DVD Collectors Online

Yabu no naka no kuroneko, a review by Danae Cassandra

Yabu no naka no kuroneko  (Kuroneko)

Year of Release:  1968
Directed By:  Kaneto Shindo
Starring:  Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kiwako Taichi, Kei Sato 
Rated:  Not Rated

Overview:
In this poetic and atmospheric horror fable, set in a village in war-torn feudal Japan, malevolent spirits are ripping out the throats of itinerant samurai. When a military hero is dispatched to confront the unseen force, he finds that he must struggle with personal demons as well. From Kaneto Shindo, director of the similarly terrifying Onibaba, Kuroneko (a.k.a. Black Cat) is a spectacularly eerie twilight tale, with a shocking feminist angle, evoked through ghostly special effects and exquisite cinematography.

My Thoughts:
What a magnificent film!  The cinematography is so perfect, so gorgeous, the unconventional use of lighting, the play of darkness and shadow in the film, the eerie fog that heralds entering the supernatural realm.  The look of the film and its atmosphere are so wonderfully done, the use of black and white so appropriate that I can't imagine what this would look like in color.  The actors are all great as well.  Poetic, tragic, symbolic, chilling, I would highly recommend this for any fan of classic or Japanese horror.  Avoid only if you can't watch a subtitled film (in which case, I feel sorry for you).  Any other horror film I watch this month has a high bar set by Kuroneko.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall:  4.75/5

(From Danae's 2012 Horror on October 8th, 2012)

Octopussy, a review by Rich

Octopussy



Agent 007 is as daring as ever in the 13th installment in the Bond series. A maniacal Soviet general (Steven Berkoff) is about to cause a nuclear accident that will cripple Western Europe and make the USSR ruler of the world. In order to stop him, Bond (Roger Moore) travels by hot air balloon and folding miniature jet plane to exotic India, where the perils he encounters include a man-eating tiger--and the equally dangerous female head of an international smuggling ring. Maud Adams plays the fabulous villain, Octopussy. This film was released simultaneously against NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, in which Sean Connery reprised the Bond role for the first time in 12 years.

A good start to the film specifically with the plane stunt through the hanger, but unfortunately the film slowly petered out like a dying flame. It hit the ridiculous mark when they played a Tarzan yell as Bond swung through trees trying to escape, and it never recovered after.
Moore is now showing his age (and his weight), relying heavily on perhaps one too many glib remarks and some disappointingly bad acting, and it is difficult to believe he is athletic and a daring spy anymore. The leading lady is unnoticeable, and the villain limp. The storyline is disjointed, and for a change the score and theme song do not inspire
One of the worst Bonds in my book.
 


(From Riches Random Reviews on April 27th, 2009)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Every story has a beginning and for a TV show it's (often) the Pilot. I simply love pilots. It's the one episode that I watch more than any other episode of the show.

I'll watch them in the order in which they stand on my shelves, so there's no secret master plan why one show comes before or after the next.

As Kosh would say: And so it begins.

Xena: Warrior Princess



What's the show about?
The former warlord Xena has reformed and fights now for the good. She and her sidekick Gabrielle travel through the ancient world of Greece, North Africa and Asia. They fight with and against other warlords, demons and gods.

What happend before?
"Xena" is a spin-off of "Hercules" where Xena was introduced. Back then she was still a warlord until she lost her army due to a mutiny. After that she helped Hercules defeat a vicious monster.

"Sins of the Past"
Xena cannot escape her past even when she tries to. On the way to her hometown Amphipolis she saves a group of people - including a young girl called Gabrielle - from being captured and sold into slavery. The attackers are under the command of Draco. When she denies him a real fight he decides to destroy Amphipolis and kill everyone. Now Xena has to protect a town that does not want her to be there...

My Opinion
Since the character was already introduced in "Hercules" one doesn't learn much new about Xena in the pilot. Even if she had an affair with Draco remains unclear.
I always favoured "Xena" over "Hercules" because it was a bit darker and her enemies (Callisto, Ares, ...) were more interesting

But there is one thing that bugs me while I'm watching the show. While I grew up I read a lot of greek mythology. I've read the Iliad, the Odyssey, I watched every Hercules/Heracles movie there was. And I am still used to the german names of everything: Herkules, Achilles, Zeus, ... . While the spelling is only slightly different, the pronunciation is completely different. Everytime I watch Xena or Hercules and they pronounce greek names it sounds totally wrong. Period.

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on January 2nd, 2008)