DVD Collectors Online

Notorious, a review by Rich

Notorious



In Notorious, a brilliant allegory of love and betrayal, Hitchcock fuses two of his favorite elements: suspense and romance. A beautiful woman with a tainted past (Ingrid Bergman) is enlisted by American agent Devlin (Cary Grant) to spy on a ring of Nazis in post-war Rio. Her espionage work becomes life-threatening after she marries the most debonair of the Nazi ring, Alex (Claude Rains). Only Devlin can rescue her, but to do so, he must face his role in her desperate situation and acknowledge that he's loved her all along. Stunning performances, Ben Hecht's excellent script, and Hitchcock's direction at its best make Notorious a perfect film.

I will leave it to Jon to wax lyrical over this film, my knowledge of Hitchcock is very narrow in comparison and would not do it justice.
Briefly, it was clear to see the genius of Alfred in the direction of this film, some fantastic shots and suspense expertly delivered. Some truly chilling moments are handled perfectly, particularly impressive was the filming of Bergman, who portrayed so much with a look or close-up of her eyes. Cary Grants performance was edgy and masterful. Bergman was absolutely gorgeous and fitted the role perfectly, simmering and fervent.
Espionage, love story and betrayal, served up expertly.
 

(From Riches Random Reviews on June 18th, 2009)

Rachel Getting Married, a review by Jon

Rachel Getting Married
3 out of 5

When Kym (Anne Hathaway) returns to the Buchman family home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), she brings a long history of personal crisis, family conflict and tragedy along with her. The wedding couple's abundant party of friends and relations have gathered for a joyful weekend of feasting, music and love, but Kym – with her biting one-liners and flair for bombshell drama – is a catalyst for long-simmering tensions in the family dynamic. Filled with the rich and eclectic characters that remain a hallmark of Jonathan Demme's films, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED paints a heartfelt, perceptive and sometimes hilarious family portrait.

I've found Rachel Getting Married pretty tough to give a fair rating to. While it's quality is beyond reproach and it can ultimately be seen as a very adult film with a purpose and superb craftmanship, I disliked it immensely!

I largely agree with Matthias' review and while I can't go as far as saying it could have been the film of 2008, it's certainly in the upper tier, with first and foremost a very good cast delivering a well judged script, although I will say it is predictable and oft convenient. Jonathan Demme's documentary experience though gives the handheld style sharp relevance and realism. It's easy to dismiss it as "shaky cam", but this is no gimmick. It's organic and Cinema Verite at it's finest for some time and the atmosphere is tangible. As a whole, there are no gimmicks and everything is absolutely convincing and honestly told. Which may be part of the problem.

My problem with the film is I simply did not like anyone in it! I cannot stomach that family who are so far up their own collective arse, the only noise they can make is incessant whining. If I was at that wedding, I would scream in frustration. I mean, they chant the bride and grooms names as they enter the ceremony; they have dishwasher filling races; they sing to each other. It's all very bloody bohemian, I'm sure, but I was struck with the feeling that this is the sort of class in a classless society that can afford to be bohemian (they wear Saris, yet none of them are actually Indian, so far as I could tell). They can also afford therapy, another refuge of the well-off.

That's unfair of me though. I don't fully understand what seems to be an accepted and encouraged practice in America. Kymmie (Hathaway) is clearly a deserving case, but it's pushed so front and centre to be taken for granted by her and her family. The fact the Best Man happens to go as well, plus the sodding hairdresser even, just shows how much so! In the UK we probably have too much of a "just get on with it and stop whinging" attitude, but still, I know one person who went to a psychiatrist, and I was only told in absolute confidence. One. Kymmie talks about it openly, meets two fellow sufferers by accident and her sister is in training, it's so prevalent. Different world. I should point out, the script does note the ironies and addresses them very cleverly (the hairdresser mentions briefly not being able to get the level of help Kym had, which is a sobering thought). It should be funny how touchy-feely everyone is, yet they get nowhere until its almost too late. If I was enjoying the film more, I would have appreciated it better.

But, on a lighter note, I'm alienated further by the way they speak. The script is well written, but the characters practice lazy sarcasm. A sentence doesn't seem complete without a raised eye here and a "what-ev-errr" there. It's said that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Only by people who can't use it properly, I say!

I did find the story predictable, but then we have this sort of stuff on TV every night in soap operas, which while they err on the side of short lived sensationalism, are also very well produced, written and acted. I don't like Eastenders, but I can identify with the people in it far easier than this lot.

Anne Hathaway gives a brilliant performance of the best character and she frequently kept me watching and not pressing fast-forward. Kym just needs a bloody good slap though, which would be duly delivered if the story was set in the UK! Empire's review first got me interested in the film as it led me to imagine a less realistic dialogue that lent itself to pithy one-liners as Kym acts as a cat amongst the pigeons of her family, but the truth is, it's too realistic to be any fun. That's clearly the aim and in the end, it's my fault, but this is not a film for everyone.

(From Jon's Random Reviews on May 18th, 2010)

The Unusuals: The Complete Series, a review by addicted2dvd

Stars:
Amber Tamblyn as Det. Casey Shraeger
Monique Curnen as Det. Beaumont
Adam Goldberg as Det. Delahoy
Harold Perrineau as Det. Banks
Jeremy Renner as Det. James Walsh
Terry Kinney as Sergeant Harvey Brown
Kai Lennox as Det. Eddie Alvarez
Joshua Close as Det. Cole
Cornell Womack as Lt. Little

Episodes:
1. Pilot
A sudden move from Vice to Homicide to investigate the murder of a cop leads NYPD Detective Casey Shraeger in the middle of an investigation that could expose rampant police corruption.

2. Boorland Day
A legendary and hapless criminal family unleashes a crime spree on New York City in an effort to raise money to save their ailing patriach.

3. One Man Band
As Delahoy and Banks investigates a store that helps it's customers committ murder, Casey's favor for Davis Nixon ends up freeing a hit and run suspect from jail.

4. Crime Slut
As a pawnshop armed Robbery forces Beaumont to keep a secret from Walsh, Delahoy worries about what his future holds as he and Banks search for a brain cancer victim who has left a hospital after being declared dead.

5. 42
After Frank Lutz's attempt to silence Walsh seriously injures Beaumont, Cole decides to stop his tormentor once and for all, Banks looks to provent a psychic's prediction of her own death from coming true.

6. The Circle Line
Despite Casey's doubts, Walsh sets out to exonerate a detective suspected of murder, Banks discovers his identity has been stolen after he is reported to have died in a liqueur store robbery.

7. The Tape Delay
As Casey and Walsh investigates the disappearance of a wealthy man they were assigned to protect, Delahoy and Banks differ over how to handle an 82-year-old nursing home resident who has embarked on a crime spree

8. The Dentist
Alvarez falls prey to a pair of clever con men who steals some important evidence in an accomplice's drug trial, Banks paranoia makes it hard for him to convince Delahoy that he witnessed a neighbor's murder.

9. The Apology Line
As the detectives look to solve a naked man's murder, the thefts of confidential answewring machine tapes exposes the grim truth about a hiker's death.

10. The E.I.D.
Emotional involvement leads Casey to try to solve a notorious 10-year-old assult, the detectives search for a mystery pornographer who is using apartments a film sets without their owner's knowledge.

Extras:
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes

My Thoughts:
This is a short lived series that I never missed when it originally aired just last year. Unfortunately it was canceled after only 10 episodes. I originally started watching this series because of Amber Tamblyn... who I liked on the show Joan of Arcadia. I soon found that I liked all the characters. The Unusuals is a good title for this group of misfit cops. The series is a nice blend of cop drama and comedy. One of my favorite things in this series is at the beginning of every episode you hear the dispatcher saying something silly or funny to the cops. This is also often used after commercial breaks as well. In my opinion the episodes are consistently very good. There is not an episode I didn't enjoy.

The DVD release itself is good considering it is such a short lived series. Audio and Video is in good condition... at least as good as it looked when it aired on TV. The extras are kind of sparse. But there is a decent, although short featurette. It runs for about 5 minutes... and has a nice mixture of info from both cast and crew members. It could have better info in it... but it is OK considering that it is such a short lived series. Then there is a few trailers for other DVD releases. Over all I am glad I got this release added to my collection. If you are interested in checking out this series... you will have to order it from Amazon.com... as it is an Amazon Exclusive release.



(From The Unusuals: The Complete Series on June 16th, 2010)