DVD Collectors Online

Centurion, a review by Achim

Centurion (2010)

I watched Centurion at the cinema today. It tells the story of a Legion of Roman Soldiers (they mention that that's about 3000) pushing north in England and being decimated by a group of Picts (early Scots...?). A small group of survivors (7) will have to find a way back south before the scouts of the Picts find and kill them. Before that, however, they want to go rescue their captured general.

Based on a true legend (my words, not theirs) the film is much slower than I had expected from a Neil Marshall film. There is a couple of scenes where he used buckets of blood and gore, some of it is concealed with fast cutting though. Somehow the film failed to properly get me emotionally close to the main character(s), which made the final "battle" less involving than it should have been. A story worth telling for sure, not sure if it will grant repeated viewings though.



(From DCO fourth Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on July 2nd, 2010)

Frozen, a review by Danae Cassandra

Frozen
Year of Release: 2013
Directed By: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana
Genre: Fantasy, Animation

Overview:
Walt Disney Animation Studios presents a chilly twist on one of the most humorous and heartwarming stories ever told. "Disney Animation's best since The Lion King" (William Bibbiani, CraveOnlineFrozenMy Thoughts:
Certainly the best Disney movie in twenty years, and also one of the best of all time, Frozen has a great soundtrack, top-notch animation, and a heart-felt story. 

The animation is absolutely stunning.  The choice of CGI over traditional hand-drawn works perfectly for the story here, creating a crisp look, and the gorgeous blue and white palette glistens so much like real snow and ice you'll feel a bit cold just watching. 

I really liked all of the characters, and felt they all had a bit of uniqueness to them.  Even the relatively minor characters like the shopkeeper were memorable.  My favorite character, hands down, was Olaf, who was simply so sweet and endearing as to nearly steal any scene he was in.   

I do wish we had seen more of Elsa, though, and that her part in the story was larger.  She is a very different lady than we have seen before from Disney, and really far more interesting than her sister.  Her story is far from over and continuing with her would make an excellent sequel - if Disney didn't have such an abysmal track record with sequels.

That aside, this movie is a lot of fun, has really positive female characters who save themselves and each other for a change, and I'd recommend it for just about anyone.

Bechdel Test:  Pass

Overall: 4/5

(From Frozen on March 21st, 2014)

Angel Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: A group of youngsters fights on their own account and with self-made weapons against vampires. But the vampires intend to strike back and to strike back hard. Angel has to intervene to prevent a bloodbath.

My Opinion: The words "gang warfare" gets a whole new meaning. But the leader of the humans had to learn the hard way that the price can be high and that it is sometimes too high. This episode shows that very impressively.

Synopsis: A young woman attacks Angel and she can practically anticipate his moves. But there is a catch: she is blind and shouldn't be able to see anything at all.

My Opinion: This reminded me a bit of Daredevil with the exception that she went blind voluntarily. Why? To be able to see more. Unfortunately the attempt of Lindsey to return to the path of righteousness didn't last long.

Synopsis: A demon is summoned by Wolfram & Hart to retrieve the scroll that Angel stole. Additionally he is supposed to hurt Angel's friends.

My Opinion: I wasn't aware of the fact that Darla - Angel's Sire (the vampire who created another vampire) - was dead. If they've mentioned it in "Buffy" I must have missed it. But aside from that the season finale wasn't that interesting. The reason for that is that Angel didn't have a season enemy like it was usual in "Buffy". But at least Lindsey was punished for his betrayal.

The Season - My Opiniotn: To be honest, I am not very thrilled. That it would be different than "Buffy" was a given. But the show hasn't fully taken off yet and I would say this season was weaker than any "Buffy" season. But at least they have given Angel a goal. Now they have to make sure that he gets there.

(From Angel Marathon on February 15th, 2008)