DVD Collectors Online

Fantastic Mr. Fox, a review by Danae Cassandra

Fantastic Mr. Fox
2009, USA

Mr. Fox, an newspaper columnist and reformed thief, plans one last heist ... and puts himself, his family, and friends in danger he hadn't planned on.

A clever, imaginative piece of animation.  One of the most original I've seen in a very long time.  Certainly the choice of stop-motion, which is rarely used, helps with this, as do the ingenious character designs, but it's also - and most importantly - the story that makes it so very clever and original.  I haven't read the Roald Dahl book this is based on, so I have no idea how close, or how far, it hews from the story.  What I do know is this was good, very very good.

There's so many layers to this film, to its story and its struggle.  On one level it's about a fox's (man's) relationship with his vixen and cub (wife and son), and his understanding of who he is and what his place is in the world.  On another level it's about the struggle of the little man against the big man, the individual versus the corporation, and the survival of individuals in the face of rampant corporate greed and power.  It touches on the choices one can make in the face of bullying, both individually and communally.  It touches on the choice of going along with the flow, doing nothing to disturb or anger outside events - or of living life, of being who you are and doing what you believe you were meant to do.  I expect when I watch it again I'll get something different out of it.   

All in all, a great film.  See it if you like stop-motion, or animation in general, or see it if you want something to think about later.  Awesome little flick.

Overall: 4/5

(From Danae's reviews on April 14th, 2011)

Hot Shots! Part Deux, a review by DJ Doena

Charlie Sheen    ...    Topper Harley
Lloyd Bridges   ...    President Thomas 'Tug' Benson
Valeria Golino   ...    Ramada Rodham Hayman
Richard Crenna   ...    Col. Denton Walters
Brenda Bakke   ...    Michelle Rodham Huddleston
Miguel Ferrer   ...    Commander Arvid Harbinger
Rowan Atkinson   ...    Dexter Hayman

Synopsis: Topper - who lives in a buddhist monastery now - is contacted by the CIA. They want him to rescue a rescue team that tried to rescue a rescue team that tried to rescue some hostages from Iraq. In order to accomplish this they meet with their contact deep in enemy territory - and the contact (codename "Bench Press") happens to be Ramada.

My Opinion: This time they spoofed the Rambo and other commando team movies and I enjoyed this more than the previous one. Especially in the beginning with the monastery and the Kickboxer fight. Or the scene on the jungle river (In Iraq?!? ) where Charlie Sheen meets his father (one starred in Platoon, the other in Apocalypse Now) and they congratulate each other for Wall Street. Or the scene with the body count - "Bloodiest movie of all time". So great.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on August 19th, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

South Park: Season One (1997/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United States) Length: 305 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Plot:
Now all thirteen classic episodes are available for the first time in this exclusive 3-disc collector's edition. Join Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny as these four animated tykes take on the supernatural, the extraordinary and the insane. For them, it's all part of growing up in South Park.


South Park
1.01 Cartman Gets an Anal Probe
Writer: Trey Parker (Created By), Matt Stone (Created By), Trey Parker (Writer), Matt Stone (Writer)
Director:
Cast: Shannen Cassedy ( (voice)), Franchesca Cliffard ( (voice)), Trey Parker ( (voice)), Matt Stone ( (voice)), Isaac Hayes (Chef (voice))

I still remember the very first time I saw this episode. It was the first time it aired on German television. It aired on a Sunday evening after 11pm. I wanted to check it out, but did not expect to like it all that much. But I was then hooked from the very first episode.
I even remember that I was disappointed to see Kenny die because I really liked his character. Little did I know that it was going to be a running joke to have Kenny back for each episode just to have him killed again

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on July 8th, 2012)