DVD Collectors Online

Un été ŕ La Goulette, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are: Tunisia
wikipedia



Overview:
The year is 1967 in La Goulette - a small harbor town in the suburbs of Tunis where various cultures have lived together for ages in effortless harmony. Youssef, Jojo and Giuseppe are as inseparable as their three 16-year-old-daughters, Meriem, Gigi and Tina. In a fit of teenage provocation, the three girls swear that they will lose their virginity by the day of the procession of the Madonna. To make matters worse, each of them has her eyes on a boy of a different religion, thus challenging an inviolable taboo. This leads the three families to cut off all ties with one another. But the bonds tying the three fathers are too strong. They end up making up, more like brothers than ever, just before the Six Day War breaks out in the Middle East, tearing apart Jews and Arabs the world over.

My Thoughts:
This is the image of an idyllic, peaceful place, a "paradise on Earth" as one of the mothers describes it, a place where Jews, Christians and Muslims live side-by-side happily.  It has a nostalgic view of a simpler time, when it seemed like there might still be a hope for peace in the Middle East.  It's a fun film, part coming-of-age, part slice-of-life, part comedy.  None of the performances stand out, but all of them were decent and the girls were all very lovely, especially the girl who plays Meriem.  It's also a film where summer is fleeting, a time to enjoy romance and live without worries before the coming storms.  Recommended for just about anyone, unless you don't like subtitles. 

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on April 2nd, 2013)

The Emperor Jones, a review by Antares

The Emperor Jones (1933) 65/100 - This is my introduction to Paul Robeson and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. What an amazing voice and screen presence he has. The film itself is a bit of a mixed bag. From what I've read on other sites, O'Neill's play is pretty much glossed over and the film lacks the power of the theatrical play upon which it is based. I've never read the book or seen the play, so I can't make a comparison. I didn't get bored with it, but it kind of lacked an edge which would have made me enjoy it more. It was a bit shocking to see many bits of real stereotyping like the crap game and the razor fight or the surprising amount of use of the word nigger in this. With Robeson's activist background, I would have thought he would have found a way to get those lines changed. All in all, he made me eager to delve into the rest of the Criterion set that this was a part of.

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 February 20th, 2013)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Roswell: Season One (1999/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 968 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Plot:
"I'm Liz Parker and five days ago I died. After that, things got really weird." So begins a new life for Liz and her friend Maria after they discover that three of their classmates at Roswell High aren't exactly from "around here." To be more exact, Max, Isabel and Michael are from "up there." Having grown up quietly within the community, their alien identities are suddenly jeopardized after Max uses his powers to save Liz's life. Now the alien trio must learn to trust their human friends even as they struggle to discover their own true identities.


Roswell
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Jason Katims (Writer)
Director: David Nutter
Cast: Shiri Appleby (Liz Parker), Jason Behr (Max Evans), Katherine Heigl (Isabel Evans), Majandra Delfino (Maria DeLuca), Brendan Fehr (Michael Guerin), Colin Hanks (Alex Whitman), Nick Wechsler (Kyle Valenti), William Sadler (Sheriff Jim Valenti), John Doe (Jeff Parker), Michael Horse (Deputy Blackwood), Wendle Josepher (Jennifer), Kevin Weisman (Larry), Vance Valencia (Mayor Sandler), Joe Camareno (Paramedic), Yolanda Lloyd Delgado (Ms. Hardy), Channing Carson (Liz at 7 years), Daniel Hansen (Max at 7 years), Zoe Nutter (Isabel at 7 years), Jonathan Frakes (Emcee (uncredited)), Richard Schiff (Agent Stevens (uncredited))

I enjoyed watching this series when it originally aired, but lost interest in the second season. I only finished watching it later on DVD.
As far as I am aware it was one of the first series which tried to build upon the success of Buffy and Dawson's Creek, by having a Dawson's Creek type of teen soap with a science fiction or fantasy twist. Many followed for good or worse.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 26th, 2012)