Topic: Tom's Random Reviews

[addicted2dvd]

Thanks for reviewing all the Rocky movies Tom.... I just put the entire collection on one of my B'day wishlists. 

I know... May is still a couple months away... but I already have friends asking for wishlists! 

This year I will be 40!!!

[Tom]

Thanks for reviewing all the Rocky movies Tom.... I just put the entire collection on one of my B'day wishlists. 

Out of interest: Have you seen them before?
I didn't but in retrospect I am glad to have bought this set. I think if I would start again with the first movie now, I would even rate it higher than I did. Rocky, the character, has grown on me. With the exception of the fourth movie, I can understand now the success these movies have.

[addicted2dvd]

I have seen all but part 6... and I enjoyed all the ones I have seen though part 4 was probably my least favorite.

[Tom]

Title: Dead Like Me: Life After Death
Year: 2009
Director: Stephen Herek
Rating: R
Length: 87 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Ellen Muth
Callum Blue
Sarah Wynter
Jasmine Guy
Britt McKillip

Plot:
When George and her colleagues get a new boss whose focus is on moving souls quickly and enjoying life without consequences, the team begins to break the strict grim reaper rules. While her friends fall victim to their desires for money, success, and fame, George breaks another rule by revealing her true identity to her living family. As the reapers struggle with their roles on Earth, they each find that death can be just as complicated as life.

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Commentary
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this movie. I liked that they brought resolution to the Reggie/George storyline.
I didn't like the storyline with the new boss Cameron. And also the new actress for Daisy doesn't come close to Laura Harris' portrayal of the character.
But really nice to see the characters again. Good to see that George still works at Happy Time.

Rating:

[Tom]

Thanks for reviewing all the Rocky movies Tom.... I just put the entire collection on one of my B'day wishlists. 

I just came across a small fan documentary again, which I had seen a few month ago. It's called "Rocky Jumped a Park Bench" and revisits a lot of the locations of the Rocky movies. As a matter of fact it was this documentary that finally made me curious about the Rocky movies.

The first part
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVwu-UbpPUw

and the second part
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBgN3EdYFP4


You can also find the review of all six movies by the same guy here

[Tom]

Title: Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Year: 2008
Director: Kevin Smith
Rating: 18
Length: 97 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78
Audio: English: DTS HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Elizabeth Banks
Seth Rogen
Craig Robinson
Gerry Bednob
Edward Janda

Plot:
Get ready for the wild comedy that goes where no movie has dared go before! Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express) and Elizabeth Banks (Role Models) star as two cash-strapped roommates who try to get out of debt by making an adult film. Once the cameras start rolling, things quickly get complicated...and hilarious! Writer/Director Kevin Smith is at his funniest, backed by a motley cast, including Craig Robinson ("The Office"), Jason Mewes (Clerks films), Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard) and Brandon Routh (Superman Returns). Critics promise, "if you like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad you'll love Zack and Miri" (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV).

Extras:
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Money Shots
Outtakes

My Thoughts:

After first viewing I am a little disappointed with this movie. When I first heard about the plot, I thought it sounds average and not particularly new, but how Kevin Smith talked about it, maybe he really did something great here.
But the movie turned out is I imagined. Though I like Seth Rogen, his character is like every other character he plays. So nothing surprising here.
But this movie left me feeling, like it could grow on me, when I watch it again some time.
Happy to see, that Jason Mewes stayed clean. It is very obvious when looking at him and hearing him talk in this movie.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Delirious
Year: 1991
Director: Tom Mankiewicz
Rating: PG
Length: 92 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Surround, German: Dolby Digital Surround, French: Dolby Digital Surround, Italian: Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Spanish

Stars:
John Candy
Mariel Hemingway
Emma Samms
Raymond Burr
Dylan Baker

Plot:
Writer Jack Gable's (John Candy) soap opera has it all: deceit, trickery, sex, sex and more sex...and that's just behind the scenes! Candy (Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Splash) is hilarious in this laugh-a-minute daytime serial spoof which co-stars Mariel Hemingway (Manhattan), Emma Samms ("Dynasty"), Raymond Burr ("Perry Mason") and David Rasche ("Nurses").

When Jack clumsily bumps his head, he wakes up in the small town of Ashford Falls, the setting of his popular soap opera. But what begins as a nightmarish scenario turns into the opportunity of a lifetime as Jack finds he can control the events around him...by writing them! With typewriter at hand, Jack attempts to win the love of the show's beautiful "bad girl" (Samms) but while scripting his destiny with her, he keeps running into - literally - an accident-prone "good girl" (Hemingway). Will he able to win the coveted woman of his dreams? Will he win the coveted Daytime Emmy? Only one thing's for certain: his attempts to write his own ticket will leave you laughing Deliriously!

Extras:
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

Even though this is not a particularly good movie, I always enjoyed it since I first saw it.
We have Sledge Hammer as a soap actor playing a doctor. We have B5's Talia Winters as the hot nurse. And Clark Kent's date from Superman 4 as the romantic interest of John Candy's Jack. And a nice cameo by Robert Wagner.
This movie feels more like a TV movie than a theatrical release.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: GTO: The Movie
Year: 1999
Director: Masayuki Suzuki
Rating: NR
Length: 108 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital Stereo, English: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Takashi Sorimachi
Norika Fujiwara
Rena Tanaka
Hideyuki Kasahara
Masao Imafuku

Plot:
Great Teacher Onizuka has taken the anime and manga market by storm, and now he's taking on his first live action move.

GTO is an ex-biker punk who's taken on the formidable job of teaching high school. Lucky for him, street smarts and martial arts are just what the job needs. Like a cross between a thug and a walking, talking after school special, GTO will go to any length to help his kids. However, his career might be in jeopardy when he's mistaken for a serial thief!

This is the first of GTO's live action franchises. Follow him as he makes scholastic life an adventure!

Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

After the success of the live-action TV series, a theatrical movie was made. Except for Onizuka none of the other characters from the TV series appear.
As a matter of fact: Except for two little allusions, you wouldn't even know that this follows after the TV series (the back cover even claims, that the movie came first, which is not true. It's only marketing because this movie is the only live-action GTO which is available as an English language version). This movie is very much stand-alone. This is probably a big reason, why this movie doesn't work so well. It's sad that they are not building upon what was happening in the TV show.
Instead we got a complete new school/town, where Onizuka is substituting. The other teachers do not have a very big role, but what you see of them, they seem like cheap rip-offs of the teachers from the TV series.
And whereas the TV series had a lot of different students with different problems, in which Onizuka coud meddle, this movie focuses on two students. One girl, which very much reminds of Miyabi of the TV series. And a boy which reminds of Noboru of the TV show.
Also the love interest of Onizuka from the TV series does not appear. Instead we have a new female character, which is a reporter out on scoop on Onizuka. From her looks and her character, she is a rip-off of the love interest from the TV show.

Except for a few laughs and some interesting choices in editing, I highly recommend the TV show over this movie.

Rating:

[Tom]

Hors de prix (2006/France) IMDb | Wikipedia Icon Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Pierre Salvadori Writing: Pierre Salvadori (Screenwriter), Benoît Graffin (Screenwriter) Length: 102 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: French: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Stars:
Audrey Tautou as Irène
Gad Elmaleh as Jean
Marie-Christine Adam as Madeleine
Vernon Dobtcheff as Jacques
Jacques Spiesser as Gilles

Plot:
Set against the wildly atmospheric backdrop of the French Riviera Jean (Gad Elmaleh), a shy young bartender is mistaken for a millionaire by beautiful scheming opportunist Irene (Audrey Tautou). Abandonned when she discovers his true identity, a love-struck Jean has no intention of letting someone this gorgeous get away! Jean's comical attempts to gain Irene's affections gradually evolve to him setting himself up as a gigolo at the luxury hotel she is staying at...and then the fun really begins. A sexy and thoroughly charming romantic comedy, if you love Breakfast at Tiffany's you'll love this.

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

Alone the hotness of Audrey Tautou in this movie makes watching it worthwhile
She is worthy to be the modern Audrey Hepburn.
And the movie itself is funny, too. It's supposed to be a modern take on "Breakfast at Tiffany's", but as I haven't seen it for awhile and don't remember much about it, I cannot confirm or deny it. I really should rewatch my Hepburn movies one of these days.



Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Batman
Year: 1989
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 121 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Michael Keaton
Jack Nicholson
Kim Basinger
Robert Wuhl
Pat Hingle

Extras:
Production Notes
Scene Access

My Thoughts:

Until this movie was released, I only knew Batman from the 60s TV show. This movie has shown, that Batman has much potential as a darker character than the one I had known from the TV show (which I loved as a kid by the way).
I had forgotten, that Billy Dee Williams' Harvey Dent was in this movie (I thought it was the second). How fitting to have the character with Joker in the same movie again with "The Dark Knight".
Heath Ledger's performance as Joker in "The Dark Knight" sadly overshadows Jack Nicholson in the role. But I think we should not forget, that this Joker has been seen as a great portrayal of this character for years now.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: The Matrix
Year: 1999
Director: The Wachowski Brothers, The Wachowski Brothers
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 131 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish

Stars:
Keanu Reeves
Laurence Fishburne
Carrie-Anne Moss
Hugo Weaving
Gloria Foster

Extras:
Auf der Spur des weißen Kaninchens
DVD-ROM Content
Featurettes
Production Notes
Scene Access

My Thoughts:

It has been some time that I have seen this movie. I still enjoyed it just as much as the first time. I just had to watch it, as this DVD is from 1999 and I wanted to check, if I need to upgrade this movie to Blu. I am relieved, that despite its age, the picture is okay. No need to upgrade just now.
I belong to those who believe, that it would have been better to leave it with this movie. I don't like the sequels very much.
I noticed this time around, that I could read the Matrix code if I wanted to. A lot of the characters used in it are mirrored katakana characters

Rating:

[Achim]

All reviews I have read so far say that the picture quality of the Blu-ray is outstanding and actually closer to the original than the 1999 release. Since "The Matrix" has just been relelased stand-alone I will upgrade mine (I also think the sequels were awful; I have them on DVD but they certainly don't need upgrading).

[Tom]

I will keep an eye out for it and maybe double-dip, when the price is right. I don't dare to buy the British Blu-ray (which is usually much cheaper than German Blu-ray), because I know that the British DVD version was cut.

[Tom]

Title: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Year: 2008
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 123 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.40
Audio: English: Dolby Digital TrueHD, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Harrison Ford
Cate Blanchett
Karen Allen
Shia LaBeouf
Ray Winstone

Extras:
Featurettes
Interviews
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
THX certified
Trailers

My Thoughts:

The main problem this movie has with me is, that it had to follow my all-time favorite Indy "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". Also we already had a great Indy 4 since the early nineties (Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis). I would have liked very much an adaption of that one, instead this alien movie. I always thought Steven Spielberg had better sense, but now I have heard in a making-off, that the aliens were George Lucas' idea and he talked Spielberg into it (which seemed not to have been easy).

But I am glad that they managed it, that it didn't seemed ridiculous, that an over 60 year old Harrison Ford stepped again into one of his most famous roles. And he seemed to have fun doing so.
And nice that they brought Karen Allen back from the first movie. This makes a nice closure (if they won't be another movie).

This movie seems a little too CGI-heavy with the backgrounds though. It looses a little the charm of a Indy movie.

But all-in-all, a nice two hour ride with the chance to finally see Indy again after 19 years. I enjoyed it better than the second Indy movie.

Rating:

[addicted2dvd]

I still need to add this to my collection at some point