DVD Collectors Online

Dog Day Afternoon, a review by Rich

Dog Day Afternoon



Before Peter Finch was 'mad as hell' in NETWORK, Sidney Lumet's scorching indictment of the American television industry, Al Pacino played an equally ferocious and fed-up bank robber in Lumet's classic film DOG DAY AFTERNOON. Pacino is heartbreakingly real as Sonny, a smart and tough if self-destructive Brooklyn tough whose plan to rob the local bank to fund his male lover's (Chris Sarandon) sex change goes absurdly wrong. Accompanied only by his doltish accomplice, Sal (John Cazale), Sonny resorts to kidnapping a handful of bank employees when he realizes that all the money had been removed before his arrival. As the lengthy August day drags on, Sonny and the hordes of local police, led by Sergeant Moretti (Charles Durning), make little progress, and eventually Sonny's wife and lover are brought to the scene. The crowd's sympathy is immediately captured by the charismatic Sonny, whose antagonism with the police is played out before an audience of millions, leading to an inevitably tragic finish.
Balancing suspense, violence, and humor, the film's depiction of a grand scale media event craftily dives from the political to the personal, evoking a piercing portrait of a single man and his devastating downward tumble into the cracks of the system that Lumet made a career of chronicling. DOG DAY AFTERNOON reunites Pacino with his SERPICO director Lumet, and stands as one of the finest films of the 1970s.

Stand-out performance by Pacino masks the dating of this movie, incredible depth and appeal he creates for the character Sonny highlights his genuine talent. The film as a whole is pretty limp for me in terms of action and suspense, and the 2nd half is totally ruined by being bogged down with over the top sentimentality regarding homosexuality.
Overall an enjoyable viewing experience, and a pleasure to see Pacino mastering his craft
 



(From Riches Random Reviews on January 16th, 2009)

Dance of the Dead, a review by addicted2dvd

Dance of the Dead
With Prom only hours away, the usual suspects of Cosa High (cheerleaders, geeks, bad boys and the happy-go-lucky student council alike) are preoccupied with the annual rituals of teendom. On the night of the big dance when the dead unexpectedly rise to eat the living, polar opposite groups will be forced to unite in their final chance to save the town from the Zombies.

My Thoughts:
This is another Blind Buy that I picked up cheap at Walmart... before even seeing the trailer for it. Matter of fact I see now I barely skimmed the back of the case because I didn't realize till I got it home that it is a Comedy-Horror. Which is no problem at all since I do enjoy those types usually. After the last 3 movies I watched... I am going into this movie hesitantly... as I haven't really had much luck yet with the movies I have watched this weekend. I needed to pull out of this slump! And I am happy to say that this movie did that for me. It is far from the best zombie movie I ever seen. The first half hour setup was a little on the slow side. And the effects were not the best I ever seen. But it was still a fun movie to watch. The comedy in this one wasn't laugh out loud funny... more light-heartedly entertaining. I might have gotten one or 2 small chuckles out of it at the most. But over-all I would feel confident in recommending this move.


Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmdUJJSQzhI

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: 4/10 - 4/12 on April 11th, 2009)

Smallville Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

EPISODE 21: ACCELERATE
Years ago, a terrible accident took Lana's childhood friend Emily. But now a ghostly Emily resurfaces in Lana's life, and the secret to the little girl's renewed existence lies in the laboratories of Lionel Luthor.

My Thoughts:
This is one of my all time favorites! I can't for the life of me believe that the classic movie "House on Haunted Hill" actually put a scare into Lana!  But the fact that it had ever so slight horror genre appeal to it made me love this episode as I love horror!

EPISODE 22: CALLING
The specialist hired to interpret the Smallville cave pictographs acquires astonishing powers and a new mission: kill Clark! Helen and Lana both have doubts about their relationship with the men in their lives.

My Thoughts:
We are really starting to get into the mythology arc of the show at this point. For me this episode is enjoyable... but not the best episode I ever seen.

EPISODE 23: EXODUS
Clark will go with Lana or without her. But he's leaving Smallville for keeps. The fledgling superhero turns his back on family, friends and destiny after his decision to destroy the spaceship brings unintended tragedy.

My Thoughts:
Great cliff-hanger episode. Enjoyed it... but hated to see Chloe get so jealous that she turns on Clark the way she did.



(From Smallville Marathon on August 3rd, 2007)