DVD Collectors Online

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, a review by Danae Cassandra

Year of Release: 1995
Directed By: Shusuke Kaneko
Starring: Tsuyoshi Ihara, Akira Onodera, Shinobu Nakayama, Ayako Fujitani
Genre: Action, Science-Fiction, Tokusatsu, Kaiju

Overview:
Ten thousand years ago, an advanced civilization created the Gyaos to eliminate rampant pollution. However, the Gyaos grew stronger, started breeding and began feasting on humans. For protection, the Gameras were created to fend off the attacks. The onslaught of the Gyaos was eventually halted, and they were forced into hibernation. Despite the best efforts of its people, the advanced civilization was ruined. So, the scientists preserved the last remaining Gamera and bequeathed him to the next civilization, should the Gyaos ever return.

The giant flying turtle is back to protect the world from his old enemy, Gyaos, the giant prehistoric bird who is wreaking havoc on Tokyo!

My Thoughts:
This is the gritty 90's reboot of Gamera, and it's objectively a better movie on every level than any of its predecessors. It's still a fun film, but it eschews the silliness of the earlier films for a much more serious tone. The human characters are actually decently acted and fleshed out. Gamera's design gets a lot better too. He looks much more realistic and much more menacing. Gyaos as well. Bottom line, if you like kaiju films, this is a winner.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Gamera! on February 28th, 2016)

The Stunt Man, a review by Achim

The Stunt Man (1980/United States) Severin Films (United States) Director: Richard Rush Writing: Lawrence B. Marcus (Screenwriter), Richard Rush (Writer), Paul Brodeur (Original Material By) Length: 131 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles:

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Stars:
Peter O'Toole as Eli Cross
Steve Railsback as Cameron
Barbara Hershey as Nina Franklin
Allan Goorwitz as Sam
Alex Rocco as Jake

Plot:Extras:

• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Interviews

Not knowing why the young veteran is on the run (one of the funniest things in the movie when we find out later on) gives him a mysterious edge, as we don't know how dangerous he just might be. The director has his own agenda why he protects the young veteran from the police. The lead actress of the movie being filmed creates a triangle among those three, that will slowly but steadily get out of control. There is comedy, action and romance and the director balances all elements competently throughout; I only found one scene misjudged (when the young veteran tells the lady he loves why the police is after him). The ending lacks a bit of closure for some of the plot lines, but the open endedness is rather typical for the time the film was made in.

Good acting, Peter O'Toole gives a particularly great performance (hence the Oscar nomination) although Steve Railsback seems to struggle occasionally, an interesting story and occasionally inventive camera work make this a pleasant watch.

Rating:

(From The Movies from Within My Lifetime on July 16th, 2011)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

A Haunting
In sixteen chilling tales of the supernatural, on 3 DVDs, New Dominion Picture's A Haunting, takes you inside real-life horror stories. The series originally aired on the Discovery Channel, and each eerie one-hour episode features eyewitness accounts and cinematic re-enactments of some of most spine-tingling, ghostly hauntings ever recorded, filmed in actual locations where these apparitions took place. They are all but guaranteed to spook even the most skeptical observer, but you can judge for yourself: are they imagined, or are they real?

Episode by episode, you'll be shocked and surprised by the spell-binding tales. Take the case of the dance club haunted by ghosts from a by-gone era, the child inhabited by evil that only an exorcism will cure, or house-haunting specters, scaring the wits out of their unsuspecting victims. A Haunting explores these and many other unexplainable, eerie, and macabre tales of the paranormal.

By the end of each amazing story, you will experience a lingering sense that life and death are much stranger than you could have possibly imagined!

Hell House
A family buys a 19th-century farmhouse in Connecticut, but become targeted by strange occurrences. The family consults world-renowned paranormal investigators, including Ed and Lorraine Warren to find out what is truly in their house.

My Thoughts:
Another show I enjoy. I own the entire series (4 seasons). It is a documentary series of supposedly "true" hauntings. I like they way they do this show. Not only is the documentaries interesting (and a little eerie) the reenactments are also done well.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on February 4th, 2010)