DVD Collectors Online

Fast Five, a review by Dragonfire

I was never really interested in the movies in the Fast and Furious series before.  Then I found out that Dwayne Johnson was going to be in the new movie, Fast Five.  That got me interested in the new movie since I tend to enjoy his movies.  It also got me to watch a few of the earlier movies as well.

This one follows closely after the end of the fourth movie and it definitely builds on what happened in that movie. 

Basically nothing that happens in the movie is believable or realistic, but the movie is still entertaining overall.  There are all kinds of crazy things going on with cars that look cool but couldn't really happen.  That didn't bother me because I had fun watching the movie.  I think there is more of a plot to this one than there have been for the other 2 movies in the series that I've seen.  That makes this movie stronger overall.  The plot has clearly been influenced by other movies, so things are the most original.  It is a mix of The Italian Job and Ocean's 11, with more focus on the heist than all the crazy driving and racing.  The heist does require some crazy driving too, but it isn't the main focus of the movie.  I like the heist stuff, though it would have been nice if it had been a little more original.  Even with the better plot, there are some really bad lines.  There is a decent amount of action to what is going on and the action scenes are done well.  There is some violence in a few scenes without making the movie that violent overall.

The characters have gotten more developed, though some of them are still rather flat.  The cast is decent in their roles.  Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster are better than they were in the first movie.  Hobbs is a decent addition to the movie, though he is one dimensional with his focus on catching Dom and Brian.  Dwayne Johnson is fine in the part. 

The movie has some issues, but it is fun and entertaining.  This isn't a movie for everyone, but it is worth checking out for people who like this type of movie.



Fast Five


(From Fast Five on May 8th, 2011)

Ray, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Ray: Widescreen
Year: 2004
Director: Taylor Hackford
Rating: PG-13
Length: 152 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Jamie Foxx
Kerry Washington
Regina King
Clifton Powell
Harry Lennix
Bokeem Woodbine

Plot:
Jamie Foxx (Collateral) stars as the one-of-a-kind innovator of soul who overcame impossible odds to become a music legend. Ray is the triumphant and remarkable story of one of America's true musical geniuses, Ray Charles. From his humble beginnings in the South through his meteoric rise to the top of American music charts, Ray's inspirational journey is a tale of hope, redemption and the power of the human spirit. "Ray is Electrifying" hails Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. Witness the incredible true story of a musician who fought harder and went further than anyone could imagine.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Production Notes
Music Videos

My Thoughts:
I made a promise... and I new I was going to keep that promise. But I thought I would shock you all and let it be the first one I watch out of all of the ones sent to me! (plus it gets it out of the way!)

Ok... what to say about the movie. First let me say... wow.. this one has a lot of music in it. Made it impossible to just ignore the music like I can normally do. Which kinda sucked for me... because the movie can't change how I feel about music. It is what it is... and there is nothing I can do about that. Now the story on the other had I enjoyed very much. Such a detailed look at his life... both the good and the bad. Instead of starting the movie from the beginning and going in chronological order (which I normally prefer) this movie uses flashbacks. I normally don't care for flashbacks because they can easily make a story confusing. But in the case of Ray the flashbacks works extremely well and I think makes a more powerful movie. I've only known Jamie Foxx as a comedian... but I must say he impressed me here. I thought he did a wonderful job in the title role.

I find it hard to believe that I am saying this... but this is one musical I am glad I have in my collection... and yes... I can see myself watching it again. So there you go... a surprise for both of us. A surprise for you all that I actually watched a musical... and it being the first one in my marathon. As well as a surprise for me as I enjoyed it much more then I thought I would.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs on July 30th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Everybody Hates Chris: Season One (2005/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 446 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
Inspired by his childhood experiences, comedian Chris Rock narrates the hilarious, touching story of a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s. Uprooted to a new neighborhood and bused into a predominantly Italian middle school two hours away by his strict, hard-working parents, Chris (Tyler James Williams) struggles to keep his everyday trials and traumas in check as he thinks, talks or runs his way through one growing experience after another, both at home and at school. This debut volume of 'Everybody Hates Chris' on DVD contains all 22 Season One episodes of this acclaimed comedy series.


Everybody Hates Chris
1.01 Everybody Hates the Pilot

This is the first time I ever saw an episode of this series, even though I have had the first season for some years now. I had bought it on a blind buy. The episode was okay, but I won't be hurrying to watch the rest.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on April 10th, 2011)