RETROSPECTIVE: AMAZON DVD REVIEWS -A MISCELLANY

 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great targetting, 14 Oct 2006

This review is from: Contamination [1980] [DVD] (DVD)

I love it when then writers of the DVD cases know exactly who their target audience is. Check this-

"Who is harvesting these alien hell-spores? What is their connection to a doomed mission to Mars? And most important of all, how many actors will die screaming in massive explosions of blood, guts and gore?"

Having read that, you're either heading for the checkout or rapidly moving on elsewhere.

Moving on myself, as one of a few extras (including a DVD-ROM accessible graphic novel version, but don't -and I mean don't, it's awful- waste your time with it) is a good interview with writer/director Cozzi who explains why it suddenly turns into a James Bond style thriller for the middle section, and casually insults his leading lady. The film itself was, almost unbelievably, once banned in the UK as a video nasty. I mean, what's a few exploding strap-on torsos filled with animal blood and offal between horror fans?

Other than that it's a passable time-waster but don't expect anything more that. 

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "BIGGER! BADDER! TURTLIER", 13 Oct 2006

This review is from: Gamera 2 - Attack Of Legion [DVD] (DVD)

Which giant Japanese monster fan could resist a come-on like that, especially when they emanate from Gamera's mouth on the back of the dvd case? Not me, for sure.
Actually, it isn't turtlier because Gamera isn't in it as much as you expect. On the other hand the puny humans, who usually seem to be there just to cut down on the more expensive scenes of monster mayhem, aren't too bad in this one and the bad monsters are quite cool.
So, definitely recommended to fans of the genre.
Surprisingly there's also a good batch of extras. Outtakes isn't what it seems, rather it's a collection of scenes redubbed with risque dialogue. Lake Texarcana Gamera is a mini version of the film as dubbed by rednecks and is very very funny. Add an unofficial extra star for these unexpected but welcome bonuses. 

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I really don't know, 31 Aug 2006

This review is from: V for Vendetta [DVD] [2006] (DVD)

I've given it four stars because, for a major Hollywood movie, it has tried to be different, and, because for the early part of the film, it was surprisingly faithful to the graphic novel. Even when it diverged drastically it kept touches of the original. Some of the changes worked well such as the nature of Evie's character and dropping the elements of anarchism, which would simply have been too intellectually demanding for a mass movie audience (though, as has been proved, not to a comics audience and I did miss them) as well as alienating Middle-America in droves. The film also wouldn't have worked, as the novel did, as a now-dated polemic against Thatcherism. It's the ending I'm really not sure about.

The look of the movie is good, certainly well photographed and composed. The casting varies from generally adequate to perfect (and here I'm thinking in particular of the little girl with glasses, though you'll have to be familiar with both the movie and the book to know why) and Natalie Portman does the business.

It's just the ending which differs so wildly from the novel. In its favour it is consistent with something V quotes early on, "The government should be afraid of its people..." And when the masks come off and you see some of the faces underneath... Well, it's a poignant moment. (Can you tell, I'm trying not to give too much away?)

But I suppose I just miss Alan Moore's chaos.

So, if I really don't know, at least the movie has me thinking seriously about it which is something most of them don't. All I can say in conclusion is, give it a try and make your own mind up because, whatever its faults, it is worth watching. 

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it for the smile, 30 Aug 2006

This review is from: Sugar Rush Series 2 [DVD] [2005] (DVD)

of Sarah Jane Potts, though there are other good reasons such as the sharp funny dialogue and the acting. The plot centres round an emotional menage between Sugar, Kim and Saint (the wonderful Potts) Kim's new older girlfriend. All three characters are screwed up in their own way and at times you want to give them a (metaphorical) slap. Sugar remains totally unreliable and selfish, Kim is just as self-centred and short-sighted in her own way, and Saint is... well, I don't want to spoil that for you.
Kim's family don't play the central role in her life as they did in the first series. Her parents try being swingers in an attempt to resolve their marital problems and you can imagine how that turns out. The subplot concerning Matt her younger brother and his voyage of self-discovery from Marilyn Manson into something even more outrageous is sadly given short shrift and deserved more emphasis -the young actor does a lot with so little.
Never dull, always engaging, often funny, sweetly tastefully sexy, Olivia Hallinan is terrific, and if that isn't enough, buy it to watch Sarah Jane Potts smile, it's a smile to fall in love with.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you don't like martial arts movies, try this., 18 Sep 2005

This review is from: Wing Chun [DVD] (DVD)

Why? Apart from the fact that it stars Michelle Yeoh, it's an absolute delight from start to finish.

Wing Chun, played by Yeoh, is the somewhat androgynous protector of a village from a gang of thugs and bullies. She runs a tofu shop with her vivacious and avaricious aunt and befriends and protects a young widow whom its seems every male in the village lusts after uncontrollably. The aunt lusts after the rich, greedy local scholar. A visiting martial artist appears in search of his childhood sweetheart, mistaking Yeoh for a man and the widow for his sweetheart. At one point Yeoh's own interest in the widow appears somewhat ambiguous.

Cue a romantic comedy of errors plus lots of fighting. It's really a rather sweet film with Yeoh displaying a shy humour and an emotional vulnerability which contrasts with her bravura displays of fighting skills. (The rest of the cast are all fine too.) Despite the fact that at one point Yeoh deliberately roasts a bady guy's genitals, it isn't a violent film, although it doesn't stint on the action either -the methodical demolition of a chauvinist thug while maintaining the integrity of a large plate of tofu is a particular highlight.

Wing Chun (the movie) will leave you with a smile on your face, laughter in your throat, and, if you aren't already, a big fan of Michelle Yeoh.

You'll have to excuse me now, it's fourteen hours since I first watched this movie and I want to see it again.

GRAPHIC NOVELS: ABSOLUTE V FOR VENDETTA, ABSOLUTE PROMETHEA VOL.1

T

The following are two reviews, both rated 5 stars, reprinted from Amazon UK.

I would say, as an assumption, that people who buy DC's expensive Absolute editions do so because they want a definitive edition, printed on good quality paper, in an enlarged hardcover with dustjacket and slip-case, and extras such as introductions, unused unseen art etc, of their favourite comic books. I know I do and can see, from where I'm sitting typing, Absolute editions of 'Crisis on Infinite Earths', 'The New Frontier', Dark Knight, Batman: Hush, the four Sandman volumes, Ronin, and now V for Vendetta. I'll get back to this in the second half of the review.

V for Vendetta is, along with Marvelman/Miracleman, the first of Alan Moore's major works in the field of comics. It was begun at the time of Moore's early feelings of unease at the UK's ruling Conservative Party and concluded when those feelings had coalesced into outright disgust. Like the best Science Fiction, the best comics reflect concerns of the time in which they were written -and, yes, I'm aware I'm bringing together a genre and a medium- and V for Vendetta is political Science Fiction. In his introduction, written in 1988, Moore expresses his anxiety for the immediate future becoming a Conservative-led right wing intolerance as Margaret Thatcher forsaw a Conservative Britain into the next millenium and mentions that he's considering leaving the country. In the event, the Conservatives barely lasted until the middle of the 90's and Britain stands proudly, for all its flaws, as one of the most liberal, open. and tolerant of western societies. If you just limit this to England, I would argue, on evidence, that this is the most liberal, open, and tolerant of western societies. And Alan Moore is still ensconced happily in Northampton which, he argues, is located in the very centre of England.

Yet, perhaps surprisingly, V hasn't really dated at all and its fear of fascism remains eternally valid. If you doubt that, then I refer you to the racist outpourings of the British National Party. V remains one of Moore's genuine masterpieces, erudite, compassionate, insightful, obsessive; all enhanced by David Lloyd's sympathetic distinctive 'realistic' artwork (with its echoes of British black and white weekly kids adventure comics) which is possessed of a great clarity and enhanced by a subdued colour palette. Perhaps what is even more amazing is that in the era of Ronald Regan, DC published a comic in which the hero is a psychotic anarchist whose intention is to destroy the existing social order.

Now, as for this edition, inevitably given the widely known dispute between Moore and DC, there is no new contribution by Alan Moore. A shame as it would be fascinating to read but, as I said, inevitable. Compared to other Absolute editions -the four Sandman volumes are packed with them, Crisis on Infinite Earths required an additional book- there is relatively little; a few sketches, a couple of reprint pieces by Moore, the inclusion of minor material previously printed in only Warrior magazine, panels blown up to full page pieces, all very nice but doing little to enhance the original material. Not that it matters as this is a beautiful edition of one of the masterpieces by Alan Moore the greatest comic book writer ever. How could you resist?

Before I leave you, I'll just mention the soon to be published Absolute Promethea vol.1. This is a work which I feel will grow in reputation and I'm looking forward to receiving my copy of this, one of Moore's most optimistic works. I'm not expecting any new contributions from the Great Man but I do hope to see lots of gorgeous unpublished art by the brilliant J H Williams. I'll let you know.

In my recent review of the Absolute V for Vendetta, I wrote that Absolute Promethea vol1. would be arriving soon and I'd let you know what I found. And here it is, two months sooner than I expected.

And it's extremely disappointing in terms of it being an Absolute edition. Usually these things are packed with extras. This has none. Nothing at all. And I'm not counting an introduction by Alan Moore (of the fictional history of Promethea) which probably (I can't honestly remember but it won't be original to this edition) appeared in an issue of the comic, and neither am I counting the one page afterword by Brad Meltzer. I was hoping for additional artwork by J H Williams 111, preparatory sketches and all that stuff. Nothing. Total disappointment. Maybe it's being saved up for the next two volumes. I can only live in hope.

And now for the good news.

The illustration on the box is of Promethea (there's a surprise) but printed in gold and it looks gorgeous. The cover on the book (no dustjacket, no big deal) is a wraparound by Williams and looks original to this book. The artwork inside benefits immensely from the larger format and the high quality paper. It is absolutely gorgeous and I'm quite prepared to state categorically that I believe this to be best illustrated of all Alan Moore's comics work. This isn't to denigrate any of the other artists who've worked with Moore. Moore has been very lucky in his career to have been able to use for his major works (with odd exceptions such as some issues of Miracleman) artists who have fitted his vision to perfection. But Promethea is just bloody beautiful.

This is appropriate because the story itself is an exciting, colourful, mysterious and hopeful one. I'll be sparing with the plot summary as I don't want to spoil anything for those discovering Promethea for the first time through this edition. Essentially: young student Sophie Bangs becomes the latest incarnation of the supposedly mythical Promethea (who, trust me, is not a Wonder Woman clone as thought before this series originally appeared). First, she has to survive the attention of magical enemies and then learn just who and what Promethea really is. The journey proves as unexpected for the reader as it does for Sophie.

For me, Promethea is one of Moore's finest and most imaginative creations and despite the lack of extras, this first book of three comes with my highest recommendation. This ranks with Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Lost Girls to make an essential quartet of graphic storytelling.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: ALAN MOORE & DAVID LLOYD 'ABSOLUTE V FOR VENDETTA (DC, 2009)

I would say, as an assumption, that people who buy DC's expensive Absolute editions do so because they want a definitive edition, printed on good quality paper, in an enlarged hardcover with dustjacket and slip-case, and extras such as introductions, unused unseen art etc, of their favourite comic books. I know I do and can see, from where I'm sitting typing, Absolute editions of 'Crisis on Infinite Earths', 'The New Frontier', Dark Knight, Batman: Hush, the four Sandman volumes, Ronin, and now V for Vendetta. I'll get back to this in the second half of the review.

V for Vendetta is, along with Marvelman/Miracleman, the first of Alan Moore's major works in the field of comics. It was begun at the time of Moore's early feelings of unease at the UK's ruling Conservative Party and concluded when those feelings had coalesced into outright disgust. Like the best Science Fiction, the best comics reflect concerns of the time in which they were written -and, yes, I'm aware I'm bringing together a genre and a medium- and V for Vendetta is political Science Fiction. In his introduction, written in 1988, Moore expresses his anxiety for the immediate future becoming a Conservative-led right wing intolerance as Margaret Thatcher forsaw a Conservative Britain into the next millenium and mentions that he's considering leaving the country. In the event, the Conservatives barely lasted until the middle of the 90's and Britain stands proudly, for all its flaws, as one of the most liberal, open. and tolerant of western societies. If you just limit this to England, I would argue, on evidence, that this is the most liberal, open, and tolerant of western societies. And Alan Moore is still ensconced happily in Northampton in the middle of England.

Yet, perhaps surprisingly, V hasn't really dated at all and its fear of fascism remains eternally valid. If you doubt that, then I refer you to the racist outpourings of the British National Party. V remains one of Moore's genuine masterpieces, erudite, compassionate, insightful, obsessive; all enhanced by David Lloyd's sympathetic distinctive 'realistic' artwork (with its echoes of British black and white weekly kids adventure comics) which is possessed of a great clarity and enhanced by a subdued colour palette. Perhaps what is even more amazing is that in the era of Ronald Regan, DC published a comic in which the hero is a psychotic anarchist whose intention is to destroy the existing social order.

Now, as for this edition, inevitably given the widely known dispute between Moore and DC, there is no new contribution by Alan Moore. A shame as it would be fascinating to read but, as I said, inevitable. Compared to other Absolute editions -the four Sandman volumes are packed with them, Crisis on Infinite Earths required an additional book- there is relatively little; a few sketches, a couple of reprint pieces by Moore, the inclusion of minor material printed in Warrior, panels blown up to full page pieces, all very nice but doing little to enhance the original material. Not that it matters as this is a beautiful edition of one of the masterpieces by Alan Moore the greatest comic book writer ever How could you resist.

Before I leave you, I'll just mention the soon to be published Absolute Promethea vol.1. This is a work which I feel will grow in reputation and I'm looking forward to receiving my copy of this, one of Moore's most optimistic works. I'm not expecting any new contributions from the Great Man but I do hope to see lots of gorgeous unpublished art by the brilliant J H Williams. I'll let you know.

Post Script

This review has just been submitted to Amazon.