DVD Collectors Online

The Great Gatsby (2013), a review by Silence_of_Lambs

Summary:
An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.

My Thoughts:
First of all I haven't read the novel by Fitzgerald, so this review will not be about the adaptation of the original material, just about the film itself (with a little comparison to its predecessor from 1974).

Sometimes Directors (and casting bureaus) are lucky because they can hire the best possible cast for their project. This was correct for the 1974 version (Redford / Farrow) and is so even more for Baz Luhrmann's attempt.
DiCaprio is not playing Gatsby, he is Gatsby. Maguire has it easy, since he even looks (a bit) like F. Scott Fitzgerald, and is definitely on his way to becoming a great actor that has more to offer than his boylike, astounded face. I was a bit skeptical about how Carey Mulligan would do as Daisy, but what a performance she delivers. Joel Edgerton, who for me up to now was more something like the ante-type of a second-row supporting actor with muscles,  as Tom Buchanan, he too is giving us an outstanding performance.

Luhrmann doesn't limit himself to simply re-doing the 1974 version, he is adding and re-interpreting to each and every role and thereby is making the persons and their backgrounds more realistic.
Just like the 1974 version this is a slow-paced movie, and this is good because the story and the characters deserve and need this.

I think it is time to read the novel too.


My Rating: (out of possible 5)

(From Michael's random reviews on November 4th, 2013)

Saboteur, a review by Dragonfire

This riveting wartime thriller stars Robert Cummings as Barry Kane, a Los Angeles aircraft factory worker who witnesses a Nazi agent firebombing his plant. However, it is Barry who is accused of the fiery sabotage, and to clear his name he sets off on a desperate, action-packed cross-country chase that takes him from Boulder Dam to New York's Radio City Music Hall to the top of the Statue of Liberty. Hitchcock's first film with an all-American cast moves with breakneck speed towards its final heart-pounding confrontation and remains a suspense classic.

My Thoughts

Overall I did enjoy this one.  Some scenes move a bit slower, and the patriotism did get a bit heavy handed at times - like when Pat kept going on about it being the duty of every American to turn in Barry or how she couldn't believe the villain was messed up in sabotage.  She went on to say how she had trouble believing that any American would do something like that, yet she'd had no trouble deciding that Barry was guilty.  There is a decent amount of mystery and some suspense in the movie, though I don't think it is one of Hitchcock's most suspenseful movies.  The plot is interesting overall.  There are a few little bits of humor added in here and there, though the tone of the movie is serious overall.  Having the characters travel all across the country in an effort to figure out what is really going on is something that was done in other Hitchcock movies as well. 

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, though it isn't my favorite Hitchcock movie.   

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on July 10th, 2009)

Tom's TV Finales marathon, a review by Tom

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Chuck: Season Five (2011/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Bros. Home Video (United Kingdom) Length: 540 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

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Plot:
Chuck is back with new missions, a new business - and no intersect. the stakes are high as Chuck sets out to become a full-fledged spy. But without the CIA backup, Chuck will have to rely now more than ever on John Casey, Sarah Walker and a new intersect - Morgan Guillermo Grimes.
Across all 13 episodes of this thrilling final season, Chuck will find that his wits, his friends and his family are the only backup he needs.


Chuck
Season 5.13 Chuck Versus the Goodbye
Writer: Josh Schwartz (Created By), Chris Fedak (Created By), Chris Fedak (Writer)
Director: Robert Duncan McNeill
Cast: Zachary Levi (Chuck Bartowski), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah Walker), Joshua Gomez (Morgan Grimes), Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome), Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike), Vik Sahay (Lester Patel), Scott Krinsky (Jeff Barnes), Sarah Lancaster (Ellie Bartowski), Adam Baldwin (John Casey), Angus MacFadyen (Nicholas Quinn), Linda Hamilton (Mary Bartowski), Bonita Friedericy (General Beckman), Mekenna Melvin (Alex McHugh), Mark Pellegrino (Hector), Vladimir Kulich (Renny Deutch), Jessie Heiman (Fernando), Michael Kawczynski (Skip), Ilka Urbach (German Woman), Robert Duncan McNeill (Operative), Alexander Von Roon (Lutz), Lawrence Stachowiak (Larry), Daniel Samadani (Daniel), Gabrielle Eisenstadt (Gabbie), John Jurgens (John), Natasha Soudek (Wienerlicious Girl)

As I just finished watching this series, I am posting this review out of order. This last season was a nice watch. I really enjoyed it. And we got a nice conclusion to the series.
And I have to admit, that I am happy that contrary to rumors I had read when this season first aired
Rating:

(From Tom's TV Finales marathon on February 1st, 2013)