Collection ID 1407
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.

Collection ID 135
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Starring: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert, Halliwell Hobbes
Genre: Drama
Studio: Paramount Pictures   Release date: 1931   Rated: Passed   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that changes him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
My Rating:
My Review: There are many versions of this movie, and I've seen a few. Here's one that I own. Starring Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins. The movie, as all of this type, is based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel. It follows the typical Jekyll and Hyde plot. Dr. Jekyll quaffs his own concoction in an attempt to separate the evil and good halves of his soul. The acting by Fredric March was excellent, but the dubbing (into English) and sound work was pretty poor. Another thing that seemed odd was the lack of music. This movie was one of the early 'talkies' and as such, they had quite figured out the fact that music adds an entirely who new layer to the movie. The movie opened with an excellent score, but after that it was void of music. As I metntioned, the acting by Fredric March was excellent. He was utterly convincing in his role, and he made a truly despicable Hyde. He truly seemed to 'become' someone else. His physical mannerisms changed greatly, and the makeup was much better than that of the 1941 version. Hyde seemed to transform into a Neanderthal type character with a completely amoral character. Even the special effects in this movie, were better than those in the later version. Unlike the 1941 version, This version contained some glimpses of skin, but it never goes as far as I had imagined it might - given the early provocative scene where Dr. Hyde is in the bedchamber of Miriam Hopkins. This film also featured some very good camera/special effects (much better than the higher budget 1941 production). Unfortunately, it's evident that some scenes were cut from this VHS version. There's an early segment where Hyde transforms to Jekyll, and despite the fact that he dresses to go out, we never see the scenes where he leaves the lab. The film cuts back in after he returns from his outing. If only we could get an uncut version!

Collection ID 918
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Starring: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert, Halliwell Hobbes
Genre: Drama
Studio: Paramount Pictures   Release date: 1931   Rated: Passed   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that changes him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
My Rating:
My Review: There are many versions of this movie, and I've seen a few. Here's one that I own. Starring Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins. The movie, as all of this type, is based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel. It follows the typical Jekyll and Hyde plot. Dr. Jekyll quaffs his own concoction in an attempt to separate the evil and good halves of his soul. The acting by Fredric March was excellent, but the dubbing (into English) and sound work was pretty poor. Another thing that seemed odd was the lack of music. This movie was one of the early 'talkies' and as such, they had quite figured out the fact that music adds an entirely who new layer to the movie. The movie opened with an excellent score, but after that it was void of music. As I metntioned, the acting by Fredric March was excellent. He was utterly convincing in his role, and he made a truly despicable Hyde. He truly seemed to 'become' someone else. His physical mannerisms changed greatly, and the makeup was much better than that of the 1941 version. Hyde seemed to transform into a Neanderthal type character with a completely amoral character. Even the special effects in this movie, were better than those in the later version. Unlike the 1941 version, This version contained some glimpses of skin, but it never goes as far as I had imagined it might - given the early provocative scene where Dr. Hyde is in the bedchamber of Miriam Hopkins. This film also featured some very good camera/special effects (much better than the higher budget 1941 production). Unfortunately, it's evident that some scenes were cut from this VHS version. There's an early segment where Hyde transforms to Jekyll, and despite the fact that he dresses to go out, we never see the scenes where he leaves the lab. The film cuts back in after he returns from his outing. If only we could get an uncut version!

Collection ID 37
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation   Release date: 1964   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): German, English (UK)
Summary: An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.
My Rating:
My Review: Difficult to classify, this dark comedy is a satire aimed squarely at the military industrial complex. A deranged American general orders his bombers to drop their nuclear bombs on Russian targets. This cold war thriller is a taut drama, a dark comedy and a political satire. All the aspects of this movie are perfectly blended and balanced in an amazing work by Stanley Kubrik. Who else could make you laugh at the prospect of nuclear armageddon? The casting was perfect, the acting superb, and the dialog was astonishing. The locations, sets and technically perfect props make for a 100% convincing war drama, but the humorous elements convince us it's a comedy. Even though we know that this is a satirical dark comedy, the producers spared no expense to convince us that everything portrayed in the movie could happen. 5 out of 5.

Collection ID 842
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation   Release date: 1964   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): German, English (UK)
Summary: An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.
My Rating:
My Review: Difficult to classify, this dark comedy is a satire aimed squarely at the military industrial complex. A deranged American general orders his bombers to drop their nuclear bombs on Russian targets. This cold war thriller is a taut drama, a dark comedy and a political satire. All the aspects of this movie are perfectly blended and balanced in an amazing work by Stanley Kubrik. Who else could make you laugh at the prospect of nuclear armageddon? The casting was perfect, the acting superb, and the dialog was astonishing. The locations, sets and technically perfect props make for a 100% convincing war drama, but the humorous elements convince us it's a comedy. Even though we know that this is a satirical dark comedy, the producers spared no expense to convince us that everything portrayed in the movie could happen. 5 out of 5.

Collection ID 1541
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant
Genre: Horror
Studio: American Zoetrope   Release date: 1992   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Spanish, French (USA)
Summary: The vampire comes to England to seduce a visitor's fiance and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 204
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant
Genre: Horror
Studio: American Zoetrope   Release date: 1992   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Spanish, French (USA)
Summary: The vampire comes to England to seduce a visitor's fiance and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 52
Director: Tom Mankiewicz
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Harry Morgan, Alexandra Paul
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Applied Action   Release date: 1987   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English, Spanish, French (USA)
Summary: The equally-straight-laced and "by the book" nephew of Joe Friday must work with his more laid-back partner to solve a mystery.
My Rating:
My Review: Dan Akroyd and Tom Hanks play detective's Joe Friday and Pep Streebeck; partners on the L.A. Police force. The movie is based upon the 1950s TV show of the same name. Akyrod's Friday is a by-the-book, suit wearing, efficient law enforcement officer who believes in the credo 'To Serve and Protect'. Streebeck is Friday's new partner; flexible and fresh, he's bringing a new outlook to the department and it's bureaucratic ethos. Partnered to solve crime, these two make a good team of buddy cops. The two had good chemistry together. With Akroyd as the straight man (in the tradition of Jack Webb/Webb's character) and Hanks cracking jokes to keep it lighter. Together they struck a perfect balance. The story was some preposterous plot which involved goat leggings and a sacrificial virgin. Streebek and Friday investigate some seemingly satanic crimes wrecking havoc on the streets of L.A. They go undercover to infiltrate the criminal organization, but run up against a deeper conspiracy involving city officials and politicians. Aside from watching Tom Hanks work, there was Nothing special about the movie. Tom Hanks was really good in this movie. He even imporvised a bit, adding immeasurably to the character. The direction, pacing and editing were well done, but the story was rather shallow and utterly predictable. I give this one a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 854
Director: Tom Mankiewicz
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Harry Morgan, Alexandra Paul
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Applied Action   Release date: 1987   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English, Spanish, French (USA)
Summary: The equally-straight-laced and "by the book" nephew of Joe Friday must work with his more laid-back partner to solve a mystery.
My Rating:
My Review: Dan Akroyd and Tom Hanks play detective's Joe Friday and Pep Streebeck; partners on the L.A. Police force. The movie is based upon the 1950s TV show of the same name. Akyrod's Friday is a by-the-book, suit wearing, efficient law enforcement officer who believes in the credo 'To Serve and Protect'. Streebeck is Friday's new partner; flexible and fresh, he's bringing a new outlook to the department and it's bureaucratic ethos. Partnered to solve crime, these two make a good team of buddy cops. The two had good chemistry together. With Akroyd as the straight man (in the tradition of Jack Webb/Webb's character) and Hanks cracking jokes to keep it lighter. Together they struck a perfect balance. The story was some preposterous plot which involved goat leggings and a sacrificial virgin. Streebek and Friday investigate some seemingly satanic crimes wrecking havoc on the streets of L.A. They go undercover to infiltrate the criminal organization, but run up against a deeper conspiracy involving city officials and politicians. Aside from watching Tom Hanks work, there was Nothing special about the movie. Tom Hanks was really good in this movie. He even imporvised a bit, adding immeasurably to the character. The direction, pacing and editing were well done, but the story was rather shallow and utterly predictable. I give this one a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 75
Director: Joseph Ruben
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert, Kate Capshaw
Genre: Adventure
Studio: Zupnik-Curtis Enterprises   Release date: 1984   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: A government funded project looks into using psychics to enter people's dreams, with some mechanical help. When a subject dies in his sleep from a heart attack Alex Gardner becomes suspicious that another of the psychics is killing people in the dreams somehow and that is causing them to die in real life. He must find a way to stop the abuse of the power to enter dreams.
My Rating:
My Review: A fantastic premise, the story is amazing. A government funded research project where 'psychonauts' are trained to enter other people's dreams. Dennis Quaid plays Alex Gardner (one of the gifted psychonauts), Max von Sydow plays Dr. Paul Novotny (the all so serious project leader), Kate Capshaw plays Dr. Jane DeVries (the sexy female doctor), David Patrick Kelly plays Tommy Ray Glatman (the other 'psychonaut' - head lab rat). The cast was great. The 80s special effects… Well, the 80s were a trying time for special effects. The stop motion animation was pretty good, but it wasn't well integrated into the visual effects. The music was typical 80s horror flick style, but the story was still the star of this movie. What's haunting the President's dreams? Who's really in charge of this research project? What is the real goal of this dream exploration project? The drama was excellent. The ending sequences awesome. I give it a 4 out of 5.