DVD Collectors Online

The Birds , a review by Dragonfire

The Birds



Nothing equals THE BIRDS for sheer terror when Alfred Hitchcock unleashes his foul friends in one of his most shocking and memorable masterpieces. As beautiful blonde Melanie Daniels ('Tippi' Hedren) rolls into Bodega Bay in pursuit of eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), she is inexplicably attacked by a seagull. Suddenly thousands of birds are flocking into town, preying on schoolchildren and residents in a terrifying series of attacks. Soon Mitch and Melanie are fighting for their lives against a deadly force that can't be explained and can't be stopped in one of Hollywood's most horrific films of nature gone berserk.

My Thoughts

I do enjoy this one, though a few things that happen don't make as much sense.  It does seem a bit odd that Melanie would go to so much trouble to give the love birds to Mitch's sister, someone she doesn't even know.  Melanie manages to find out all sorts of information about Mitch after getting to Bodega Bay even though she is a stranger.  People weren't as careful about that sort of thing then, though it does seem a little odd that Melanie is accepted so quickly, especially by Annie.

The pacing is a bit slower for a while, though that changes once the birds start attacking.  The scenes with the bird attacks are done well and are believably scary.  I think the fact that the explanation for the attacks wasn't given makes that part of the movie scarier.  There are a few somewhat gruesome things shown, though nothing is extremely explicit.  Suspense is in a few scenes, though the movie isn't as suspenseful as some of Hitchcock's others.

Melanie is a nice enough character, though like I mentioned, her motivation for taking the love birds to begin with does seem a little..odd.  That is an awful lot of trouble for her to go to.  It also doesn't make the most sense for Mitch to act like he does when they first meet in the pet shop.  It is fairly clear that they aren't getting along that well at that point, but in no time they seem to have changed their minds.  That relationship does develop fast.  Melanie does do something that is rather stupid at one point and I still haven't figured out why she did it.  The cast does well with their parts and the characters are likable overall.

The movie does have a few issues, but it is still very entertaining and deserves to be seen.



I did post a review at Epinions a few years ago.

The Birds


(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on August 1st, 2010)

Run Ronnie Run!, a review by Tom

Title: Run Ronnie Run!
Year: 2002
Director: Troy Miller
Rating: R
Length: 87 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 , English: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: English

Stars:
David Cross
Bob Odenkirk

Plot:
Realty TV gets a reality check in 'Run Ronnie Run!', a hilarious comedy starring David Cross and Bob Odenkirk of HBO's "Mr. Show".

Ronnie Dobbs (Cross) is a drunken, mullet-haired criminal who can't seem to keep himself from getting arrested. When spotted once again on a national reality show, a Hollywood TV producer, Terry Twillstein (Odenkirk), gets the brilliant idea to base an entire show on Ronnie himself. Overnight, Ronnie is a national TV star and the toast of Hollywood! But it isn't long until clean living and morality get the better of him and he can't get arrested anymore, no matter how hard he tries. Is this the end of his career... or the beginning of a new one?

Featuring cameos from an all-star comedy cast, 'Run Ronnie Run!' is non-stop insanity that turns reality TV on its head!

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Deleted Scenes
DVD-ROM Content
Music Videos
Scene Access
Trailers

Based on a skit from the great comedy show "Mr. Show". Although not near as good as the TV show this movie is fun to watch. There are also a lot of cameos to be seen in this movie.
This movie had a hard post-production history and is because of this disowned by Bob & David.
By the way, if you have not seen "Mr. Show" I definetely recommend it. It is often seen as a modern Monty Python show.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on April 27th, 2008)

"Big Bang Theory" Marathon, a review by Tom

03. The Fuzzy Boots Corollary (2007-10-08)
Writer: Bill Prady, Steven Molaro, Chuck Lorre
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Cast: Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), Sara Gilbert (Leslie Winkle), Allen Nabors (Doug), Treisa Gary (Waitress), Sherry Weston (Instructor)

So far the least funny episode. But it was good to see Sara Gilbert. Sadly she was only in one scene.



04. The Luminous Fish Effect (2007-10-15)
Writer: David Litt, Lee Aronsohn, Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Cast: Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), Laurie Metcalf (Mary), Mark Harelik (Dr. Gablehauser), Sierra Edwards (Summer)

An improvement to the previous episode. Next Roseanne cast member visiting.

(From "Big Bang Theory" Marathon on September 24th, 2008)