DVD Collectors Online

M*A*S*H, a review by Jon

M.A.S.H.
4 out of 5



Hailed as one of the best comedies ever made and nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the story focuses on army surgeons who develop a lunatic life-style in order to handle everyday horrors encountered in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Though highly skilled and deeply dedicated this irreverent mob of madcaps is equally adept at making a shambles of army bureaucracy.

M.A.S.H. is a great comedy. Kind of like a forerunner of Police Academy, except not. It feels authentic even when in the middle of utter lunacy. Much of this is due to Robert Altman's unique direction style. Even though this was an early film for him and a difficult shoot, his method is key and follows little of what you may expect to be a proper narrative. Scenes are fluid, with few edits, but threads are left unresolved as we move onto a new set-up and it isn't clear how long it's all taking; days, weeks, who cares? This is really funny stuff! Essentially, disguised by the laid back pace, it's a collection of hilarious set-pieces as we follow Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland), Trapper John (Elliot Gould) and Duke (Tom Skerritt) stitching troops back together in Korea.

If anything I was disappointed that there wasn't more serious scenes. I don't remember the TV show well, but I seem to think there was more poignancy. But that's being picky, because within the film is a unique atmosphere that must have seemed very audacious on release and it does have moments that make you think. Nothing is focused on for too long though. Like a good magician, Altman is all about misdirection (dialogue in particular is indistinct). I think you could watch this film a dozen times and keep finding something new.

All the cast work very well together with fantastic banter between them and playing to their strengths. For instance, Robert Duvall is possibly the most serious as Frank, which just makes him funnier in the chaos. All the running gags like the Colonel's one-sided conversations and the base announcements are great fun and serve as tenuous links to the next inspired caper, like a trip to Japan to operate on a child and get a game of golf in, or the quest to find out if Hot Lips really is blonde! Brilliant stuff.

Altman went on to greatness, but here only earned a flat-fee. Funny thing though, is his son wrote the theme, which carried on into the TV show and he ended up earning far more than his Dad!

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 12th, 2009)

Yankee Doodle Dandy, a review by Danae Cassandra

Yankee Doodle Dandy
Year of Release: 1942
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
Starring: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, Irene Manning
Genre: Drama, Biography, Musical

Overview:
A musical portrait of composer/singer/dancer George M. Cohan. From his early days as a child-star in his family's vaudeville show up to the time of his comeback at which he received a medal from the president for his special contributions to the US, this is the life- story of George M. Cohan, who produced, directed, wrote and starred in his own musical shows for which he composed his famous songs.

Yankee Doodle Dandy will include "Warner Bros' Night at the Movies 1942" (Casablanca theatrical trailer, a vintage newsreel, the short "Beyond the Line of Duty," and the Looney Tunes short "Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid"). Other extras include a commentary from Behlmer and trailers for seven Cagney films; "James Cagney: Top of the World" biographical tribute hosted by Michael J. Fox; "Let Freedom Sing!: The Story of Yankee Doodle Dandy" making-of documentary; the Looney Tunes shorts "Yankee Doodle Daffy" and "Yankee Doodle Bugs"; the wartime short "You, John Jones" starring Cagney and Greer Garson; audio-only outtakes and rehearsals; the Oct. 19, 1942, Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater Radio Show with the film's cast members; and other material.

My Thoughts
This is very much a film of its time.  The display of patriotism and the classic American dream is absolute vintage WWII; a snapshot of a less cynical era.  That's partly why Yankee Doodle Dandy hasn't aged as well as other films of the era.  Cohen's songs come off as naive; his faith in his country innocent.

Still, Cagney's performance is dynamite, and the film is worth watching just for him.  Douglas Croft, who plays Cohen at a younger age, is also really great in his part.  The song and dance numbers are fine, but the pacing could be better.  As a biography, it makes Cohen a much more wholesome, clean-cut fella than he really was - reality is always complex, and the Cohen here isn't.  

Still, this is an iconic piece of 40's cinema, and worth watching for cinema enthusiasts.

Bechdel Test: Fail
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 3.25/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 5th, 2016)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Elfen Lied (2004/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 325 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English

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Plot:
In Elfen Lied innocence and evil collide in some very dark places. As the rooms in kohta's rented house fill with runaways and killer mutants - danger mounts outside. Whether it's from a renegade soldier or a mutant assassin - one wrong move could mean the difference between life and death!


Erufen Rito
1.01 Begegnung: Kaiko (2004-07-25)
Writer: Lynn Okamoto (Writer), Takawo Yoshioka (Screenwriter)
Director:
Cast: English Vocal Cast), Kira Vincent-Davis (Lucy/Nyu (voice)), Adam Conlon (Kohta (voice)), Nancy Novotny (Yuka (voice)), Jay Hickman (Kurama (voice)), Jason Douglas (Bandoh (voice)), Shelley Calene-Black (Shirakawa (voice)), Monica Rial (Kanae (voice)), George Manley (SAT Captain (voice)), Tiffany Grant (Kisaragi (voice)), Chris Ayres (Sharpshooter (voice)), Xero Reynolds (Man (voice)), Kelly Manison (Secretary (voice)), Christine Auten (Child Kohta (voice)), Marty Fleck (Narrator (voice)), Christine Auten (Additional Voice (voice)), Kelly Manison (Additional Voice (voice)), Brandon Peters (Additional Voice (voice)), Xero Reynolds (Additional Voice (voice)), John Swasey (Additional Voice (voice)), Kira Vincent-Davis (Additional Voice (voice)), Japanese Vocal Cast), Sanae Kobayashi (Nyu/Lucy (voice)), Chihiro Suzuki (Kohta (voice)), Mamiko Noto (Yuka (voice)), Osama Hosoi (Kurama (voice)), Johji Nakata (Bandoh (voice)), Hitomi Nabatame (Shirakawa/Child Kohta (voice)), Maria Yamamoto (Kisaragi/Kanae (voice)), Hajime Iijima (Sniper (voice)), Masakazu Kohara (SAT Captain (voice)), Naoki Kinoshita (Man (voice)), Yuhki Hata (Guard (voice)), Aska Tanii (Secretary (voice))

An anime series with a German title. Even the episode titles are in German. The first few minutes of the first episode are one of the most bloody scenes I ever saw in an animated series.
In my opinion this series is a must-see for any anime fan.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on April 10th, 2011)