DVD Collectors Online

Hopalong Cassidy Returns, a review by Rogmeister

The next review is of a Hopalong Cassidy movie.  I have many Hoppy films...I have 8 DVDs of double-feature Hoppy films from Image (which is what the below review is from) and I have 8 other volumes that stuff 5 Hoppy films per disc.  Those are from Platinum, a company not known for high quality releases but their Hoppy discs are pretty good.



Hopalong Cassidy Returns (74 min.), finds Bill on his way to Mesa Grande, where he is the new Marshal. Along the way he stops a runaway horse and saves a woman's life. Upon arriving in town, he discovers his old friend, the town's newspaper editor, has been brutally murdered by the very same woman Hoppy just saved, a hardnosed businesswoman who runs the town.

There were "A" pictures (major films like Stagecoach) and "B" pictures (low-budget moves such as Buck Jones and Tim McCoy would make) and the Hoppy movies were "B" westerns...but a cut above most of the other B's. They put a bit more money into them, show on locations instead of the usual sets and the extra money showed. Also, they were often longer. Most B westerns ran just about an hour but the Hoppy movies ran as long as 80 minutes. Gabby Hayes had been in the first Hoppy movie as Hoppy's uncle, but his character died. They wanted him back so they cast him again as a different character, a friend of Hoppy's named Windy.

This episode has a few unusual touches, including a female criminal and a man bound to a wheelchair...he is the friend of Hoppy's who is attacked just before Hoppy and his younger brother get to town. This movie is part of a double-feature disc from Image (they did 8 of these double-Hoppy releases) and the quality in picture and sound is outstanding.

The only downside? Hoppy kisses a girl. Ewwwwwww!


(From Roger's Ongoing Westerns Marathon on June 23rd, 2009)

Chai Lai, a review by Tom

Chai Lai (2008/Thailand) IMDb | Wikipedia Magnet, Magnolia Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Poj Arnon, Imagimax Animation and Design Studio Writing: Poj Arnon (Story By), Poj Arnon (Screenwriter), Imagimax Animation and Design Studio) Length: 102 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Jintara Poullap as Cha-ba
Supaksorn Chaimongkol as Water-Lily
Katesarin Akethavatkul as Poy-Sian
Bunyawan Pongsuwan as Face Cow
Nawarat Taecharatanaprasert as Mikl

Plot:Extras:

• Featurettes
• Music Videos
• Scene Access
• Trailers

I expected a silly little movie in the style of Charlie's Angels. And essentially it is what I got. But still I couldn't get into it. I didn't connect with any of the characters. And even though there are a lot of fights, they didn't keep me interested.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on September 19th, 2010)

"Due South" marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Vault

This is a fun episode. as was said there is a couple new characters that appears in this season. Though I don't know what I think of them at this point since their parts in this episode was really rather small. I also liked seeing Francesca with a larger part then she normally has. The ending on this one was a bit shocking... will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

My Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on August 10th, 2009)