DVD Collectors Online

Design for Living, a review by Antares

Design for Living (1933) 84/100 - A cute little Pre-Code film from Ernst Lubitsch that probably was an inspiration for Truffaut's Jules et Jim. But as opposed to the female character being psychotic and mentally deranged in that film, the female prey here is witty, charming and alluring. And you can understand why both men would do anything to be with her. At times, it's a bit stagey, suffering from slightly over the top acting, but all three leads give pleasurable performances, especially Gary Cooper. Of the three, I figured that he would be overshadowed by the masterful March and the radiant Hopkins, but he more than holds his own here. I've definitely come to the conclusion that Miriam Hopkins is one of my favorite actresses from the 30's. I don't know what it is, but she fascinates me, even though there are a few times when Lubitsch's camera caught her in awkward angles. Being a Pre-Code, there's a bit of racy dialog, but it's never anything gratuitous and there a few good laughs and some wonderfully written passages between the trio which makes for a fun and pretty quick viewing experience.

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 June 8th, 2013)

Monkey Shines, a review by addicted2dvd

Monkey Shines
From writer/director George A. Romero, the man who unleashed 'Night of the Living Dead', comes a "terrific psychological thriller" ('L.A. Weekly') that delivers a disturbing message about messing with Mother Nature. Starring Jason Beghe ("Melrose Place") and Janine Turner ("Northern Exposure"), this riveting tale is "a white-knuckle triumph [that doesn't] let up" ('Newsweek')!

Allan Mann (Beghe) is a bitter, angry and vengeful man ever since an accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. He's fed up with himself and everyone around him. All that changes when he's given Ella, a monkey trained to meet his every need. But when Ella begins anticipating Allan's thoughts, strange and deadly things start happening. And as she stalks and wreaks havoc on Allan's fair-weather girlfriend (Turner), incompetent doctor and meddling mother, Allan realizes he must stop the cunning maniacal creature...before she fully takes over his mind!

My Thoughts:
This is a movie I bought cheap a year or so ago... but never got around to watching it. I really wasn't in that big of a hurry as I knew I saw it many years ago when first released on VHS. It has been so long that watching it today was like watching it again for the very first time. I thought it was a real good movie... what I would consider a mild horror from today's standards at least. It was a slower pace then most of the horror I watch... but that is not to say it was a slow movie... as I found the entire movie enjoyable and interesting. Glad I finally decided to watch it again. Unfortunately this DVD was basically a bare bones release... only extra on the disc was the Theatrical Trailer.

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs on December 23rd, 2007)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

VOY 7.19 Author, Author
Writer: Phyllis Strong (Screenwriter), Mike Sussman (Screenwriter), Brannon Braga (Original Material By)
Director: David Livingston
Cast: Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Garrett Wang (Harry Kim), Richard Herd (Admiral Paris), Barry Gordon (Broht), Joseph Campanella (Arbitrator), Lorinne Vozoff (Irene Hansen), Juan Garcia (John Torres), Robert Ito (John Kim), Irene Tsu (Mary Kim), Dwight Schultz (Barclay), Brock Burnett (Male N.D.), Jennifer Hammon (Female N.D.), Heather Young (Sickbay N.D.), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice (voice))

This episode starts out as pure fun, with a new holonovel the doctor has written about his life. He based the novel on Voyager and its crew, but very out-of-character of all involved (it could almost count as an Voyager mirror-universe episode. Tuvok even has a beard like the evil Spock ). Though I must say, that the portrayed Janeway is not too far from the truth in my opinion
Towards the end this episode becomes Voyager's "The Measure of a Man" episode (a TNG episode which is about Data's rights as a person). A trial begins, if the doctor has a right on his novel like a normal person. In the end it is decided, that the doctor has the rights as an artist, but they didn't want yet to decide on the fact if he should be considered a person in general. This is a question which is left unanswered in Voyager.

P/T moment:
One story-line in this episode is about the crew being able to have real-time communication with the Alpha Quadrant and thus their families for the first time.
B'Elanna and Tom are talking to her father, who wants to make amends.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on October 3rd, 2009)