DVD Movie Review #1 Elvira's Haunted Hills

Hello all! I am known as a very avid movie collector and have an extensive collection with over 3000 entries. I am as a writing exercise trying to increase my work by writing reviews of dvds in my collection as I watch them. As I am not always watching the special features right away I am will going to cover my take of the movie.

I have been a very sad horror junkie as I have been largely unfamiliar with Elvira's work being more familiar with Vampira. She of course decided to take a comical look at the classic horror genre with this movie. AS we all know which hills she's referring to.

This movie stars Elvira and her ever eager assistant as they make their way through good old world europe on the way to entertain. She of course is side tracked by a haunted adventure involving ghosts, mystery, murder and laughter in this quirky little homage adventure.

Let me start with what I liked about this particular adventure and that is of course the homage to the late Vincent price. If you are familiar with Price's movie coverage of Edgar Allen Poe's work then you will be slightly entertained by the numerous mentions in this film. It also takes a nice comical touch that lends it to be fun at times and letting you know that at no time you are to take this serious. The visual effects are actually surprisingly good for a film of this level.

Now I must say that as a negative this movie can get a little boring at times and the characters are grossly over or under acted. Elvira herself I am sad to say is pretty much just a pretty face with two "haunted hills" and not much in the acting talent. The story is a bit patched together and I am uncertain at times if they are all solidly connected.

Well otherwise I must say overall this film offers mild entertainment a few good homage points and some nice "haunted hills" but otherwise I'd say this film is a wash. 

In the End I give this film a 5/10 rating. 

Well in case you want to work on getting a copy of your own I have done some research and will give you the lowest used and new price available.

New:     $5.28  www.half.com 

Used:     $6.18 www.amazon.com

DVD Box Series #4: Batman the Animated Series

Well it has been a while since my last post and this is something I am hoping to remedy. During the last month and a half I have been working from 60-70 hours a week and well time gets away from you when you spend your time sleeping :)

I am reviewing the box set for Batman the animated series. This is probably one of my more cherished memories from my teenage years. This would come on and I'd be in front of the TV watching it along with Pinkie and the Brain, Freekazoid and Animaniacs on a Saturday morning. This series didn't run terribly long only having two seasons and each having a strange episode count (over 50 in the first season). This of course had a few spinoffs of its own including the superman animated series and the batman/superman animated series. I feel this series was instrumental in getting the superhero back into the entertainment business.

  

The Packaging is fairly solid being a rather large rectangular box dividing the set up into the 4 basic box sets that were released separately early on. The actual packaging included a nice full colored book but unfortunately the cases with the DVDs are a little flimsy making me worry a tad about the condition and preservation. Overall it is a pretty nice case but with the flaws involved I have to give it a 7/10. 

The content of the series itself is pretty high. The first season is excellently done and I must tell you I loved this series and unlike some series it has managed to withstand time and still be pretty darn good. The stories are gripping and the animation is well done...until season two. Season Two I feel lost something, the stories were a bit campier and the animation and figure design lost a lot of quality with little itty bittie bodies and large heads. As this is the case I would recommend if you do not get this set I would just get the first three box sets that contain season one and leave the last box set alone. Due to this balance I give the series a 7/10. 

Last but not least is the content. The booklet is very nice with early sketches and in full color and it includes 8 featurettes including a new one released on a special bonus disc with the series. There are are also some nice commentaries included with this set that do give insight into the series. I would say that this does help to make the set a better buy giving it 8/10 

In the end here is the summary:

Case:                                        7/10

Content:                                   7/10

Quality of the Show:                 8/10

            Total Rating:              7/10

Now I am sure you are asking yourself “where can I get this and what will it cost me?” I love dealoz.com as it helps me check many many stores at one time for the best deal. Rightstuff.com is also a good place for anime and asian sets when they start to go out of print. I will give you the best used and new price as per that site*.

*Please note that these deals change day to day so the prices could get better or worse. The prices are for these specific editions so you may find the show for a better deal.  

Average set:     New     $75.99 ebay

                        Used    $103.68 half.com 

I managed to find this particular set on ebay for about $50 when I originally bought it. I am glad I did. I'll leave you all with a nice pic I have of the whole kit and kaboodle.

DVD Box Series #3: Dark Shadows

Once again we are back to my DVD box set review where you get to witness really cool dvd sets and sometimes where to get them for yourself. As you can see the current series is dark shadows. I placed a poster from the more recent and better known version for our generation in order to give you all a little hook in. This review is for the older TV series which was very very widely popular amongst those in my mother and father's generation. This show aired for three years and had nearly 1,200 episodes as well as a few spin offs and TV movies. The star of this week though is the set they made to encapsulate this very massive show.   

The packaging is amazing for this set. It comes in a box over a foot tall. This box bears a resemblance to a coffin and opens up to display a marvelous collection of dvds that while placed together resemble the main character of the series. The DVDs are pretty tightly packed in with about 5 or six per dvd case which in my opinion is the only detractor. It has a very nice book that guides you through the various episodes and features with written interviews which is a nice extra to boot. I will give this case a 9/10.  

The show itself is from what I've read is pretty campy but has a nostalgia value to many and does drag you in when you get involved.  I would think it would have to be if you are going to be in for the long haul. The effects are cheap even by the standards of when the show was produced and has a hard time being scary which is plainly the show's intent. All the same this is an important one to have in any collection so I can give this a 6/10 for show content. 

Last but not least is the content that comes along with the show the special features are plentiful with behind the scenes features and plenty of cast interviews numbering in the hundreds. The Booklet as mentioned above is full of pictures and more interviews as well as show information. This set could keep a casual watcher busy for years. 10/10 Rating on Bonus features. 

In the end here is the summary:

Case:                                        9/10

Content:                                   6/10

Quality of the Show:                 10/10

            Total Rating:              8/10

Now I am sure you are asking yourself “where can I get this and what will it cost me?” I love dealoz.com as it helps me check many many stores at one time for the best deal. Rightstuff.com is also a good place for anime and asian sets when they start to go out of print. I will give you the best used and new price as per that site*.

*Please note that these deals change day to day so the prices could get better or worse. The prices are for these specific editions so you may find the show for a better deal.  

Average set:     New     $235.95 ebay

                        Used    $266.98 Amazon.com 

This set is one of those that waiting has helped the price. With an initial release price of over $400 this set was out of reach by many. I jumped on a version for $200 myself and though this is a limited set I have a feeling that the prices will still remain low as I doubt this item has sold much with the high price tag (Just don't wait too long). 

DVD Box Series #2 NIS America

Hello again I am going to pick anime as my next selection it as it makes up a lot of my collection. This time I am targeting a specific company as the releases are very similar in the packaging. NIS America has been known in the past for producing video games such as the Disgaea series they have since been regarded as a place that publishes premium video games that don't typically come to this side of the world. NIS decided to expand it's reach to the world of anime trying to find a title that is unlikely to get published here. They are even willing to take suggestions as to what series they release 

The packaging in this set is very nice the outer cover is a hard cardboard with two slim cases inside containing the DVD/Blurays and a hardcover colorfully illustrated book detailing different things from the series you have purchased. The booklet has a wonderful level of detail and the set makes for a wonderful display for any collector. I would give the case on these sets an 8/10. 

The special features on these sets are not a lot to look into unless you include the booklet which does give you nice inside pieces such as relationship charts scene explanations and more. The on disc features are kind of lacking so once you are finished with book you are just left with the show. I have to give this a 6/10 for the lack of on board content. 

Now these sets have varying quality depending on the show. NIS has managed to obtain some premium shows that you previously would not find elsewhere so you are usually guaranteed at least a fair quality show if not on the excellent level. Also many of the first run shows such as Wagnaria and Pandora Hearts came with disc quality problems so I will be putting this in my rating of a 6/10 

In the end here is the summary:

Case:                                        8/10

Content:                                   6/10

Quality of the Show:                 6/10

            Total Rating:              7/10

Now I am sure you are asking yourself “where can I get this and what will it cost me?” I love dealoz.com as it helps me check many many stores at one time for the best deal. Rightstuff.com is also a good place as these sets when they start to go out of print. I will give you the best used and new price as per that site*.

*Please note that these deals change day to day so the prices could get better or worse. The prices are for these specific editions so you may find the show for a better deal.  

Average set:     New     $41-150

                        Used    $30-180

Please keep in mind that these sets are premium and limited in their release so the prices go up once they have gone out of print. Happy Hunting! 

DVD Box Series #1 Masters of Horror

This is the first in a long line of segments dedicated to really REALLY cool dvd/blu-ray releases of hits or even misses. You ever just walk by a release and say “wow” the release has you step back a moment and enjoy, this is even more true when you have and want to actively display this wonder. As I feel you have to have a release in order to properly enjoy it I will only Blog about releases that I own. I will also group some together unless the releases have an individual light that they can be enjoyed with.

My first target is a horror series called “Masters of Horror”. It is a nice horror series that is broken up into hour long episodes that are directed and written by masters in the field. The show itself is very fun overall as it is very likely you will at least enjoy and/or hate an episode or two with the variety of different styles of writing and direction available. This is one of those series that true horror fans need to rush too much like one would for “Tales of the Crypt”.

Well the series is a fun thing to talk about but this is not the main interest that brought it to this blog (shoot the release could be cool yet the actual movie or show could be crap). I will be following this with a rating on the case, the content and the quality of the show giving a final combined rating that will be the mean of the scores.

We already talked about how I enjoyed this particular products quality so I give it a 7/10 in that area.

Season 1 Set:

Season 2 Set:

The packaging is very cool and the main reason for my blog report. Season one is designed as a cardboard crypt. As you take off the roof you are greeted with each individual episode disc in a little paper slip. This makes it easy to access your content without too much effort. The downside for this and the second series is the clear plastic case the whole set comes in is very cheap and is only meant to be opened and closed a few times without breaking. The set itself is not solidly built and tends to not fit quite as well after a few times using. I am glad for the paper slips though leaving the discs in little hangers to be relatively safe. Season two is in a better built set resembling a human skull which looks very cool. As you take out the top you can see that the brains are actually the episode discs in cute little holders. I do feel this is more solid but do worry about the disc condition as there is no real protection in this set. Overall these are cool to look at yet the builder did not fully think things through when completing this for disc protection or sturdiness. I give this a 7/10 for the pure coolness of the visual.

The special features on this are nothing extra special. There is no bonus disc or cool little booklet to fill you in. It is simply the individual episode discs (previously sold separately) and the features included therein. With that said there are still a significant amount of extra content on these discs including featurettes and little fun facts that make the viewing of each episode more enjoyable. As this is nothing special to the set I feel the individual features stand well on their own I give this a 7/10 on extra content.

In the end here is the summary:

Case:                                        7/10

Content:                                   7/10

Quality of the Show:                 7/10

            Total Rating:              7/10

Now I am sure you are asking yourself “where can I get this and what will it cost me?” I love dealoz.com as it helps me check many many stores at one time for the best deal. I will give you the best used and new price as per that site*.

*Please note that these deals change day to day so the prices could get better or worse. The prices are for these specific editions so you may find the show for a better deal.  

Season 1:         New     $28.13 (Amazon.com)

                        Used    $25.79 (Amazon.com)

Season 2:         New     Not Available

                        Used    $246.27 (Amazon.com UK )

Notice of things to come

I had decided to stop political blogging after realizing what king of pain one inflicts when doing political blogging or facebook posting as I am not a professional political writer or candidate. Remember this before you like or repost or blog political: “you are only causing anger and agitation for others, dump your addiction and grow up.”

As a result I am changing the format of this blog to one that spans entertainment. I may not have a professional license to entertain but I am an avid movie collector who’s collection is over 3000 strong and holds a lot of variety. I enjoy movies and TV of most types and in my collection you can definitely find a little bit of everything.

I am of course not talking about entertainment buzz. I am not about who is going out with who or which celebrity decided to start a fight with a homeless person drunk in the back of a dump truck (though I might read that article). I do care mostly about what is upcoming in sequels adaptations or what is up and coming from certain directors or actors (I will admit I have almost all of Johnny Depp’s acting credits represented in my collection as well as having all of Quentin Tarantino’s full length director credits).

I hope that this will renew my Blog’s traffic and awareness as well as my activity. I hope many of you enjoyed my political rants and they are still present if you wish to enjoy them but those chapters are past and with hope this will be very a very enjoyable change.    

The Liberated America (An Idealized Poem)

Things about a Liberated America Good and the bad:

We can choose to hire protection or protect ourselves

We can choose what to pay for labor

We can choose weather to take a job for what is offered

We can choose to defend our neighborhood from foreign invaders (not really a country as

that in itself is the ultimate in big government)

We can choose to serve who we want to serve with our business

We can choose to pay for what we take or attempt to take it

We can choose to deliver what is paid for or to renege, if you can back yourself up

We can choose attempt to kill who or what we want 

We can choose how we worship

We can choose to attempt to punish those who worship wrongly

We can choose to provide or not to provide healthcare

We can choose how we treat the land

We can choose to honor our contracts

We can choose how we view others

We can choose what to do with our children

We can choose to deceive others on what we provide

We can choose to change the rules at any time (there are no rules)

We can choose to eat and drink what we will no matter the consequence

We can choose to use what substances we wish no matter the cost

We can choose to do with our bodies as we will

We can choose to attempt to do to others bodies as we will

We can choose to live in peace

We can choose to go to war 

We can choose to attempt to build what we want where we want

We can choose to attempt to build any business when we want where we want

We can choose to die

 

This is the liberated America where choice is king…

(Feel free to add to this list if you like, I am doing this to appear more neutral than usual as this can appear wonderful in some eyes and terrible in others J)