DVD Collectors Online

The Birds, a review by Dragonfire

Nothing equals 'THE BIRDS' for sheer terror when Alfred Hitchcock unleashes his foul friends in one of his most shocking and memorable masterpieces. As beautiful blonde Melanie Daniels ('Tippi' Hedren) rolls into Bodega Bay in pursuit of eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), she is inexplicably attacked by a seagull. Suddenly thousands of birds are flocking into town, preying on schoolchildren and residents in a terrifying series of attacks. Soon Mitch and Melanie are fighting for their lives against a deadly force that can't be explained and can't be stopped in one of Hollywood's most horrific films of nature gone berserk.

My Thoughts

This was the first time I had watched this one in a long time.  It started off a little slow while the situation with the characters was set up.  Once Melanie was on the island and the birds started to act weird - with the attacks - things got much more interesting.  The pace was still a bit slower, but not so slow that I was bored by what was going on.  Hitchcock slowly built up the suspense and tension in a way that worked very well.  The movie was very entertaining and one of Hitchcock's great movies.  I think part of what made it scarier was the fact that there wasn't an explanation for why the birds were attacking and that aspect of the movie did seem a lot more believable.  The fact that there wasn't a musical score and just all the bird sounds also made certain scenes much more intense.

There was a featurette that featured different people connected to the making of the movie, including some of the cast, that was very interesting.  They talked about how different scenes were filmed and someone explained how special effects were done.

 

(From My November Alphabet Marathon on November 6th, 2008)

Rebecca, a review by Rich

Academy Award Best Picture winner 1940

Rebecca





Distant looks, pouting, meaningful glances, crap backgrounds, orchestral crescendos, stiff acting, sharp intakes of breath etc etc. There is a lot wrong with this film 70 years on, it is almost at times the perfect example of why so many people today would not sit through an old movie.
However...(and before Jon jumps all over me) scratch underneath and persevere, and you are treated to an atmospheric drama with a touch of romance, with enough suspense and plot twists to keep you guessing.  Hitchcock creates a melancholy, perhaps dark?, mood for this classic, and Judith Anderson is memorably outstanding as the spooky (lesbian??) Mrs. Danvers. Joan Fontaine is convincing as mousy Mrs De Winter part 2, but I was never sure if Olivier was the right choice as lead actor?
It is tame by todays standards, at times the acting is comical, Hitchcock made better films that didn't win an Academy Award for best picture, but once you overcome the negatives all the positives filter through to a film that is definately worth watching and I whole-heartedly recommend it.
 

(From Riches Random Reviews on February 17th, 2009)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

What's the show about?
Black King? White Knight? Nate is a former insurance investigator but now he works with a thief (Parker), a hacker (Hardison), a hitter (Eliot) and a grifter (Sophie) to help people the normal law can't or won't help. Nate is a master at Xanatos Speed Chess and he uses this ability to outmanoeuvre his opponents and get what he wants.

"The Nigerian Job"
The CEO of an airplane manufacturer hires Nate to be the boss of a gang of thieves to steal back blueprints that were stolen from him. But he has played them all and tries to get them killed. Now Nate is turning the tables. He hires a new face and old "friend" of his, Sophie, and together they are getting the prints back and the CEO in trouble.

My Opinion
It's a worthy successor of the 80's A-Team and basically as unrealistic - which didn't matter then and doesn't matter now. Back then B.A. welded some steel together and built some form of tank, today Hardison is manipulating any electronic device to get hoodwink the bad guy. The characters are funny to watch and two of them (Nate and Sophie) have an even more personal connection.

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on September 11th, 2009)