DVD Collectors Online

Departures, a review by Antares

Departures (2008) 84/100 - An emotionally exhilarating film which showcases the ancient Japanese ritual of nōkan (encoffining), where a mortician prepares the body of a deceased relative, through a series of choreographed techniques in front of the family. This ceremony allows family members and friends to view the deceased one last time and to say their goodbyes. It is the nōkansha's duty to try and recreate, through cleansing and make up, what that person looked like in life, giving the family one last glimpse of the person that they shared their lives with. When the film is focused on these ceremonies, it is a moving and thought provoking process on death and how different families deal with the loss. But it also tends to dwell on scenes which don't really add much to the story and it has a few too many predictable twists in the storyline. But it's all worth viewing because of some of the strong, emotional scenes that take place in the homes of clients of NK Agency. In one scene, they arrive five minutes late for the beginning of the ceremony and the husband of the woman who has died, is visibly upset. But as Sasaki is preparing the body, which you can tell must have suffered through some sort of prolonged illness, for the make up adding part of the ceremony, he looks behind him at the picture of the smiling woman, radiantly alive before her illness, and he goes to work. The camera pans back and forth from the deceased, to Sasaki working, to the family members watching on. Slowly, methodically and with a tenderness which years of experience have mastered, Sasaki recreates her cold, lifeless face into a perfect replication of the picture behind him. The pain of loss flows from the family alongside a gratitude towards Sasaki for giving them one last moment with the woman, adorned in all her glory. One of the most beautiful moments I've ever experienced in a film. Had the rest of this film stayed on this path, I probably would have deemed it a masterpiece, but there's a useless montage of Daigo playing his cello in various outdoor locations, which kind of disturbs the rhythm of the film and to a degree, feels manipulative and cheesy.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 8th, 2014)

The Spy Who Loved Me, a review by Rich

Spy Who Loved Me



THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, the 10th film in the James Bond series, ventures not only into the depths of the ocean but into the deep topic of betrayal and morality as well, placing it among the boldest of the 007 films. James Bond (Roger Moore) is coupled with Russian agent Anya 'Triple-X' Amasova (Barbara Bach) to recover stolen Soviet submarines from evil oceanographer Carl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens) and his gigantic lackey, Jaws (Richard Kiel). When Triple-X learns that Bond killed her boyfriend on a mission in the Alps, she must overcome her selfish notions of revenge and work with 007 for the good of the world. In addition to the Bond staple of girls and gadgetry, the film features beautifully shot footage of the Austrian Alps, Venice, and the Egyptian pyramids. Furthermore, director Lewis Gilbert uses the film to push the cinematic envelope with stunning underwater action sequences, that leave the viewer gasping for air and a vodka martini--shaken, not stirred.

One of my favourite Bond films, it has all the elements that I really enjoyed in 007 when I was younger, and even watching it again over 30 years after it was made it has not diminished in my view. Beautiful women (especially Bach), superb villains, great action scenes, tongue in cheek humour, exotic locations, and a 7 foot steel toothed hitman.
The opening sequence before the titles is possibly as good as any movie I have ever seen, couple of corny jokes, Bond in bed, dramatic ski chase, followed by Bond skiing off a cliff, only to open a Union Jack parachute to safely drift down the mountainside - classic stuff.
Slick production, an amazing underwater base for Jurgens megalomaniac ambitions, this would be Moores best effort as Bond. Nobody Does it Better, and in this case I agree.
 


(From Riches Random Reviews on March 31st, 2009)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

American Gothic


Pilot
A traumatized young girl dies mysteriously, and some suspect the town's charming sheriff, who was the last person to see her alive.

My Thoughts:
This is a show I discovered on DVD after it was recommended to me by several people about 4 years ago. And I enjoyed every minute of it when I watched the series. This is the first time I re-watched an episode since then. And I must admit... I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did then. This is another one of those series that after watching the pilot here today I could watch the entire series again! A great horror/suspense series.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on November 1st, 2009)