Don Movie Reviews

The MGM Midnite Movies serie allows us to discover or rediscover a certain category of films one usually doesn't find in stores nor watch on television during decent hours. THE THING WITH TWO HEADS belongs to the sub-sub-sub genre of the exploitation/horror/sci-fi/car crash movies of the beginning of the seventies. And I've watched it until the end.

The picture is funny at times but an overlong track race destroys the indulgence created in the viewer's mind by the original idea presented. What remains is the pleasure to admire Ray Milland and a few scenes deserving to stay in the annals of the most improbable plots ever invented.

Only a trailer and subtitles as bonus features.

A DVD zone nostalgia.

This film's starting point is bizarre enough to draw in cinephiles with a liking for cult films: Max Kirshner (Milland), a brilliant but racist transplant surgeon, defies death by having his head transplanted in the body of Jack Moss (Grier), a black convict who donates his body to science while hoping to prove his innocence during the 30-day 'life-extension' he's being given; to say that Kirscher didn't expect his head to be united with a black man's body is an understatement. Although more has been written about the scenes involving 'the thing with two heads' than about the rest of the film, the first half is clearly the strongest: scenes that involve Kirshner being dragged in his basement or meeting with various colleagues especially come to mind. After the operation has taken place, the film predictably shifts its attention to the Kirshner-Moss relationship. It is initially intriguing, and the final ten minutes are almost as effective as the first half, but repetitions are numerous until the film gets there (a far too long chase sequence is mainly at fault). The interaction between Kirshner, Moss and Williams, a black doctor played by Don Marshall, is quite interesting, though: the first two blackmail the latter, both for different reasons, and Williams finds himself in the middle of options which could all benefit him in one way or another. In spite of the movie's shortcomings, this good DVD transfer of a rare film should be seen.

I've seen lots of old B movies,for unitended comedy this movie is the king.You really get the feeling That Max (Ray Milland) genuinely hates Jack (Rosey Grier)Ray Milland plays a bigoted transplant surgeon who could give Archie Bunker a run for his money.Max Kirshner learns he's dying and figures he'll just attach his brilliant head to another mans body,unfortunately,his only suitable donor is a black convict,needless to say they're less then thrilled with this situation, look for the long-haired stuntman during the classic motorcycle chase scene,who looks nothing like Milland or Grier.Great movie not as bad as you might think.

this is not a battle royale. it's a fight between eighteen and "mighty mask". but maybe it's just not my definition. Goku and Vegeta should be very proud that they're stronger than The S-kai. of course they don't know it yet. despite the fact that this is boring I'm glad that eighteen and "Mighty Mask" knocked the hoo-ha out of kilah and jewel, {yes, that's how you spell thier names} espaclly kilah! That guy talked WAY to fast and you couldn't understand a word he says. {and he thinks "mighty mask" is talkin' funny}

This dvd is the most boring one in the Babidi saga in my opinion. Goku fights Yakan, then Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and Supreme Kai are waiting for Dabura the rest of the time. The world tournament moves along though. Great menu and music.

So Goku, Vegita and Gohan are once again in a situation to save the Earth. But what is to become of the tournament and the hot headed fans?

Content: B
Animation: B+
Music: B+ (sub) C+ (dub)
Dubbed Version: B-
Subtitled Version: B+
Fight Scenes: B

The last disc was great featuring the battle inside Babidi's ship. However, that action takes a back seat in this disc. You do get to see Goku show his strength against a big ugly, but thats about it. The main plot focuses on the Tenkachi Tournament. The only REAL fighting you get is between 18 and Goten and Trunks, disguised as Mighty Mask. It was pretty fun watching Goten and Trunks switch places each time and display their ENORMOUS strength.

Still, 18 discovers their little game and I don't want to spoil what happens, but lets just say they both get into a lot of trouble. Mister Satan is going to have his hands full when he squares off against 18.

The Japanese version is way better featuring 18's smooth voice and Goten's Gohan-esque voice. The dub version does some justice, but not a lot to the action. There are some great moments of rock for the fight scenes, but there is come childish music for Goten and Trunks. Overall, not a highlight of DBZ, but a worthy disc to add to any collection.

Re-makes are not always good, this one is great! First Bob Hope did this in Paleface, now Don Knotts takes over the roll with his own slant on the character.

Unless you own the Laserdisc or saw it at the theaters, this will be your first experience of the full impact of this WIDESCREEN movie. Pans and cuts seen on television, or the previous VHS tape, will be replaced with single shots that include everything from side to side.

THE GHOST AND MR.CHICKEN was Don's only other WIDESCREEN movie for Universal.

I think this is a great Don Knotts film. He acts so utterly stupid and pathetic in this film but it's done in a way that's so utterly hillarious. I had lots of laughs all through the movie. Barbara Rhoades is the straight one in the pair and she does a great job as well. The looks on her face during the times she has to deal with Knotts are funny in themselves.

If you like silly slap stick humor I think you'll enjoy this movie.

When Penelope "Bad Penny" Cushings (played by Barbara Rhoades) is captured after a stagecoach holdup, she is unexpectedly offered a pardon, if she will help the government by finding out who is running guns to the Indians. When her contact, who is to go undercover with her as her husband, turns up with a bullet through him, Penny needs a new husband and quick! She needs someone dumb and easily manipulated, someone like...Dr. Jesse Haywood (Don Knotts), a dentist dude from back East, who wants to spread the gospel of oral health in the West! Under Penny's watchful eye, Doc Haywood begins a life of danger and renown. Now, if only he can stay alive long enough to enjoy it. [Color, released in 1968, with a running time of 1 hour, 41 minutes.]

This is a very funny, family-friendly movie. Yes, as a fan of old movies, I always knew that this movie was a remake of Bob Hope's 1948 classic, The Paleface. But, this movie is distinct enough from that movie that a fan could equally enjoy both. I loved this movie as a kid, and am glad that I have been able to buy it, and share it with my children, who also loved it. We all highly recommend this movie to you!

"Kiss of the Vampire" is a great little Hammer Film, co-produced and released in the U.S. by Universal. The film was well-presented in Widescreen on the now out of print DVD by Image. However, reading reviews here and info on Imdb confirmed my own memories that the TV version of this film was different. Universal trimmed the original film for its U.S. release so much that they shot more footage with additional characters that didn't appear at all in the original release. This became the "TV version" that I saw growing up on U.S. broadcast television and later on cable.
If Universal gets around to re-releasing this film on DVD it would be a nice touch to have both the Theatrical release in Widescreen again, and if possible to include the longer "TV version" in Fullscreen on the flip side (of a two sided single layer disc DVD-10) or second layer (of a dual-layer disc DVD-9).
As the first DVD was a movie only version (no extras, not even a trailer) on a single layered disc (DVD-5) releasing the two versions together would make for a fine "Special Edition".
I have purchased additional copies of the original DVD as gifts and would certainly buy a new release if Universal goes the extra mile.

I finally tracked down a copy of the "Image" DVD of Universal's release of Hammer's "Kiss of the Vampire". While I am not sure if this is actually the British or American release it is missing a whole sublplot that was present whenever I saw this on TV. The lady who was sewing the "white robes" for the Ravener clan, Anna, and her family is missing. Her daughter Maria, a potential victim, was given a music box by Carl Ravener that played the haunting piano theme. Her father intercedes, not allowing his daughter to go the the Ball at Dr. Raveners and finally forbidding his wife to sew them any more robes and tearing up the one she was working on. The movie closed with the village coming to life again and Maria's boyfriend Anton smashing the evil music box in the fire before taking Maria out, to Church no less, on a Sunday moring. The dying strains of the music box are echoed and the movie ends to the haunting theme. The DVD closes the film earlier after the demise of the vampires, we don't even see the bats flying away as we do on the TV cut. It is possible these scenes were added for TV, because some other scenes were cut from the TV print. The close shots of Dr. Ravener, Carl, Sabena and Tania being devoured by the bats that are included were not shown on TV. Other scenes that are more complete here, Tania stripping down Jerrold after being ordered to "initiate" him, were edited slightly for TV.

On the plus side, the picture is being shown at its original 1:66:1 and has not been over-matted like the Warner Hammer releases. The picture is sharp, colors are excellent, considering the age of the film. Grain is only evident in a couple of fades. This DVD is still availabe here and there, but is no longer being produced. Universal was not happy with the lower (and quite fair) price points Image was using for its films. Considering that this is a "bare-bones" DVD (the blood aside) I think Image was pricing it correctly. It is a shame that this dispute ended their contract because I was hoping to see the other Universal Hammer offerings, including "Brides of Dracula", "Phantom of the Opera",(also starring Clifford Evans) "The Evil of Frankenstein" and "Curse of the Werewolf" out on DVD. Well, I will keep on hoping! In the meantime, once you manage to find this DVD, make some popcorn and enjoy "Kiss of the Vampire" with a date. Or give it as a Christmas/Holiday gift and don't forget to include some mistle-toe!! Thanks, CAL

Unusual Hammer outing has a honeymooning couple staying at a quaint inn and invited as guests to a mysterious count's castle. What they don't know is the count and his family are vampires. The count has his eye on the pretty wife(Jennifer Daniel from "The Reptile") and hypnotizes her to come to him when he summons her. The count presides over a cult of vampires who meet at the castle at night. Adequate production values and haunting theme music make this odd vampire tale quite eerie. Interesting aspect of vampirism as a "cult" is a nice touch. Ending has often been cut for TV and some other prints as "Kiss Of Evil" but the tape and DVD are the original uncut British versions.
The reason being the cult are attacked by bats and it's quite effective. Highly watchable.

The Savage Curtain-Another real tanker, this one is a sort of celebrity death match in which Lincoln and the good guys throw down with Genghis and the bad company. Everything about this episode feels dark and pessimistic, including the lighting. Even
the scenes with Lincoln are oddly cold and foreboding. Once on the planet, things become even more frightful. The rock aliens are some of the creepier and crueler of Star Trek creatures, particularly given their specious reasons for wanting to watch a battle between good and evil. The episode's dream-like feel makes the threats seem real, even though the plot is laughably simple. The episode is classic 3rd season in never even attempting to reach a firm conclusion about the philosophical question it poses as well.

Tidbit: Another gaffe occurs here. Not only is the negative reversed in one shot of Kirk and Spock during the fight sequence, but there seems to be an unintentional speed change of some sort. Very bizarre. (2 stars)

All Our Yesterdays-This Salem witch trial/ ice age time travel episode fares pretty well in comparison with its neighbors (although not its projenitor, City on the Edge of Forever). Which is to say, there is some drama and some semblance of a plot. In that inimitable 3rd season way, even the first minute of the teaser is somehow menacing. We sense that something is a little off, and that the Triumvirate is in for trouble, even before we meet the extra librarians. Part of it is the dramatic music played at the very start of all these late 3rd season shows. Part of it is that they were relying almost exclusively on early introduction of the "Kirk/ Enterprise in danger" crutch at this point in the show's run. In any event, Kirk, like a curious and courageous dog, bolts off into the great unknown, triggering a cascade of misfortune. By this point in the show, the stars were often no wiser than the guest characters; why did they ignore Mr. Atoz in the first place? As the Triumverate grows colder, less idealistic, dumber, and less faithful to their characters, we care less about their fates (see That Which Survives, Whom Gods Destroy, The Way to Eden, and Requiem for Methuselah for nearby examples).

But back to the episode. While the library idea is interesting, much more could have been done with it. Both time travels end up being pretty banal. And the rationale for Spock's personality change is weak at best. On the other hand, its an interesting change from his normal behavior. The conclusion of this episode, with the enterprise outpacing the fireball, has the now characteristic rushed feel, as though the bags were packed for the next flight even before the director said, 'that's a wrap'. Gone are the short little wrap-ups on the bridge; oh well, they were often hokey anyway.

Tid bit: The librarian's name is Mr. Atoz (A to Z) (3 stars)

"Savage Curtain" An alien decides to test Kirk & Spock on their concepts of "good" & "evil" by creating duplicates of Abraham Lincoln & Surak.

"All Our Yesterdays" Kirk, Spock & McCoy are lost somewhere in the past. How will they get back? NOTE: Shatner, Nimoy, & De Kelley are the only 3 people from the original cast to be in this story! There are no shots of the inside of the Enterprise whatsoever!

We must be reaching the end, because Volume 39 of The Star Trek DVD series contians two of the last great episodes producedin the series three season run.

At first look THE SAVAGE CURTAIN may be considered a ridiculously silly episode. This is the infamous episode where 'Abraham Lincoln' makes an appearance. True that this episodes plot is way too far out to ever actually occur but still you have to give the writers credit for their creativity even if this is too cheesy. Basically the story goes that the Enterprise crew are abducted by a friendly alien entity who takes the form of Lincoln. Lincoln insists he is who he actually is and requests that Kirk and Spock accompany him to the molten planet where (unbeknowst to our heroes) the rock like aliens, the Excalbians have organized a battle between good and evil. Pitting (good) Kirk, Spock, Lincoln and the greatest Vulcan philosopher Surak against (evil) Genghis Khan, Kahless the Unforgettable (founder of the Klingon Empire), Col.Green (someone who supposedly is a Tyrant in our future) and Zora (some fairly forgettable experimental witch tyrant here). The story has essentially an anti-war message. Some people consider this to be one of the worst episodes. I actually greatly disagee with that thought on this show. Of course it's nowhere near the best but it's effective and creative, especially considering that (by this time) the Star Trek series was on life support. Not the best but good for third season standards. Hey, at least they didn't credit Abraham Lincoln played by himself!

ALL OF OUR YESTERDAYS was the last great Star Trek episode to ever make it into production. Being only an episode away from the end of the series' three year run, in retrospect they should have ended with this one. The story essentially deals with time travel. The Enterprise journeys to Sarpeidon and Kirk, Spock and McCoy meet a peculiar old librarian (played by Ian Wolfe). It's a really effective time travle episode since this story has three settings: Present day Sarpeidon, Kirk in Sarpeidon's Victorian age, Spock and McCoy in Sarpeidon's ice age. The last setting really steals this episode. Partly because we see Spock's barbaric nature take him over. There is no doubt why Nimoy is on the front of the DVD case. He even gets an effective love interest in this story (played by Mariette Hartley). An interesting plot, great acting and a somewhat tragic ending make tihs episode one of the more memrable episodes from the tail end of the Star Trek series.

Overall this is another must. One of the better pair of episodes from the end Star Trek's wildly uneven third season. Highly recommended.

Let's be honest. It was a little frustrating watching the playful antics of Steed and Mrs Peel, knowing that all that would ever happen would be a respectful peck on the cheek or a cordial hug. Enter Tara King, Steed's last partner. She is a Peel-in-training, only a little younger and a lot more in love with John Steed. Of course we know that nothing overt would ever happen between the two. It's just nice to know that when the credits roll the two might actually kiss on the lips. Linda Thorson is absolutely terrific as Steed's sidekick. She is athletic, fearless and determined. The '68 episodes were constructed with the same care and attention as the Rigg episodes and they are a pleasure to watch. If you think Mrs Peel was the only game in town, check out Tara King. She is a gas.

As some of you who have read other reviews that I have done for The Avengers series and I'll say it again... Being a new fan in terms of seeing the movie, see my review, I became interested in the show.

Now granted Mrs. Peel was beautiful and had class and brains, and Blackman had curves and brains also, yet most people over look Tara King. She did have very good wits and great intellect.

When I first bought this set I thought I was wasting my money, but I was wrong. This volume is pretty good. The firt two episodes are hard to get use to the idea of Steed working with someone else other than Peel, yet after that you warm up to the idea nicely. She adds a new spark to the show and a something... I don't know what, as the French would say. The transfer of the shows is not bad although A&E should have made another master copy and given some better color job or sharpened the picture. Yet those are just small complaints. Steed and King do work well together and they do have chemistry which does make watching the show more enjoyable.

For those new to The Avengers, ignore all the bad press that the delectable Tara King gets. Sure Emma Peel was sublime, and Cathy Gale was right on. But Tara King was also top notch, as were most of her episodes. Wherever you go on the web you will find Tara's episodes variously panned. Tish and pish! They are some of the most interesting, quirky and truly '60's' episodes of ANY television show ever.

Let me first state that the high rating of five stars relates to the greatness of the episodes, which is mainly the point of these reviews. Sadly the quality of these so-called 'digitally remastered' episodes by A&E is worse than bad.

Unfortunately the picture quality of my A&E DVD release of these magnificent episodes is passable at best. Now given the mass production method used in manufacturing these things I do not accept that only my copy is dodgy and I assume that the VHS releases are similarly affected. In particular, the episode on vol 1 of this set, "You'll Catch Your Death" is so poorly remastered as to be distracting. The brightness is shocking and the screen flickers with the old stains and blemishes I can only assume remain on the original film stock. Why haven't they been removed? Come on A&E (and Canal+ in France) get it together! There are many fans out there that expect better and will pay for it. Don't sell us short.

If you want truly good remastered episodes, I suggest you try and find the (now deleted) 1990's Lumiere releases on VHS. I know its an increasingly unpopular format, but faced with the abysmal quality of the A&E releases, it's worth the hunt believe me. I have several and they are excellent.

Sorry A&E but you should know better than that.

My brother brought me the original live action Chinese Ghost Story movies (1,2,and 3) from Japan and I loved all three. They have become some of my favorite movies of all time. I was expecting the same level of story and animation to match the imaginative visuals in the live action version but I was sadly disappointed. The story was acceptable, but very pale in comparison to the live action movies. Not really anything to write home about. There did not seem to be much, if any, of the tension or humor from the live action films. Unfortunately, the quality of animation was definately below that of most feature lenght animated films. It is pretty much on a par with what I see on saturday morning cartoons here in America. I was most disapointed with their attempt to mix 2D and 3D animation, the style of the ghosts in this film reminded me of old Scooby Doo cartoons from when I was a kid only a lot sillier looking. use this movie as a benchmark of what not to do when making an animated film.

If you are looking for an animated kids movie, I would recommend some of the old Miazaki films like "Castle in the Sky: Laputa", "My Neighbor Totoro", or "Kiki's delivery service" over this film. Definately I would say rent this one before you buy it.

I must admit that i have never seen the original live action movies of "A Chinese Ghost Story". Therefore, I am basing this review on the movie itself. I stumbled on this film at work, took it home and watched it. I was amazed with the innovation of this movie. The animated characters fit nicely with the cgi background. There have been other movies that have done the same thing like "What Dreams May Come". There will be other shows, and movie that have and will follow suit. The story itself is very tender, sometimes melacholy, but these emotions lent themselves to the overall atmosphere of the movie. The relationships between the two main characters, was wonderfully done. This movie was about finding something and holding on, and love. Overall this movie was very sweet and tender

I am on my way now. I hope you are OK and getting all that stuff out of the way.

I will call you later if I get the chance, maybe even use email if I can get connected. We shall see. If you want you can leave a message for me here, put the word Liza in the review title.

Use the children's review form, you do not need an email address.

BTW it is a fine film for all you who are interested. I was lucky enough to see it on TV a while ago....

This is the prime example of a anime series being too complex for no good reason. The Dirty Pair are two special agents codenamed the Lovely Angels. The team consists of Kei the redhead with the short temper and Yuri the pretty one with the short temper. Kei and Yuri are always at each others throats but when it comes down to taking care of business they usually pull together. There are two major plotlines in this story arc: the first one consists of an assasin named Lady Flair,who outguns the girls and Kei becomes obssessed with bringing her down. The second storyline is a convoluted mess, it concerns Waldess a business man with plans to take over the universe,it's generic, poorly done and complicated for no good reason, the story is dragged down because of this. The animation is decent nothing spectacular but not bad either. Overall the interaction between Kei and Yuri is the reason to watch this dvd i guess i was just dissapointed about the plot.

This DVD contains the whole first mission of The Lovely Angels Kei and Yuri, so you won't end up needing to buy more for the rest of the storyline. Both Kei and Yuri are exact opposites and make this series very comical. You will luagh and there is some hardcore action too. If you are a big anime fan I suggest the purchase of this product.

I have not seen the DVD version but I have seen these three EPISODES. I'd like to point out that it's not a movie. It is three different episodes from the series. (Isn't it obvious considering they have titles for each episode?)
Anyway, I think the first episode on that tape was heart warming. Especially when Kei started actually caring for the baby. (And believe you me, she's not the mother type.)
However the second episode was a bit strange. The third episode made up for that though. It's full of belly laughs. Though it is not the best anime I've seen, it certainly deserves to be watched.

This is the prime example of a anime series being too complex for no good reason. The Dirty Pair are two special agents codenamed the Lovely Angels. The team consists of Kei the redhead with the short temper and Yuri the pretty one with the short temper. Kei and Yuri are always at each others throats but when it comes down to taking care of business they usually pull together. There are two major plotlines in this story arc: the first one consists of an assasin named Lady Flair,who outguns the girls and Kei becomes obssessed with bringing her down. The second storyline is a convoluted mess, it concerns Waldess a business man with plans to take over the universe,it's generic, poorly done and complicated for no good reason, the story is dragged down because of this. The animation is decent nothing spectacular but not bad either. Overall the interaction between Kei and Yuri is the reason to watch this dvd i guess i was just dissapointed about the plot.

This DVD contains the whole first mission of The Lovely Angels Kei and Yuri, so you won't end up needing to buy more for the rest of the storyline. Both Kei and Yuri are exact opposites and make this series very comical. You will luagh and there is some hardcore action too. If you are a big anime fan I suggest the purchase of this product.

I have not seen the DVD version but I have seen these three EPISODES. I'd like to point out that it's not a movie. It is three different episodes from the series. (Isn't it obvious considering they have titles for each episode?)
Anyway, I think the first episode on that tape was heart warming. Especially when Kei started actually caring for the baby. (And believe you me, she's not the mother type.)
However the second episode was a bit strange. The third episode made up for that though. It's full of belly laughs. Though it is not the best anime I've seen, it certainly deserves to be watched.

This is the prime example of a anime series being too complex for no good reason. The Dirty Pair are two special agents codenamed the Lovely Angels. The team consists of Kei the redhead with the short temper and Yuri the pretty one with the short temper. Kei and Yuri are always at each others throats but when it comes down to taking care of business they usually pull together. There are two major plotlines in this story arc: the first one consists of an assasin named Lady Flair,who outguns the girls and Kei becomes obssessed with bringing her down. The second storyline is a convoluted mess, it concerns Waldess a business man with plans to take over the universe,it's generic, poorly done and complicated for no good reason, the story is dragged down because of this. The animation is decent nothing spectacular but not bad either. Overall the interaction between Kei and Yuri is the reason to watch this dvd i guess i was just dissapointed about the plot.

This DVD contains the whole first mission of The Lovely Angels Kei and Yuri, so you won't end up needing to buy more for the rest of the storyline. Both Kei and Yuri are exact opposites and make this series very comical. You will luagh and there is some hardcore action too. If you are a big anime fan I suggest the purchase of this product.

I have not seen the DVD version but I have seen these three EPISODES. I'd like to point out that it's not a movie. It is three different episodes from the series. (Isn't it obvious considering they have titles for each episode?)
Anyway, I think the first episode on that tape was heart warming. Especially when Kei started actually caring for the baby. (And believe you me, she's not the mother type.)
However the second episode was a bit strange. The third episode made up for that though. It's full of belly laughs. Though it is not the best anime I've seen, it certainly deserves to be watched.