DVD Collectors Online

Saludos Amigos, a review by Danae Cassandra

Saludos Amigos
Year of Release: 1942
Directed By: Bill Roberts, Jack Kinney, Ham Luske, Wilfred Jackson
Starring: Fred Shields, Jose Oliveira
Genre: Comedy, Animation, Musical

Overview:
Direct from the vault, Disney's 6th full-length animated film, Saludos AmigosSaludos Amigos is a hilarious visual feast that will entertain and delight the whole family.

My Thoughts:
Saludos Amigos is considered one of Disney's lesser efforts, and its not hard to see why.  That's not to say this is a bad film, only that it will never be counted among my favorites.  It's also not my least favorite.  The framing story dates this film; those psuedo-documentary sections are condescending.  The cartoons are fun.  My favorites were the beautiful Aquarela do Brasil and the amusing El Gaucho Goofy.  The other two are good, but I didn't find them to be quite as good.

I do wish Disney didn't feel the need to censor their earlier films for our "enjoyment."  A bit of smoking has been excised from El Gaucho Goofy, and though it's lack doesn't hinder enjoying the short, censorship is a terrible thing.  I'd like to see the package films come out on blu-ray - Saludos would make a nice 2-pack with The Three Caballeros. 

Bechdel Test: Fail
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 7th, 2016)

Last Man on Earth, a review by addicted2dvd

Last Man on Earth
Set in a nightmare world populated with Vampire-like creatures,Scientist Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) is the only man immune to a plague that has turned the entire population of earth into vampires. Robert, in his effort to stay alive, becomes a monster slayer that terrifies the vampire communiity. A dark and intriguing Italian film that mixes science fiction with horror and was later remade as "The Omega Man" with Charleton Heston in the Vincent Price role.

My Thoughts:
This is one of my favorite of his movies I have seen so far. And the first of any of the versions of Omega Man I ever seen. Matter of fact I still haven't seen Omega Man. I have seen I Am Legend... which was good for what it was. But I believe that I prefer this version personally. The quality of the audio/video on this release is decent... but could have been much better. There is some dust and scratches visible on the film.

(From Vincent Price Birthday Double Feature on May 27th, 2008)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon, a review by goodguy

2x08 Mr. Ferguson Is Ill Today
Synopsis: John and Riley's getaway to Mexico has unforeseen consequences that bring the entire group south of the border and Sarah face-to-face with Ellison.
My Rating:

Matthias has pointed out before it's his favorite and I can at least confirm from my side that it's the best episode yet.

I was only referring to the title, not the episode itself, although, as evident from my rating, I do consider it another excellent episode. As for the title: I didn't catch on to it right from the start. I found it oddly fitting to describe Cromartie's demise and I remember having that sentence stuck in my head for a while like a piece of music. But it wasn't until I rewatched S1 that I noticed it is the very first line of Cromartie in the pilot, when he appeared as a substitute teacher (and was played by another actor). Which fits nicely with the way the characters in this episode try to replace something they have lost.

Well, if he wasn't doing things like running away without telling anyone, there wouldn't be any exciting plots

More importantly, he would just be dead. Both Sarah and Cameron don't want John to be with Riley. Both think he is in his room, sleeping in. Both are the ones that allowed Cromartie to pick up the trail. But as Cromartie arrives at the house, John is gone. With Riley.

I always enjoy the "bits and pieces" approach to tell a story, presenting us with segments, each following another person, that slightly overlap. This way important information can occasionally be left out only to be revealed later on. Kudos to the writer team to pulling it off very effectively

I admit that on first viewing I dismissed it as too gimmicky, but it really isn't. Only in the case of Ellison's sudden appearance it is played for surprise, and even then not exclusively. More important seems to be the overlap and repetition of certain key bits and how it enhances the almost lyrical feeling the dialogue often has. And, of course, the different story segments emphasize how fractured team Connor has become.

As it all comes together in Cromartie's story, Ellison does lead him to the Connors, but on his own terms, because "all things are possible to him who believes." The shootout in a Mexican church uses bold Christ imagery, and a rather short version of another traditional song (La Llorona - The Weeping Woman) again takes out the sound of the action scene until Cameron finally brings Cromartie down. Cameron looks equally sad and curious while doing it - she certainly seems to think more about the terminators she kills than about the humans, echoing similar shots of her in 2x05 and 2x06.

Only now, two or three episodes after the incident I realize that Ellison's role in all this must be bigger than we can imagine so far. Triggered by his question to Sarah about his role...

One of the bits that gets repeated during the segments are Ellison's words to Sarah when he opens the trunk: "Sarah Connor? James Ellison. I *need* you to come with me." But when they talk during Cromartie's burial, Sarah refuses to give him the guidance he so desperately seeks. As he walks away, he will undoubtedly return to Weaver. And with the ominous music cue accompanying it and the way the takedown of Cromartie was shown, one can be pretty sure what will happen. However, Cromartie's chip definitely is destroyed.



(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon on February 8th, 2010)