DVD Collectors Online

Jigsaw, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Jigsaw
Movie Count: 58
TV Ep Count: 29
Other  Count: 2
Time Started: 12pm
Plot:
A College art class tackles a bizarre project: Splitting up a mannequin, they each decorate a peice. The end result is an exquisite corpse they call JIGSAW. After a night of drunken confessions, the group burns the lifeless body... But their darkest secrets come back to haunt them when their brainchild rises from the ashes, targeting each of the creators for a brutal death that is in keeping with their design -- the shape of their fears. JIGSAW...

Put him together and he'll tear you apart!

My Thoughts:
Well this is one that is not very good at all. I have seen worse... but not by much! I have watched this one before... four years ago when I first got it. But I forgot just how bad this movie is. Don't waste your time.



(From My Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon: 2008 on October 17th, 2008)

Slacker uprising, a review by Rich

3rd November

Slacker uprising



Michael Moore's new film is strategically timed to mobilize voters in anticipation of the 2008 United States presidential election.

Slacker Uprising takes us back to the 2004 election, when the polling margin between candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry could have tipped either way. Framed like a concert film, it captures Moore's activities as he set out on a campaign trip almost as rigorous and far-reaching as the candidates' own. He targeted young people as the demographic that could make the most difference, visiting sixty-two cities in forty-five days, and holding large rallies on college campuses. He dubbed it the Slacker Uprising Tour.

This documentary of his journey is made in the feisty spirit of independent media, budgeted at a tiny fraction of Moore's recent films. It acts like a time machine, returning us to the weeks prior to the November 2, 2004, election, when campuses across the country were exhilarated by a sense of hope and urgency. Moore masterfully foments this energy, speaking to audiences as large as fifteen thousand. He riles up the crowd with his hilarious improvisation, riffing off the day's headlines or responding to hecklers. He also brings a star-studded lineup of friends - we see appearances and performances by Roseanne Barr, Eddie Vedder, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Earle and Joan Baez, among others. His political opponents certainly take notice, lobbying schools to ban him from campus, sometimes successfully.

Although the election didn't go Moore's way, this film is a cure for the hangover that followed, and a reminder that a new political force emerged on those campuses. Young voters turned out in record numbers in 2004, reversing a trend of decline since 1972 (after the voting age lowered to eighteen). The youth vote increased even more in the following mid-term elections. If you want to understand the future of American politics, Slacker Uprising is a great place to start, showcasing what the filmmaker calls "the birth of a new political generation

As always with Moore films this is entertaining, stage managed, skilfully edited, and enlightening to a European. I'm not sure if he is a patriot or just a troublemaker, but he certainly whips up a fervour on every subject he undertakes.
Good timing for this release, it is important to note the influence of this venture did not keep the war criminal Bush from taking office for a further 4 years.
Biggest downside for me as the viewer were the many musical interludes, it kept stalling the flow of the feature IMO
 

(From November Alphabet Marathon - Discussion/Review Thread on November 3rd, 2008)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE - SERIES ONE - PILOT



First aired: 1/9/2000   
Perhaps the most original sitcom pilot in recent years, this first episode combines sharp writing with a hyperbolic camera style reminiscent of Parker Lewis Can't Lose. Malcolm introduces us to his world, dominated by omnipresent schoolyard bully Spath and made worse by his enforced friendship with Stevie, an asthmatic wheelchair genius. When a battery of tests reveals that Malcolm has an IQ of 165, he is moved into Stevie's special accelerated class, despite his protests that "around here being intelligent is exactly the same as being radioactive." On the bright side, Malcolm discovers a practical application for intelligence when he and Stevie spontaneously hit on a solution to Spath's persistent tyranny.

I have watched a few episodes on tv of this series, but never thought a great deal of it whilst watching ad-hoc. The pilot however I really enjoyed, similarities to the Wonder Years but having it's own identity, very entertaining with great jokes from all the characters, introducing Malcolm and his genius status. The subtle jokes like all the houses for sale around his, the in your face gags like the Dad having his back (and other bits) shaved at the breakfast table - very good stuff indeed.
Overall, this is a good start to the series and I will probably watch it over time in parts.



(From My PILOT Marathon on May 18th, 2008)