DVD Collectors Online

Uncommon Valor, a review by Rich

limping through 'nam...



Based on a true story, this action film set in the post-Vietnam era casts Gene Hackman as a retired military man who gets tired of government inaction in tracking down the whereabouts of his son, who has been listed as missing in action in Vietnam. So he gathers and trains a rough group of Vietnam vets to launch his own mission into Laos, where his intelligence tells him the son is being held. Hackman brings sorrowful power to the role of determined father, and has a rugged supporting cast (including Patrick Swayze, Fred Ward, and Randall "Tex" Cobb) to keep the story moving forward, even when the machinations become formulaic

Despite the fact it is loosely based on a true account, it comes across as a poor mans rambo. Dull, slow, wooden and predictable. Not recommended. 4/10

(From Around the World in 80 DVD's on March 2nd, 2008)

Black, a review by dfmorgan

Black

Year: 2005
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Shernaz Patel
Overview: I know now that there is God... He is not in the Holy Spirit we pray to... He isn't written about in religious texts... He is someone who is a part of our lives... Whom we live for...
Because of whom we live...

Michelle McNally is "special" in more ways than one. She cannot see... nor hear...  nor speak... She inhabits a world of infinite black... of a seamless, endless void where nothing reaches her and she reaches nothing. Her world is frightening in its complete remoteness. On the sheer will of her ferocious rage against destiny, Michelle struggles to stay afloat in the impenetrable whirlpool her life has become.

Into this devastating isolation enters a battle weary teacher, Debraj Sahai, life's wounded but arrogantly insolent warrior. With a single minded obsession, Debraj takes up a challenge that is next to impossible - to lead this wild, uncontrollable child into the light of knowledge.

Thus begins a journey of two headstrong individuals. They will overcome  what they seek is that moment of miracle -  when the ray of knowledge will penetrate through the dense black of Michelle's life... Black is the cathartic tale of a deaf, mute and blind girl who saw what people with sight fail to see - a vision of her God. Michelle McNally saw what other lesser mortals could not. She saw her God... heard Him... and walked with Him... into the light...

Watched: 6th Jun 2010
My Thoughts: Thank You Tom and Thank You Jon for recommending this wonderful film.

This film takes us through the life of Michelle McNally (Rani Mukherjee) from a few months after birth where she has now been diagnosed as both deaf and blind, through feral childhood onto a fairly confident young womanhood and finishing with a very confident woman. The bulk of the story is told in flashback but this doesn't detract from the storyline as it was easy enough to follow. One area I thought the director handled well was the sibling rivalry and reconcilation. When he chose to show the rivalry it was understated just enough to ensure that you were aware of it until he brought it to its head at the pre-wedding dinner. In the middle of all this was the teacher Debraj Sahai (Amitabh Bachchan) who brought Michelle out of herself and into the light. The film is top and tailed with Michelle seeing/visiting Debraj in hospital after finding him and finding out that he is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

My Rating: It has to be 5

Dave

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on June 6th, 2010)

My Babysitter's a Vampire: The First Season, a review by addicted2dvd

My Babysitter's a Vampire: The First Season IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer/Intro |

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Stars:
Matthew Knight as Ethan Morgan
Vanessa Morgan as Sarah
Atticus Mitchell as Benny Weir
Cameron Kennedy as Rory
Kate Todd as Erica Jones
Laura DeCarteret as Samantha Morgan

This is a series I never seen before getting the set for my birthday back in May. Oddly to this day I don't know which of my friends sent it to me. Someone seen it on my wishlist and ordered it... sending it to me. With only the message of Happy Birthday. It is obviously someone that knows I like pretty much anything with vampires in it. This is a series that is geared more towards pre-teens/lower-teens. But that don't bother me a bit. I can still enjoy such shows. And I enjoyed this one. Not the best I ever seen... but it is worth the time needed to watch it. The series isn't quite as good as the TV Movie that came out before the series... as the TV Movie had slightly more graphic violence. My favorite episode of the set is the last one... it was pretty much a sequel to the TV Movie. And left the series in a spot where I wanted to see more. So yes this is a series I would continue to collect. But unfortunately the second season was never released on DVD. Hopefully one day.



(From My Babysitter's a Vampire: The First Season on September 18th, 2013)