not really Bully himself.
Also the jokes were better than expected. I especially liked the movie references (e.g. the King Kong one).

Rating:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpEYhh4UTbc

(From Tom's Random Reviews on November 8th, 2008)

The Lord of the Rings: Collector's Edition, a review by DJ Doena

This weekend I took the time and inserted the One Ring again. Yesterday evening I watched "The Fellowship of the Rings" and "The Two Towers" and today I finished with "The Return of the King".

Awesome, simply awesome.

I watched the first two movies as double feature in the cinema as "blind buy". I've never read LOTR before. I was very impressed. I liked the story from the beginning and was eager to know how it ended. Thus, I bought the books (german translation). After 80-or-so pages I gave up. A few months later I started again and after the first 100 pages it was something like readable. But I never really enjoyed it.

Then I watched the third movie (I knew how it was going to end and also knew which parts would be missing but I didn't mind). After that I thought I gave it a shot and read it in the original language - klingon. Just kidding. But to be honest, it wasn't much better. I was really impressed by the fact that there were countless english words describing the landscape I've had never heard before. It was hard work for me. Before LOTR I read only the Potter books and some Babylon 5 novels. But overall, I don't think that JRR was a good storyteller. The story itself is great but he couldn't tell it very good. IMHO! Please don't crucify me.

But Peter Jackson could and he did. I bought the theatrical version, knowing there would be a SEE. After I got the SEE I gave the theatricals to my mother because I knew I wouldn't watch them again. Last year Amazon.com sold the CE for $22 each and I took the offer. Thus I owned every version at one time and still own the SEE and CE.

This weekend I watched it again and was again very impressed and very moved. I confess: I sobbed when Galadriel, Elrond, Gandalf & Frodo departed from the Grey Heavens.

11 out of 10 points for all three movies.

A bit disappointing for me was that - although I am usually not a bonus feature watcher - that none of the SEE/CE (the discs are the same) contains a movie trailer. Sad is also that the short movie of Sean Astin ("Sam") "The Long and the Short of It" and the Making-Of of TLATSOI are only contained on the TTT theatrical DVD. I really liked that one!

(From The Lord of the Rings: Collector's Edition on October 7th, 2007)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

The Lone Gunmen
The computer-hacking, conspiracy-exposing Lone Gunmen are always looking for that next big government cover-up that would bring their newsletter, The Lone Gunmen, national attention. Whether in their secret underground office or in the back of their old VW bus, this bumbling and often socially inept trio is routinely laughed at by their peers. Now with a young, idealistic new member and a mysterious and exotic female who is always one step ahead of them, the Lone Gunmen are doubly determined to protect millions of Americans by exposing truths that some would rather keep hidden.

Pilot
While investigating the death of Byers' father the Gunmen stumble onto a sinister government plot to ignite hostilities worldwide and increase arms sales.

My Thoughts:
While an entertaining show... it was never even close to the series that The X-Files (the series it spun off from) was. It is a show I can enjoy... but is one I am not surprised only lasted the one season. I really found it to be a pretty much average pilot and series. But I had to have it to complete the X-Files universe.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on March 8th, 2010)