DVD Collectors Online

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, a review by dfmorgan

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Year: 2008
Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
Cast: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra
Overview: The prequel story traces the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires known as Death Dealers and their onetime slaves, the Lycans. In the Dark Ages, a young Lycan named Lucian (Michael Sheen) emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Bill Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has enslaved them. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, Sonja (Rhona Mitra), in his battle against the Death Dealer army and his struggle for Lycan freedom.

Watched: 3rd. Oct 2010
My Thoughts: Another lycanthrope disappointment. Whilst I enjoyed this more than The Wolfman I feel that it didn't come up to the standard set by the two earlier films in the Underworld series.

My Rating: Just a 2 again.

Dave

(From 2010 October Horror Marathon (Discussion thread) on October 3rd, 2010)

Mystic River, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Mystic River
Year: 2003
Director: Clint Eastwood
Rating: R
Length: 138 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Sean Penn
Tim Robbins
Kevin Bacon
Laurence Fishburne
Marcia Gay Harden
Laura Linney

Plot:
Jimmy. Dave. Sean. Friends who grew up in working-class Boston, they drift apart after a terrible tragedy. Years later, brutal events reconnect them. Jimmy's 19-year-old daughter is coldly murdered. Dave is a suspect. And Sean, now a cop, scrambles to solve the crime before volatile Jimmy takes the law into his own hands.

Working from Brian Helgeland's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel, director Clint Eastwood shapes a masterwork, a brooding thriller built on family, friends and innocence lost. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon play the pivotal threesome, joining Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney in one of the most powerful casts ever. The river has many depths. Let it wash over you.

Extras:
Scene Access
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I liked this one... it is a good... and powerful story. Though I do think they could have made it a little shorter. I found some of the scenes to be rather slow and uninteresting. But the majority of the movie makes up for it. The entire cast did a great job. I even liked Sean Penn in this one... and I don't normally care for him all that much. Definitely worth checking out if you never seen it.



(From Addicted2DVD's September Birthday Marathon on September 12th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Onegai Teacher (2002/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia Bandai Entertainment (United States) Length: 325 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
Kei Kusanagi isn't your typical 15 year old high school student. He's actually an 18 year old with a rare disorder that puts him into what he calls, a "standstill". When he was younger, this disorder left him in a deep coma which stunted his growth for the next three years! Mizuho Kazami isn't your typical teacher either. She's actually an alien sent by the Galaxy Federation to observe the earth! As the sole human being in the knowledge of Ms. Kazumi's secret, Kei must... marry the alien?! Homework, dating, and a gorgeous wife - going to school has never been quite this fun!


Onegai Teacher
1.01 Tell me, Teacher (2002-01-10)
Writer: Yosuke Kuroda (Screenwriter)
Director: Yasunori Ide
Cast: Japanese Cast), Soichiro Hoshi (Kei Kusanagi (voice)), Kikuko Inoue (Mizuho Kazami (voice)), Ayako Kawasumi (Koishi Herikawa (voice)), Mitsuo Iwata (Hyosuke Magumo (voice)), Sayaka Oohara (Kaede Misumi (voice)), Hiroaki Miura (Matagu Shidoh (voice)), Yukari Tamura (Ichigo Morino (voice)), Naoya Uchida (Minoru Edajima (voice)), Rei Sakuma (Konoha Edajima (voice)), Tomoko Kaneda (Marie (voice)), Hiroshi Nakano (School Principle (voice)), Toshihide Tsuchiya (PE Teacher (voice)), Toshitaka Hirano (History Teacher (voice)), Naomi Shindo (Female Announcer (voice)), Kenji Hamada (Announcer (voice)), Tomokazu Sugita (Masaomi Yamada (voice)), Chinami Nishimura (Nacchan (voice)), Yumi Takada (Hatsuho Kazami (voice)), Satomi Koorogi (Maho Kazami (voice)), Omi Minami (Kozue Kusanagi (voice)), Masashi Ebara (Judge (voice)), Tomohisa Asou (Running Commentary Voice (voice)), Nao Takamori (Todoroki's Wife (voice)), English Voice Cast), Dave Wittenberg (Kei Kusanagi (voice)), Bridget Hoffman (Mizuho Kazami (voice)), Michelle Ruff (Koichi Herikawa (voice)), Kirk Thornton (Hyosuke Magumo (voice)), Michael McConnahie (Minoru Edajima (voice)), Julie Anne Taylor (Ichigo Morino (voice)), Melissa Fahn (Kaede Misumi (voice)), Tony Schnur (Matagu Shidoh (voice)), Karen Strassman (Konoha Edajima (voice)), Sandy Fox (Marie (voice)), Doug Stone (Principal (voice)), Tony Oliver (Student (voice))

The premise may sound ridiculous and a little controversial, but I enjoyed watching this series. The first episode is a good introduction.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 17th, 2012)