Collection ID 1317
Director: Stacy Peralta
Starring: Sean Penn, Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Jeff Ament, Bob Biniak
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Sony Pictures   Release date: 2001   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: In the early 1970s, a group of young surfers from a tough neighborhood south of Santa Monica took up skateboards and offhandedly changed the world. At least it appears so after watching "Dogtown and Z-Boys", a documentary about how twelve "Z-Boys" (including one girl) resuscitated a dead sport and created a lifestyle that spread infectiously to become a worldwide counterculture phenomenon, namely high-flying "vert" (i.e. vertical) skateboarding and punk rock abandon. Director Stacy Peralta, one of the original Z-Boys, and Craig Steyck, the photographer whose publicity first made them famous, would have you believe that with empty pools as their springboard, the clan single-handedly carved a niche that grew into what is now referred to as "extreme sports" (snowboarding seems particularly implicated). Degrees of accuracy aside, the hoard of original footage Peralta and Steyck have access to makes for an engaging portrait of "accidental revolutionaries" whose mythology as expressed by themselves (all but one of the original crew give extensive interviews) and those they influenced (including Henry Rollins, Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, and Sean Penn, who narrates) is far more entertaining than any evenhanded version could ever hope to be. "--Fionn Meade"
My Rating:
My Review: A documentary about surfers turned skaters. The revolutionary Zephyr team and how they created the Skate culture in America. A great documentary. Well directed, great narration, excellent music, and a visual style that complements the rebellious nature of the subject. The video production contained some really good fades, cuts and scene effects. Very well done. Mixing live interviews, vintage film footage, stills and narration - You don't have to be a skate punk to enjoy this documentary. These innovators tore up the pavement with more than polyurethane. This was a documentary about boys who would be kings. Alpha males one and all. They lived the life, became the legends and led a revolution.

Collection ID 539
Director: Jeremy Leven
Starring: Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, Géraldine Pailhas, Bob Dishy
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Zanuck/Brown Productions   Release date: 1995   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): German, English (USA)
Summary: A psychiatrist must cure a young patient that presents himself as Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world.
My Rating:
My Review: A definite chick flick. Excruciatingly painful to watch. Sappy, romance. If the cast hadn't been so good, I would have barfed. Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway (Is she some sort of undead vampire? Doesn't she ever age?) and Johnny Depp. I wasn't really happy with Johnny Depp as 'Don Juan'. This movie had a very 'Pincess Bride' feel to it. The story was a story. Psychiatrist tries to convince a young man that he is not Don Juan. The young man ends up convincing the psyciatrist that 'he' is Don Juan. More bad sound production! This one gets a 3 out of 7. Just a little bit too much cheese. This movie came free when I bought a pizza at Papa Johns!

Collection ID 1244
Director: Jeremy Leven
Starring: Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, Géraldine Pailhas, Bob Dishy
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Zanuck/Brown Productions   Release date: 1995   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): German, English (USA)
Summary: A psychiatrist must cure a young patient that presents himself as Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world.
My Rating:
My Review: A definite chick flick. Excruciatingly painful to watch. Sappy, romance. If the cast hadn't been so good, I would have barfed. Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway (Is she some sort of undead vampire? Doesn't she ever age?) and Johnny Depp. I wasn't really happy with Johnny Depp as 'Don Juan'. This movie had a very 'Pincess Bride' feel to it. The story was a story. Psychiatrist tries to convince a young man that he is not Don Juan. The young man ends up convincing the psyciatrist that 'he' is Don Juan. More bad sound production! This one gets a 3 out of 7. Just a little bit too much cheese. This movie came free when I bought a pizza at Papa Johns!

Collection ID 680
Director: S.F. Brownrigg
Starring: Bill McGhee, Jessie Lee Fulton, Robert Dracup, Harryette Warren, Michael Harvey (IV)
Genre: Horror
Studio: Digiview   Release date: 1973   Rated: Unrated   
Language (Country): English (United States)
Summary: Nurse Charlotte Beale arrives at the isolated Stephens Sanitarium to work, only to learn that Dr. Stephens was murdered by one of the patients and his successor, Dr. Geraldine Masters, is not very eager to take on new staff. Charlotte finds her job maddeningly hard as the patients torment and harass her at every turn, and she soon learns why Dr. Masters is so eager to keep outsiders out.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 1374
Director: S.F. Brownrigg
Starring: Bill McGhee, Jessie Lee Fulton, Robert Dracup, Harryette Warren, Michael Harvey (IV)
Genre: Horror
Studio: Digiview   Release date: 1973   Rated: Unrated   
Language (Country): English (United States)
Summary: Nurse Charlotte Beale arrives at the isolated Stephens Sanitarium to work, only to learn that Dr. Stephens was murdered by one of the patients and his successor, Dr. Geraldine Masters, is not very eager to take on new staff. Charlotte finds her job maddeningly hard as the patients torment and harass her at every turn, and she soon learns why Dr. Masters is so eager to keep outsiders out.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 533
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daveigh Chase, Mary McDonnell
Genre: Fantasy
Studio: Pandora Cinema   Release date: 2001   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: Highschooler Donnie is plagued by visions of a giant evil rabbit who orders him to commit acts of violence and predicts the impending end of the world.
My Rating:
My Review: Wow! Talk about a mind bender. Here's a twisted horror, drama, sci-fi flick. The hero is a sleep walking teenager, who's visited by a giant evil bunny from some other dimension. Is it just a dream? Perhaps it's all in his head? Perhaps, perhaps it's a movie about time travel? The acting was pretty good. I had no idea what was going to happen next, and the casting was well done. The only flaw? Too dark. I gave it a 5 out of 7, and placed it on my 'buy' list.

Collection ID 1238
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daveigh Chase, Mary McDonnell
Genre: Fantasy
Studio: Pandora Cinema   Release date: 2001   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: Highschooler Donnie is plagued by visions of a giant evil rabbit who orders him to commit acts of violence and predicts the impending end of the world.
My Rating:
My Review: Wow! Talk about a mind bender. Here's a twisted horror, drama, sci-fi flick. The hero is a sleep walking teenager, who's visited by a giant evil bunny from some other dimension. Is it just a dream? Perhaps it's all in his head? Perhaps, perhaps it's a movie about time travel? The acting was pretty good. I had no idea what was going to happen next, and the casting was well done. The only flaw? Too dark. I gave it a 5 out of 7, and placed it on my 'buy' list.

Collection ID 381
Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd, Benjamin Weir, Jay Brazeau, Bruce Greenwood
Genre: Thriller
Studio:   Release date: 1999   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (Germany)
Summary: A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.
My Rating:
My Review: Double Jeopardy - 1999 (Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama) Starring Ashley Judd (as Libby Parsons - the persecuted/wrongly accused wife of Nick Parsons), Tommy Lee Jones (as Travis Lehman - the parole officer/former law enforcement officer who pursues justice in this case of murder and deception), the remaining cast supports these two primary actors. The writing seemed rushed and very linear. The direction was similar. There was very little subtly or deception in this movie, despite its premise. Libby and Nick are enjoying an overnight outing on their boat. When Libby wakes up, she finds herself alone on the boat, amidst signs of a struggle and no Nick. The boat is soon boarded by the Coast Guard - The blood and circumstantial evidence convinces a court that Libby murdered her missing husband. She turns her son over to her best friend and heads off for prison. She soon loses contact with her son and her best friend. Pissed off at the system, her dead husband, and her sorry situation; she learns some hard lessons and gets some legal advice in prison. When she gets out of the big-house (6 years later), she goes searching for her son. She finds him, her ‘dead’ husband and her best friend all living together under new names. They set her up! Now she’s pissed off and out for revenge. Travis (Tommy Lee Jones) is her parole officer and he gets involved when she goes missing on his watch. Now he’s involved, trying to track her down and eventually he gets dragged into the deception as well. According to the law - Nick is already dead - She can’t be convicted a second time for the same crime. The Double Jeopardy theme works in her favor… Guess who eventually ends up dead during the final confrontation? The plot and writing are fair. Ashely Judd is good looking, and Tommy Lee Jones is a strong male lead, but the acting of these two just doesn’t convince me fully. Tommy Lee jones as a ‘Parole Officer’ just doesn’t work as well as his role as a Federal Marshall pursuing an escaped convict (The Fugitive w/Harrison Ford). The film is highly predictable, and that’s the part that defines its ultimate rating - 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 1104
Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd, Benjamin Weir, Jay Brazeau, Bruce Greenwood
Genre: Thriller
Studio:   Release date: 1999   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (Germany)
Summary: A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.
My Rating:
My Review: Double Jeopardy - 1999 (Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama) Starring Ashley Judd (as Libby Parsons - the persecuted/wrongly accused wife of Nick Parsons), Tommy Lee Jones (as Travis Lehman - the parole officer/former law enforcement officer who pursues justice in this case of murder and deception), the remaining cast supports these two primary actors. The writing seemed rushed and very linear. The direction was similar. There was very little subtly or deception in this movie, despite its premise. Libby and Nick are enjoying an overnight outing on their boat. When Libby wakes up, she finds herself alone on the boat, amidst signs of a struggle and no Nick. The boat is soon boarded by the Coast Guard - The blood and circumstantial evidence convinces a court that Libby murdered her missing husband. She turns her son over to her best friend and heads off for prison. She soon loses contact with her son and her best friend. Pissed off at the system, her dead husband, and her sorry situation; she learns some hard lessons and gets some legal advice in prison. When she gets out of the big-house (6 years later), she goes searching for her son. She finds him, her ‘dead’ husband and her best friend all living together under new names. They set her up! Now she’s pissed off and out for revenge. Travis (Tommy Lee Jones) is her parole officer and he gets involved when she goes missing on his watch. Now he’s involved, trying to track her down and eventually he gets dragged into the deception as well. According to the law - Nick is already dead - She can’t be convicted a second time for the same crime. The Double Jeopardy theme works in her favor… Guess who eventually ends up dead during the final confrontation? The plot and writing are fair. Ashely Judd is good looking, and Tommy Lee Jones is a strong male lead, but the acting of these two just doesn’t convince me fully. Tommy Lee jones as a ‘Parole Officer’ just doesn’t work as well as his role as a Federal Marshall pursuing an escaped convict (The Fugitive w/Harrison Ford). The film is highly predictable, and that’s the part that defines its ultimate rating - 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 717
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Simon Helberg
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Mutant Enemy, INC.   Release date: 2008   Rated: TV-PG   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: Conceived as an "online miniseries event" during the 2008 writers' strike, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 42-minute musical romp that bears the distinctive stamp of Joss Whedon. Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) plays the title character, who video-blogs about his twin goals to join the Evil League of Evil and to woo the fair Penny (Felicia Day, of Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Web series The Guild), a woman he met at the local laundromat. Dr. Horrible is foiled on both fronts, however, by his arch-nemesis, the self-absorbed superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion, Whedon's Firefly).
Dr. Horrible was written by Whedon, his brothers Zack and Jed, and Jed's fiancee Maurissa Tancharoen, and the songs were written by Joss and Jed (who also produced, orchestrated, played, etc.) with some lyrics by Tancharoen. (Jed and Tancharoen have backup singing roles.) The offbeat, off-the-cuff humor is laugh-out-loud funny, and just like Dr. Horrible wants to take over the world, the songs will take over your head: they're engaging ("My Freeze Ray'), stirring ("My Eyes"), and sweet ("Penny's Song"). "So They Say" is particularly evocative of Jonathan Larson's Rent, but as with Joss Whedon's musical episode of Buffy, "Once More with Feeling," the influences are diverse. It's hard to imagine a better cast. Harris, who's sung Sondheim on Broadway, is a great lead and clearly the best singer, Day is completely charming, and who better than Captain Tightpants to play the pompous superhero? One could argue about the ending, and the independent budget shows, but Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a complete hoot for people who enjoy musicals with quirky humor. Plan on watching it multiple times. --David Horiuchi
On the DVD
If you've already watched or downloaded Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a number of bonus features might entice you. There are two commentary tracks: Harris, the three Whedons, Tancharoen, Day, and Fillion recorded a spirited track discussing the movie, and there's also "Commentary! The Musical" in which they ignore the movie and sing about the writers' strike and each other (e.g., Fillion sings "I'm Better than Neil")--the songs aren't as good as the Horrible songs, but it's good silly fun. A 20-minute making-of discusses the cast, the recording sessions, and how the movie became a phenomenon, and 10 videos (a half-hour total) were recorded by fans who want to join the Evil League of Evil. And when's the last time you wanted to pause the FBI warning? --David Horiuchi
My Rating:
My Review: The future of television. Distributed on the web, via websites, blog postings, iTunes, and now DVD. Directed by Joss Whedon (writer, director, producer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity), written in part by Joss Whedon, Zed Whedon, Zack Whedon, Maurissa Tancheroen. Written during a writers strike, Joss Whedon and friends wrote, directed, and produced this independent 'movie'. Produced in a series of three web blog postings, these 'shows' feature the trials and tribulations of 'Dr. Horrible', played by Neil Patrick Harris (also features Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day as Penny). Billy (Dr. Horrible) is a lonely young man, who has problems relating to other people. Especially women. His alternate identity - Dr. Horrible is a mad scientist, who eschews humans as weak pathetic dopes, and strives to enter the Evil League of Evil (an inner circle of super-villains) by pulling off an exceptional act of villainy. It's the inner struggle that makes the show a star. As his bad side attempts to satisfy the desires of his shy side, we come to see that the Mad Scientist is actually the good guy in this show. The shows contain some exceptional dialog, the music (and singing) is fantastic, the story outstanding. The three web-isodes have a graphic novel feel, and they fit together quite nicely. Download it today, you won't be sorry.