Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Series

In my opinion, the finest series in the history of TV
Most serious fans of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE already own all of the individual sets that make up this DVD collection, so I thought I would address this review to those who own none of them and will make up the primary target for this set and focus on two questions. First, how does this set differ from the individual season collections? The answer is that they are identical. This set does not represent a new product in any way, but merely collects all of the seasons in a new, low price. If you don't own any of the individual seasons, this is an absolutely ideal way to discover the Buffyverse. Second (and for me this is the fun part), what's this Buffy chick all about?

What sets BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER apart from most other shows, apart from the individual brilliant scripts that graced most of the episodes, is that the show over the course of seven seasons tells a story. What the casual viewer of the show could easily miss is the semi-tragic themes underlying the series: young,...

You buy "The Chosen Collection" so your kids will leave your "BtVS" DVDs alone
My premise here is that by the time all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" were released on DVD the vast majority of fans who were inclined to do so had gone out and bought all seven sets. I am sure there are a few frugal fans who were waiting for something along the lines of "The Chosen Collection," but they would be relatively aware (something akin to being a vampire with a soul). Of course I had all of the episodes of "BtVS" (and "Angel") on video tape (even made up my own special boxes with cover art and episode synopses on the back) before I went out and bought all of the DVD sets, but I had occasion to buy "The Chosen Collection" as well.

That is because my oldest daughter is away at college and she was not allowed to take my "BtVS" DVD sets with her. I had purchased the first season for all three of my kids (two are away at college so it is not like they are all in one place) and was intending to eventually get them the other six but "The Chosen...

The story of BUFFY, one of the greatest shows ever
The original idea for BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER came to creator Joss Whedon when he was thinking about classic horror films. He noticed that films constantly included clueless blonde victims who wandered into an alley at night and were swiftly killed by whatever evil nasty was lurking there. If the blonde wasn't killed, she always needed a well-muscled male hero to save her. Whedon thought it would be far more interesting if the blonde went into the alley, but wasn't killed. Instead, she would soundly kick the evil nasty's [...]. Whedon wrote a film based around this concept. The clueless girl became a blonde, Southern Californian high schooler who also happened to be the one girl in all the world with the strength and skill to hunt and kill vampires. The idea was quirky enough to get picked up and a film was made. However, much meddling on the part of the director and the studio turned the film into a hoaky cheesefest that was nothing like Whedon's original vision. The film...

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Daredevil & Elektra & Fantastic Four

Great movies!!
I just want to tell people who love supehero movies that Daredevil,Elektra & the Fantastic Four are really great movies.
They rate up there with other superhero movies. I think there should have been second movies made for Daredevil & Elektra.
Fantastic Four should have a third movie because I loved this cartoon when I was a child. I would recommend these movies to
everyone who loves superheros.





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RoboCop Trilogy [Blu-ray]

Even better than that fantastic Criterion edition
I was skeptical about this when I first saw it at the store, as I already owned the fantastic Criterion edition DVD. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new MGM unrated version found in the Trilogy boxed set is well worth it. So here is a review for people who already own the Criterion disc and are wondering if they should shell out their hard earned cash for this newer DVD.

Here are the differences I found between the new disc and the Criterion one...

PLUSES:
a.. Anamorphic widescreen. The Criterion disc was not anamorphic. As a result, the picture on the MGM disc is a lot less pixellated than the Criterion one. The color is also more saturated.

b.. New sound mix. The Criterion disc was mixed in Dolby surround. The new mix is in Dolby 5.1, and they obviously had fun remixing it. The surrounds are split and very directional. The sound is really an improvement in every way (see (d)).

c.. It's the same unrated cut that was on the Criterion disc.

d.. They...

Be Aware, No Extras
Well I have to say, I'm a huge RoboCop fan and I was excited to get this on Blu-Ray. I didn't find any extras on the case, so I thought it would be on the BR itself, But no dice. The DVD has more Xtras than the Blu-Ray. The 2nd and 3rd have only a trailer and being a being a huge Robocop fan,I was hoping they would have a lost featurette or new Commentaries. I was disappointed in this purchase and I wouldn't recommend this, I'd suggest to pick up the first single disc of the first movie. Oh well, Live and Learn. I'm keeping this though since I already bought it.

SAVE your money....same Robocop as previously issued....
so you can buy it for under ten bucks anywhere (and we all know it not only is a bad transfer but has NONE of the great bonus features available on the normal DVDs)..so all you get for your huge investment is a bare bones 2 and 3...

I can't believe I got suckered into buying this but I couldn't imagine them doing this at that price...fool me once...well I'll wait in the future until some other person does the experimenting.

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Predators

Welcome Back to the Jungle
"Predators" is back to basics return for the "Predator" franchise, they have juggled the elements that made the first film successful but couldn't seem to get right for the sequel or the "Alien vs. Predator" movies. "Predators" starts with the original premise of the first movie. Eight people of different ethnicities (if not occupations) are thrown into a living green hell of a jungle except they all don't know how they got there or where they are. The only thing they're sure of is that they were involved in some war, they saw a light and the next thing they remember is waking up as they fell into the jungle.

As the eight get to know each and their surroundings, "Predators" relies on the camaraderie of the individuals and the stress of the situation for each character to reveal themselves to each other and the audience, and they discover every one may not be what they seem. There's also a nice bit of gallows humor to lighten the moments and was one of the things that gave...

Justice
It has taken a string of awful sequels for someone such as Nimrod Antal to step up and take the Predator franchise back to its roots of gore, suspense and plain fear, but does it do these things well? "Predators" sets it story deep within the nostalgia of fans with a jungle setting similar to the original. We are introduced to an unconscious Royce, a hardened, ex-military mercenary played by Adrien Brody, free-falling from the sky over the jungle. After a warm welcome from fellow drop ins, the newly formed team of eight begin to make sense of their surroundings.

"Predators" builds the tension between the characters similarly to that of the original with fear and uncertainty clouding their minds. The eerie-ness and unfamiliarity of the environment and it's contents are also set just as in the first film. The building of this tension plays out smoothly and doesn't rush itself to get to it's point (the whole alien planet/we are being hunted/"If it bleeds, it can be killed"...

Knock Knock...They're Back
I don't get out to the theater much, so when my 9 and 11 year olds suggested we go to the movies on a hot and rainy Sunday, I thought it would be a nice way to spend the day with the kids. "So what'll it be boys? Toy Story 3? Despicable Me?" Their reply in unison: "PREDATORS!!!" Actually I wasn't at all surprised since lately they've been spending most of their video game time online with Aliens vs Predator. Truthfully I couldn't have been happier with their choice because that's really what I wanted to see most too.

In the end no one was disappointed. Predators is a great action movie that not only pays homage to the original, but brings the Predator franchise back to the brutal violence...

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