DVD Collectors Online

Scrooged, a review by Tom

Title: Scrooged
Year: 1988
Director: Richard Donner
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 101 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital Surround, French: Dolby Digital Surround, Italian: Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital Surround, Hungarian: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: Arabic, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Bill Murray
Karen Allen
John Forsythe
John Glover
Bob Goldthwait

Plot:
High-spirited high jinks on Christmas Eve put Frank Cross (Bill Murray) in a ghostly time warp in this hilarious take-off of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. Cross, who has made the meteoric rise from the depths of the mailroom to TV network president, is mean, nasty, uncaring, unforgiving and has a sadistic sense of humour - perfect qualities for a modern-day Scrooge.

Before the night is over, he'll be visited by a maniacal New York cab driver from the past, a present-day fairy who's into pratfalls and, finally, a ghoulish, seven-foot headless messenger from the future.

Awards:

Academy Award	1988	Nominated	Best Makeup	Tom Burman, Bari Dreiband-Burman
BMI Film & TV Music Awards	1989	Won	BMI Film Music Award	Danny Elfman
Saturn	1988	Nominated	Best Actor	Bill Murray
Saturn	1988	Nominated	Best Fantasy Film
Saturn	1988	Nominated	Best Special Effects	Eric Brevig, Dream Quest, Alan Hall

Extras:
Scene Access
Trailers

After watching Christmas Carol just now, I had the urge to watch this great movie again. It is one of my favorite Bill Murrey movies. And now I can really compare it to the original Christmas Carol story and I must say, that it is still my favorite adaption of it. My favorite ghost was always Carol Kane as Ghost of Christmas Present.

Rating:

(From December Marathons - DISCUSSION AND REVIEW THREAD on December 19th, 2009)

Gone With the Wind, a review by Tom

Title: Gone With the Wind
Year: 1939
Director: Victor Fleming
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 233 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 1, English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Vivien Leigh
Clark Gable

Plot:
This classic film narrates the love between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler during the American civil war. It's the history of a selfish woman who doesn't want to admit her feelings about the man she loves, and finally loses him.

Awards:

Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Actor	Clark Gable
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Actress	Vivien Leigh
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Art Direction	Lyle R. Wheeler
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Cinematography, Color	Ernest Haller, Ray Rennahan
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Director	Victor Fleming
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Film Editing	Hal C. Kern, James E. Newcom
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Music, Original Score	Max Steiner
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Picture	Selznick International Pictures
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Sound Recording	Thomas T. Moulton (Sound Director, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department)
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Special Effects	John R. Cosgrove, Fred Albin, Arthur Johns
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Supporting Actress	Hattie McDaniel
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Supporting Actress	Olivia de Havilland
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay	Sidney Howard
Academy Award	1939	Won	Special Award	William Cameron Menzies (outstanding achievement in the use of color)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Cheers (2006)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (1998)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (2007)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": After all, tomorrow is another day.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 25 Scores (2005)	"Composer": Max Steiner

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

I never had the urge to check this movie out. But when the Blu-ray was on sale, I thought I should give it a try. It was never the length of the movie which put me off (after all an average Bollywood movie has a three-hours running time).
I think I will get some flack for this, but this movie bored me. I had to take a break half-way through and watched two other three-hour movies before I continued. I just couldn't connect with the characters and the plot just didn't reel me in. Scarlett is supposed to be an unlikable character (at least I think she is meant to be), but it isn't fun watching one of those for four hours.

Rating:

(From Tom's Unwatched Movies Marathon on June 4th, 2010)

Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

9. Death in Chains
Hades, god of the underworld, asks Xena to undertake the task of freeing his sister - the embodiment of death - from the clutches of a greedy king who's captured her in order to give himself eternal life.

My Thoughts:
This episode is a bit of a mixed bag. While I found it to be a very fun episode... it is not without it's problems. Of course it's problems is part of the thing that makes this show fun anyway. For example it showed Xena throw her Chakrum at a tree and it works like a buzz saw on a huge branch. Even going as far as making the sound of a buzz saw. Another thing about this episode is it is very inconsistant. In the beginning it shows some people that are mortally injured and un able to barely move... but yet it show other while fighting keep coming at you... like Ha-Ha! Stab me again... I cannot die! But for the most part I just found the episode to be a fun!

My Rating:

10. Hooves & Harlots
Xena has a tall order to fill trying to prevent a war between the Amazons and the Centaurs; and Gabrielle finds herself with some pretty big shoes to fill when she's chosen to replace an Amazon princess who died in her arms.

My Thoughts:
This is the episode I been waiting for... this is the one where Gabrielle becomes an Amazon... and starts wearing that leather outfit... and doing some fighting herself. I didn't realize it was so close to the beginning of the series... I was thinking it was in the second season. Thankfully I didn't have to wait that long. This has always been one of my favorite episodes. I always thought they did the Centaurs good... it has a good story.,, and it somewhat changes the series from this point on. At least the character of Gabrielle.

My Rating:

11. The Black Wolf
Xena fights her way into a dungeon (on purpose) to rescue the freedom-fighting daughter of an old friend.

My Thoughts:
This is another episode I really enjoyed. Once again Xena uses her past to make some people believe she is still bad.I got a kick out of Gabrielle trying to get thrown in the dungeon.

My Rating:

12. Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts
At the behest of Helen of Troy, Xena goes to the embattled city to help end a 10-year war with the Greeks. But while trying to rein in the hostilities, she discovers a Trojan horse who's working with the enemy.

My Thoughts:
While I liked this episode... I didn't care for it quite as much as the previous few. But I really can't put my finger on why. The premise is a good one. It was kinda fun seeing Xena involved in the Trojon horse. But for some reason it just didn't work as good as it should have for me.

My Rating:

(From Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon on November 28th, 2009)