DVD Collectors Online

Laughter in Paradise, a review by Antares

Laughter in Paradise (1951) 62/100 - This British comedy had a great premise, that unfortunately, never really builds upon the crazy possibilities inherent in its storyline. It's the story of an aristocrat, known as the world's most famous practical joker, who has died, and has, as part of his will, bequeathed his estate to 4 relatives of his extended family. But there's a catch...each must perform a specific task that is completely contrary to their character's nature, and it must be done before thirty days have elapsed since the reading of the will. Being the world's greatest practical joker, each task that the aristocrat has conjured up, is meant to tweak each of its recipients. One relative is a fortune hunting womanizer, and he must marry the first woman he speaks to. The second relative is a stuffy, cruel woman who must take a job as a maid servant. The third is a spineless bank teller who must hold up the bank he works for. And finally, the fourth is a timid, milquetoast dime novelist who must get arrested and spend thirty days in jail. I waited for that crazy kind of dry humor the British are famous for, to surface throughout this film, but sadly, the film plays out mainly as a cute morality tale instead, with the obvious ending attached. It's a fun film, but pales in comparison to what Ealing was cranking out at this time.

What the color coding means...

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on July 28th, 2012)

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, a review by KinkyCyborg

Title:Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Year: 2009
Director: Paul Weitz
Rating: PG-13
Length: 109 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
John C. Reilly
Josh Hutcherson
Chris Massoglia
Jessica Carlson
Michael Cerveris

Plot:
Welcome to the Cirque du Freak, a traveling sideshow filled with magical creatures, misunderstood freaks, and the mysterious vampire, Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly). Drawn to the dark, unpredictable world of the Cirque, 16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) decides to trade in his ordinary life for a chance to become an immortal vampire. As Darren explores his newfound powers and faces unexpected enemies, he'll find that his existence as a memeber of the undead is filled with more challenges, suspense and fun than he ever thought possible. Based on the best-selling book series and co-starring Salma Hayek, Josh Hutcherson, Ken Watanabe, and Willem Dafoe, it's a fast-paced, suspenseful journey critics call, "Imaginative!" (Peter Hall, Cinematical.com)

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes


I really enjoyed this as it was so much more than I was expecting which was a lame comedy that spoofed Vampire movies. Boy was I wrong! While there was some comedic elements, this was the first of what I'm sure will be many entries into an ongoing story about warring vampire factions. Gorehounds looking for buckets of blood will be disappointed.... but what this movie lacks in gore it makes up for with story and mystery.

The two young male leads, Josh Hutcherson and Chris Massoglia were good but the casting for those characters could be completely interchangeable with any multitude of young actors. The real strength of this movie lies in it's veteran cast. John C. Reilly shows us once again that he has leading role savvy as the central vampire, Larten Crepsley. Now if someone could only convince him to stay away from Will Ferrell....  Willem Dafoe, in a rather limited role, clearly pays homage to Vincent Price and is marvelous! His final scenes in this one tease us with the promise of more from him in the forthcoming sequels. Salma Hayek, as the bearded lady, was fine as well, although really... who was looking at her beard??

Throw in Ken Watanabe, Patrick Fugit, Orlando Jones and others in their roles as the various 'freaks', each with their own potential stories to explore made for a spectacular collection of characters and endless possibilities in what should be a franchise. I checked on IMDB and do not see any news of a sequel yet, but I'd be shocked if this one doesn't play out much much more.

Looking forward to the continuing of this story and would recommend this movie to fans of the genre!

KC

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on October 14th, 2010)

Babylon 5: Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Draal invites Sheridan to Epsilon 3 to search and contact the First Ones but Sheridan is distracted with the arrival of his new political officer from Earth.

My opinion: The direction in which Earth policy is developing is quite alarming. Did anyone recognize the off-voice to whom Clark was speaking? It was Mr. Morden's voice, so the Shadows are also involved in the murder of the former Earth Alliance president Santiago.


Synopsis: Someone smuggles a drug called "Dust" onto the station. Dust gives temporarily teep abilites to normal humans. But it has strong side effects and is highly addictive. Bester comes to the station to catch these dealers, too.

My opinion: One does not know it yet, but this is a very important episode in G'Kar's character developement and I also liked the idea of disabling Bester's abilities via the sleeper drugs Ivanova's mother was forced to take.


Synopsis: There is an alien parasite that takes over the bodies of lurkers in down below. But the parasites aren't what they appear to be.

My opinion: The idea of symbiotes who keep the knowledge of the universe is interesting and the story was well told.


Synopsis: During archiological diggings a Shadow vessel is found on the Jupiter moon Ganymede. This has happend before on a digging on Mars several years back. But back then another Shadow vessel nourished the first on and both escaped. Bujt this time Earth wants the knowledge of that ship and the Babylon 5 crew cannot allow to let the ship fall into Earths hand.

My opninion: Great action flick. It shows what the White Star is capable of. Sheridan had to take a stand. His own government in league with the shadows wasn't something he could bear and he made his point very clearly although no one on Earth knows it - yet.

(From Babylon 5: Marathon on August 12th, 2007)