DVD Collectors Online

The Long Riders, a review by Rogmeister

The Long Riders (1980)  99m
Director: Walter Hill
Music: Ry Cooder
Cast: David Carradine, Keith Carradine, Robert Carradine, James Keach, Stacy Keach, Dennis Quaid, Randy Quaid, Christopher Guest, Nicholas Guest, Harry Carey Jr., Pamela Reed

This was another western about the James-Younger gang but it was done with a bit of a twist.  Each set of brothers was played by a set of actual brothers...so you had the Carradines playing the Younger brothers, James and Stacy Keach playing Jesse and Frank James, Dennis and Randy Quaid playaing the Millers and Christopher and Nicholas Guest playing the Fords.  Pamela Reed also shows up as Belle Starr (no, she didn't look that good in real life).  It's an interesting idea (all those real brothers playing historical brothers) and it results in a fine western, definitely one of the better westerns of the 1980's.  Since this is Jesse James (and company) we're talking about, there is definitely some actual events here though they still make the outlaws perhaps a bit more likeable than they actually were in real life but I still enjoy this film and have no qualms about recommending it.  I've had this DVD awhile and there are unfortunately no real extras...just the trailer.  I would definitely vote for this getting a special edition but this is all we have for now, I think.  A first-rate western.   

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 25th, 2009)

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring, a review by Danae Cassandra

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring  (Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom)
Year of Release: 2003
Directed By: Kim Ki-Duk
Starring: Oh Young-Su, Kim Ki-Duk, Kim Young-Min, Seo Jae-Kyung, Ha Yeo-Jin
Genre: Drama

Overview:Miami Herald).

From the brash actions of youth, through the dawn of adolescence and the fullness of adulthood, one man's life lessons are learned as seasons pass, his emotional inner life changing as the landscape around him. Award-winning Korean writer/director/editor Kim Ki-duk has crafted a lushly exotic, yet universal story about the human spirit and its evolution, from Innocence to Love, Evil to Enlightenment, and ultimately to Rebirth that Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News calls "a beautifully composed canvas, the sort of film one falls into, resurfacing at the end with great reluctance."

My Thoughts:
This gorgeous Buddhist fable might be the film I've enjoyed most this month. It's a meditation on the seasons of the year, the seasons of life, and the price of wisdom. The old monk watches, seemingly impassive, as his apprentice makes mistakes. Only after does he work on lessons from the mistakes, showing the younger that his actions have consequences he must accept. But only through those mistakes, consequences and responsibility does wisdom come. Wonderful film for anyone wishing to know more about Buddhism, or for anyone walking a Pagan path. Highly recommended.

I now also want to visit Juwangsan National Park, because where this was filmed is spectacular.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 5/5

(From March Around the World 2016 on April 7th, 2016)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Haibane - Renmei: Ailes Grises (2002/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (Germany) Length: 330 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: DTS 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: German

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Haibane Renmei
1.01 Mayu - Sora wo ochiru yume - Ourudo Houmu (2002-02-09)

A wonderful story about angel-like creatures with beautiful animation work. A girl finds herself, after having some strange dream, coming out of a cocoon with small wings on her back. She has lost all memories of her previous life and now must find out what it means to be a "Haibane" (this is how these creatures are called).

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on July 4th, 2011)