Topic: Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews

[Antares]

If I knew who Jayson Blair was... 

From Wikipedia...Jayson Blair (born March 23, 1976) is a former American reporter for The New York Times. He resigned from the newspaper in May 2003, in the wake of plagiarism and fabrication being discovered within his stories.

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Maybe he was just paying homage...what do you think? 

[Najemikon]

Oh, that was quite a clever link then.  By the way, I noted your lack of using that word in your recent Magnificent Seven review.

Just sayin'. 

[Antares]

Oh, that was quite a clever link then.  By the way, I noted your lack of using that word in your recent Magnificent Seven review.

Just sayin'. 

Actually that's an old review from my DVDSpot days. I'm really not too keen on it, and I plan to edit and rework it a bit sometime in the future.

Oh, and Sturges wasn't paying homage to Kurosawa. He was asked by Brynner to to make a western version of the samurai classic. So homage is not even a word to be bandied about when it comes to those two films.

[dfmorgan]

Chanbara Beauty

Year: 2008
Director: Youhei Fukuda
Cast: Eri Otoguro, Manami Hashimoto, Chise Nakamura
Overview: Based on a hack-n-slash video game series, the story revolves around a scantily-clad girl named Aya (Eri Otoguro), her little sister Saki (Chise Nakamura), and a mysterious gun-toting leather chick named Reiko (Manami Hashimoto) who must protect their dystopic metropolis from a marauding zombie attack. This itchy, twitchy, finger-popping, head-lopping hoedown will leave you absolutely breathless!

Watched: 21st. Aug 2010
My Thoughts: A mad scientist trying to prolong life is producing zombies from his experiments. An encampment has been overrun by zombies when a cowboy hat wearing girl arrives with her sidekick. Aya (Eri Otoguro) takes on the mass of zombies and manages to despatch many of them with her sword. Aya continues to fight on and is then joined by a leather clad girl, Reiko (Manami Hashimoto), armed with a self-loading shotgun. It turns out that Aya is looking for her younger sister, Saki (Chise Nakamura), who is being used by the mad scientist whilst her sidekick is looking for his sister who had been abducted by Saki. Reiko meanwhile is looking for the mad scientist so the three join together in their quests.

My Rating: An enjoyable little diversion for a 3

Dave

[dfmorgan]

Solomon Kane

Year: 2009
Director: Michael J. Bassett
Cast: James Purefoy, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Pete Postlethwaite
Overview: Solomon Kane is a brutally efficient 16th Century killing machine. Armed with his signature pistols, cutlass and rapier he and his men unleash bloodlust as they fight for England in war after war across all continents. Things change when Kane is visited by the Devil's reaper, dispatched from the depths of hell to lay claim on his corrupt soul. Solomon has to redeem himself by renouncing violence and devoting himself to a life of peace. As Kane embarks on his newfound spirituality he has to face the ultimate test when he begins his journey across an England ravaged by diabolical human Raiders. Will he jeopardise his own soul by re-embracing his murderous talents for a higher cause?

Watched: 22nd. Aug 2010
My Thoughts: Based on the Solomon Kane stories by Robert E. Howard. We meet Kane (James Purefoy) as an adventurer fighting for queen and country. However the Grim Reaper is waiting for him to reclaim his soul for the Devil. Kane escapes from the Reaper and returns to England where he takes sanctuary in a monastery and renounces his killing ways. The abbot has a vision and expells Kane and tells him to return to his ancestral home. On his journey there Kane befriends a puritan family on their way to the new world. This family is attacked and the daughter (Rachel Hurd-Wood) is taken prisoner. Kane is assured by the father's dying breath that he will be redeemed if he frees the girl even though he has taken up arms again. Kane now pursues the attackers.

My Rating: I found this to be enjoyable action for the most part so a 4

Dave

[dfmorgan]

Legion

Year: 2010
Director: Scott Stewart
Cast: Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson
Overview: At a remote desert truck stop, the fate of mankind will be decided. The armies of evil are massing and the only thing standing in their way is the Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany, THE DA VINCI CODE).  Fully armed and ready for battle, he is joined by a group of strangers who are about to become unwitting soldiers on the frontline of the Apocalypse. Their mission: protect a waitress and her sacred unborn child from the relentless, bloody siege of the demonic legion. With a cast that includes Dennis Quaid (G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA), Tyrese Gibson (TRANSFORMERS) and Lucas Black (JARHEAD), get ready for the ultimate fight between good and evil.

Watched: 28th. Aug 2010
My Thoughts: An OK film. Mildly enjoyable good versus evil fare. It has a couple of examples of the standard demonic possession move of running up the wall and along the ceiling if that takes your fancy.

My Rating: A little better than a so a

Dave

edited to correct Bettany

[Najemikon]

I think that is literally the best review I've seen of Legion... 

[dfmorgan]

I think that is literally the best review I've seen of Legion... 

Cool, see I can get some things right 

Dave

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think that is literally the best review I've seen of Legion... 

Me too, usually it gets something between 0 and 0.5 from 100 possible.
The problem with me is, that because of the normally very discouraging ratings I now started to be very curious if "Legion" is really as bad as the reviewers say.

[Achim]

I agree with Dave's rating. The Prophecy is way more fun (it has Walken and Mortensen!) but Legion is not entirely without merit and has some resonably scary scenes. It just can't quite get it's act together and falls short in creating a rounded experience.

[dfmorgan]

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Year: 2001
Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi
Cast: Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, Ving Rhames
Overview: The year is 2065. A meteor has crashed into Earth unleashing millions of alien creatures who roam the earth, decimating field and city alike, threatening to extinguish life itself. Prepare to be spellbound by an amazing woman, the brave individuals at her side and an astouning mission to save the Earth - all in cutting-edge CGI!

Watched: 4th. Sep 2010
My Thoughts: Upon release this film set the benchmark for CGI animation and when I watched the DVD in late 2001 I was blown away. Now rewatching on Blu-ray Disc I find that it is still an enjoyable film with the Blu generally adding to the picture but some bits seem flat. The hair flicking around and other such effects still stood the test but the facial expressions and much of the background seemed to me to be flat in comparison. The dream sequences though appeared a tad sharper especially with the shot from beneath Dr. Aki standing in the puddle.

My Rating: An enjoyable 3

Dave

[dfmorgan]

Kick-Ass

Year: 2010
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicolas Cage
Overview: When Dave Lizewski, an ordinary teenager, sets abbout trying to become the no-power vigilante Kick-Ass, he soon discovers he's not alone. But he's out of his depth – a fearless and highly trained father daughter crime-fighting duo, Big Daddy and Hit Girl, have declared war on New-York mafioso, Frank D'Amico. As Kick-Ass and his new found friend, Red Mist, get drawn into their no-holds-barred world of bullets and blood, the stage is set for a final showdown – in which the DIY hero will have to live up to his name...or die trying.

Watched: 10th Sep 2010
My Thoughts: Following the rave reception this film received here I was looking forward to sitting down and watching it. However as a long-time Daily Mail reader I have usually found that I can trust Christopher Tookey's film reviews and again, with this film, he hasn't let me down. What a total letdown I couldn't find any redeeming features about this film it was just a great big steaming cow-pat of poo!

My Rating: Sorry it has to be 0

The above was written as a joke because so many people here raved about this film. Below is my real thoughts and rating which were originally spoiler tagged to hide them from general view.

My Real Thoughts: What an immensely fun film. I thought that all the main characters came over well and am looking forward to watching it again very soon. As to Mr. Tookey's reviews - Yes I do trust them as, in general, if he dislikes a film I quite often like them and vice versa some he has rated highly I have found to be boring or lacking in the enjoyment factor.

My Real Rating: A very enjoyable 4

Dave

Edited to remove spoiler tag around My Real Thoughts and Rating and to add little expanation between both sets of thoughts and ratings.

[Najemikon]

 


 

[Tom]

I have to admit that you got me at first 

[Achim]