DVD Collectors Online

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a review by Achim

I had read mixed reviews about this one. The unfavorable ones, which I had found first, almost made me not see it, but after also finding a couple of good ones I went to see it today.

First off, I was mislead by the title, make me expect a different third act than what they gave me. Of course, what I expected was basically one BIG plot hole, which never came... So, while not really getting what I came for, at least the movie made a lot more sense. I really liked how they ended the film; of course it opens up strong potential to make this a franchise again.

The real stars of this film are of course the apes, or their digital animators (and motion capture doubles). The emotion that the apes bring across with their eyes, faces and body language is amazing. While I found them almost always recognizably digital, I was still in awe of the "acting". James Franco and Jon Voight do their best to breathe a little life into their characters, but they are always overshadowed by the apes

How Caesar comes into existence and his development from caged in prisoner to leader of his fellow primates is quite believable. At one pivotal moment the whole theater gasped in awe (when he finds quite a surprising way to express himself).

Between a and a

(From Rise of the Planet of the Apes on August 12th, 2011)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a review by addicted2dvd

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964/United States) IMDb |Trailer |Wikipedia | Classic Media, Vivendi Entertainment Director: Larry Roemer Writing: Romeo Muller (Writer), Robert May (1905) (Original Material By), Johnny Marks (Original Material By) Length: 52 min. Rating: NR Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles:

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Stars:
Burl Ives as Sam/Narrator (Voice)
Larry Mann as Yukon Cornelius (Voice)
Billy Richards as Rudolph (Voice)
Paul Soles as Hermey (Voice)
Stan Francis as Santa Claus (Voice)
Stan Francis as King Moonracer (Voice)

Plot:
Do you remember when...
Rudolph visited the Island of Misfit Toys, and Santa asked Rudolph to guide his sleigh on Christmas Eve? Share the magic of this Original Christmas Classic told and sung by Burl Ives!

Extras:

• Scene Access

This is a true Christmas Classic. One I have seen countles times every since I was a little kid and it aired on TV every year. I mean how can you not watch the likes of Rudolph this time of the year? The image and sound on this blu-ray is amazing... easily the best this one has ever looked and sound.



(From Christmas Reviews 2014 on December 13th, 2014)

Smallville Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

1. PILOT
Rescue Lex, avoid Lana's killer green necklace, stop an avenging scarecrow man and don't reveal your powers to anyone. Who says being a teen hero is easy? Clark also learns he's not exactly from the neighborhood.

My Thoughts:
This is a good start to a great series! The start of the friendship between Clark and Lex... Clark's unbreakable infatuation with Lana... And who can forget Chloe with her Wall of Weird... It has been so long since I have seen these early episodes... this is going to be a fun marathon!

2. METAMORPHOSIS
Is Lana fated to a cocoon of doom? A nerdish bug collector is transformed into a monster by the irradiated bugs of Smallville - and he wants Lana for his bug-world queen.

My Thoughts:
Another good episode... most of them are! In this one Clark gets his first real fight as the Bug Boy is strong too. Of course (like most the episodes) Clark must save Lana from the freak of the week.

3. HOTHEAD
He has a burning desire for victory! A win-at-any-cost football coach turns deadly when unexpected exposure to 'kryptonite' gives him the power to cause his critics to engulf in flames.

My Thoughts:
This is a decent episode... but not one of my favorites. I don't know what it is about this episode... I guess it is a mixture of 2 things.. first that couch bugs the crap out of me for some reason... just don't like him.... plus I am not much of a sports fan... so this episode having a lot to do with football kinda gets lost on me. Other then that... I am still able to enjoy it.

4. X-RAY
Clark is startled to discover he has the power of X-ray vision - a power that may be useful when he confronts a challenging-like student who can take on the appearance and emotional traits of anyone.

My Thoughts:
Now... this on the other hand is one of my favorites. In the Smallville series there is 2 type of episodes I really like. One being... like this one... where Clark develops one of his powers. and the other is when the other superheroes comes into the series... which don't happen to the later seasons if I remember correctly. I must admit... of all of Clark's powers... this is the one I would like to have! Of course I don't think I could be as strong as Clark on not looking at things I shouldn't!

(From Smallville Marathon on July 31st, 2007)