Topic: Addicted2DVD's September Birthday Marathon

[addicted2dvd]

Birds of Prey: The Complete Series: Disc 1 Pilot Birds take wing. Oracle, Huntress an Dinah work as one against Quinn's New Gotham power grab.

My Thoughts:
Today is Ian Abercrombie's birthday. In this series he plays Alfred Pennyworth.

Even though I definitely enjoyed it... the pilot episode was not quite as good as I remember it being. In this episode Oracle and Huntress first meet Dinah... and take her in after she helps them with the case they are working on. It has someone preying on people's fears similar to the way the Batman villain "The Scarecrow" did... minus the costume and such. We also hear the story on how Oracle and Huntress gets together... and what happened to Batman. So that really is a lot of information to put into an hour long pilot episode.

My Rating:

[addicted2dvd]

Title: Mystic River
Year: 2003
Director: Clint Eastwood
Rating: R
Length: 138 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Sean Penn
Tim Robbins
Kevin Bacon
Laurence Fishburne
Marcia Gay Harden
Laura Linney

Plot:
Jimmy. Dave. Sean. Friends who grew up in working-class Boston, they drift apart after a terrible tragedy. Years later, brutal events reconnect them. Jimmy's 19-year-old daughter is coldly murdered. Dave is a suspect. And Sean, now a cop, scrambles to solve the crime before volatile Jimmy takes the law into his own hands.

Working from Brian Helgeland's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel, director Clint Eastwood shapes a masterwork, a brooding thriller built on family, friends and innocence lost. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon play the pivotal threesome, joining Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney in one of the most powerful casts ever. The river has many depths. Let it wash over you.

Extras:
Scene Access
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I liked this one... it is a good... and powerful story. Though I do think they could have made it a little shorter. I found some of the scenes to be rather slow and uninteresting. But the majority of the movie makes up for it. The entire cast did a great job. I even liked Sean Penn in this one... and I don't normally care for him all that much. Definitely worth checking out if you never seen it.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[snowcat]

I love Mystic River, although I agree that sometimes :/ its slow...

[Dragonfire]

Mystic River is a very well done movie.  Not a happy movie, but definitely worth seeing.

[Achim]

Clint Eastwood at his best

[addicted2dvd]

Reba: The Complete First Season PILOT Reba learns that her husband, Brock, is leaving her to marry his pregnant 22-year-old girlfriend and that her own 17-year-old daughter, Cheyenne, is pregnant too.

My Thoughts:
Today Nell Carter turns 62. In the pilot episode of this series (and the next 2 episodes) she plays a court appointed family counselor. This is a good start to the series. It has lots of laugh out loud moments.

My Rating:

[addicted2dvd]

I think I made a mistake watching the pilot episode of Reba... I haven't been able to watch anything else since! I am now almost done the first disc! Guess I got into another sitcom.

[RossRoy]

I think I made a mistake watching the pilot episode of Reba... I haven't been able to watch anything else since! I am now almost done the first disc! Guess I got into another sitcom.

That would explain why you want to stop watching movies then!

[addicted2dvd]

  I am still not so sure about that either. Besides... this series wouldn't take me the rest of the month to watch either.

[Kathy]

I think I made a mistake watching the pilot episode of Reba... I haven't been able to watch anything else since! I am now almost done the first disc! Guess I got into another sitcom.

That would explain why you want to stop watching movies then!

When I read that Pete wasn't going to watch movies I almost snorted my coffee out my nose. No DVDs for Addicted to DVDs? Nope...ain't gonna happen...he wouldn't live through the withdrawal!

[addicted2dvd]

  If I did it.... I would still have my TV Shows to watch.

[addicted2dvd]

Murphy Brown: The Complete First Season Respect After spending months at the Betty Ford Center, TV reporter Murphy Brown tries to re-enter her life. The task is complicated by the addition to her show of a former Miss America as co-reporter, and a new Executive Producer who's half her age.

My Thoughts:
Today... for Faith Ford's birthday I watched the pilot episode of Murphy Brown. This is a nice start to a fun series. It has a few laughs in it. Definitely worth checking out.

My Rating:

[addicted2dvd]

Title: Look, Up In The Sky!: The Amazing Story of Superman
Year: 2006
Director: Kevin Burns (1955)
Rating: NR
Length: 110 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: French

Stars:
Kevin Spacey
Gerard Jones
Forrest J Ackerman
Elliot S! Maggin
Mark Hamill
Mark Waid

Plot:
From comic books to radio shows. From TV to blockbuster motion pictures.

For nearly seventy years, the Man of Steel has delighted generations of fans and helped define the meaning of the word "hero." This definitive telling of the Superman saga traces the character's humble beginnings all the way up to his emergence as the world's mightiest pop culture icon. Includes rare footage, outtakes and exclusive interviews. Also includes a behind-the-scenes look and a special sneak peek at Superman Returns. No matter if you're a movie fan or just a Superman fan - this is the adventure you've been waiting for!

Extras:
Scene Access
Bonus Trailers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
Watched this today for Jackie Cooper's birthday. As I felt like something from Superman but watched and reviewed all the Superman movies more then once here already... so really didn't feel like one of the movies. Plus I haven't seen this documentary since it first came out. Jackie Cooper only had one brief interview in this... but there were also several clips of him from the movies.

This is a good documentary on the Superman mythology. Starting from the very beginning of when the two 16yr old boys had their original idea for him... bringing us to pretty much current times. Covering everything from comic books to radio to television to movies. While I did like it... I could almost say it covered too much as I did start to tire of it towards the end a little. But it is enjoyable. And it was good to see some of the actors as they are now... especially the ones from the older shows. Worth watching... but don't think it is something that can be watched all that often. Unlike how I am with the movies.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[addicted2dvd]

Title: Superman
Year: 1948
Director: Spencer G. Bennet, Thomas Carr
Rating: NR
Length: 164 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: French, Spanish

Stars:
Kirk Alyn
Noel Neill
Tommy Bond
Carol Forman
George Meeker
Jack Ingram

Plot:
Superman, Lois, and Jimmy combat the evil Spider Lady. Lots of cliffhanger excitement while the Spider Lady and her gang use Kryptonite against Superman in an effort to gain a relativity Reducer Ray.

Extras:
Scene Access
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
Watching this one today for Tommy Bond's birthday. In this serial he plays Jimmy Olsen.  The first actor to portray Jimmy Olsen in a live action show.

This is the first time in quite a while that I watched this movie serial. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was definitely fun to watch this early incarnation of Superman. Though I must admit I am not familiar with this villain... Spider Lady. Not sure if she was one of his regular villains from the old time comics... or if they just created her for this serial.  They did a good job at telling the origin story of Superman. Of course with the time that this was made they couldn't show Superman fly... so what they did was convert him to animation (cartoon) while flying. Seems a bit silly... especially by today's standards... but it was still entertaining. A fun watch.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[Rogmeister]

Regarding Superman flying in the serial, I remember the story about that.  They did hire a special effects team who assured the director or producer they would do a good job with the flying scenes.  When the first rushes came back, they looked at them...and you could clearly see every single wire holding up actor Kirk Alyn as Superman.  So they fired the special effects people and decided to use animation instead.