Yes I have neglected this blog completely. I guess the biggest reason for that is lack of response, so I didn't really know if anyone reads it or not. But, I'm not about to delete it. It can serve as a look back on films I have seen and personal opinions.

Anyway, currently I'm watching Supernatural Season 1 on DVD. It's actually in it's seventh season this fall, but i never got around watching it. True Blood Season 1 on DVD is also on my watch-list. In between I'm watching NCIS from the beginning, to catch up on it.

In cinema news, I watched Harry Potter VII, Part 2 in 3D like millions of other people, and re-watched David Lynch's Inland Empire, a surreal look at betrayal and mysteries of love. Recommended, but only for Lynch fans.

Some must see Horror/Thriller films for me are:

Halloween (1978)

A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood escapes on a mindless rampage while his doctor chases him through the streets.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/

The Exorcist (1973)

When a teenager is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/

Mullholland Drive (2001)

After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166924/

The Ring (2002)

A young journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298130/

Scream (1996)

A killer known as "ghost face" begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends must push themselves beyond the boundaries of what they thought themselves capable of in order to survive.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117571/

What are some of your favorite horror jems?

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Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced Beauty and the Beast for release on Blu-ray on October 5. It will be presented as a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (2 Blu-ray Discs and one DVD), and like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 2009, will launch seven weeks ahead of the DVD release.

Disney specifies that the release will feature "state-of-the-art picture restoration," 7.1 audio and "hours of additional viewing experiences," including behind the scenes features, deleted scenes, enhanced music tracks, immersive games and more.

Trailer:

Plot: In a quaint French village during the late 18th century, Belle, a bright and beautiful young woman, finds escape from her ordinary life, and the advances of a boorish suitor, Gaston, by reading books. Meanwhile, off in a castle in the distance, a cruel young prince is cast under the spell of an enchantress who turns him into a tormented beast, while transforming his servants into animated household objects. In order to remove the curse, the Beast must discover a true love who will return his affection before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose. When Belle’s inventor father stumbles upon the Beast’s castle and is taken prisoner, Belle comes to the rescue and agrees to take her father’s place. With the help of the castle’s enchanted staff, she sees beneath the Beast’s exterior and discovers the heart and soul of a human prince.

Since the show is over now, it's time for the inevitable complete DVD/BluRay Sets to come out. Here is the lowdown on the 6th Season DVD/BluRay and the complete series set.

THE COMPLETE 6TH SEASON (BLURAY ARTWORK)

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced DVD ($59.99) and Blu-ray ($79.99) releases of Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season for the 24th August. Extras will include audio commentaries on 4 episodes (LA X, Dr. Linus, Ab Aeterno and Across The Sea), deleted scenes, bloopers, featurettes ("Lost: On Location", "Crafting a Final Season", " A Hero’s Journey", "See You In  Another Life, Brotha", "Lost on Location"), and a much-anticipated new chapter of the island's story.  

Also available from the 24th August will be Lost: The Complete Collectionwhich will retail at $229.99 and $279.99 on DVD and Blu-ray respectively. Each will include every episode of the series, along with a full disc of features exclusive to the collection. These will include 16 hilarious Lost “Slapdowns” featurettes showcasing celebrity Lost fans who confront Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse to ask press questions about the final season, a humorous yet emotional look at every character who died on the series, a unique series of featurettes that takes viewers on very personal tours of Oahu where the series was created, a closer look at some of the props with cast, writers and producers, and more. The exciting collectible packaging also includes:  a Special Edition collectible ‘Senet’ Game as seen in Season Six, a custom Lost island replica, an exclusive episode guide, a collectible Ankh, and a black light penlight. 

HIGH-RES COMPLETE DVD SET ARTWORK AND GOODIES 

Since I have mentioned TV Shows already, I think this would be a good place to talk about my favorite Sitcom right now. It's 30 Rock which airs on NBC. It is the funniest TV Show for me right now. The 4th Season just finished and they have been picked up for a 5th one. The humor is layered and you can watch the episodes several times and catch little things every time. One thing this show does very well is character and story. It's not uncommon for a sitcom to do punchline after punchline. But not here. Each season has a story to tell, episodes overlap and character profiles are constant. The continuity is very good for a comedy. It's just one big package that works very well. Tina Fay is hilarious and a very good writer. She is the show creator, executive producer, writer and actress. Side characters are well developed and add a lot to the show. I highly recommend it and if you want to start watching Season 5 in October 2010, be sure to update yourself with the rich DVD-Sets of Seasons 1-4.

Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy film, and the third film in the Toy Story series.It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was written by Michael Arndt, while Unkrich wrote the story along with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, respectively director and co-writer of the first two films. The film was released worldwide from June through Octoberin the Disney Digital 3-D, RealD, and IMAX 3D formats. Toy Story 3 was the first film to be released theatrically with Dolby Surround 7.1 sound.

The plot focuses on the toys Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and their friends dealing with an uncertain future as their owner, Andy, prepares to leave for college. Actors Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and John Morris, along with few others reprised their voice-over roles from the previous films.

The film received widespread critical acclaim earning a 99% 'certified fresh' rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 92 at Metacritic. The feature broke Shrek the Third '​s record as the biggest opening day North American gross for an animated film unadjusted for inflation, and had a big opening weekend with an unadjusted gross of $110,307,189. It is also the highest-grossing opening weekend for a Pixar film, and was previously the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film to have opened in the month of June (surpassed by Man of Steel). This is the highest-grossing film of 2010, both in the United States and Canada, and worldwide. In early August, it became Pixar's highest-grossing film at the North American and worldwide box offices (surpassing Finding Nemo), and the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide (surpassing Shrek 2) until it was surpassed by Frozen in March 2014. Toy Story 3 became the first animated film in history to make over $1 billion worldwide It is the 13th-highest-grossing film of all time.

Toy Story 3 was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Sound Editing.It was the third animated film (after Beauty and the Beast and Up) to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture. It won the awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

The BluRay and DVD of this movie is already out, but James Cameron has officially announced a 3D BluRay and Special Edition BluRay and DVD Version including tons of extras.The new version will also feature an extended cut of the movie and is expected to be realised in early 2011.

Hopefully you'll like the new blog design I created. I wanted it to be a single column in which everything was hosted. The post-history, followers, polls and information is at the bottom of this page. That way the posts themselves have room to breathe and are not scrunched in by the side text. More posts coming soon.

When Desperate Housewives first aired in 2004 it broke all records for written comedy in years. Viewer tuned in to see this complex yet soapy view of everyday suburbia. And really, the appeal in Desperate Housewives is the fact that you know that behind every colorful facade and plastered smile lies a secret, sometimes little and juicy, other times tragic and dangerous.

There is something in the setting of this show. Everything is colorful, perfect and dreamy. But things in the lives of Susan, Bree, Lynette and Gabrielle start to unravel when the, seemingly perfect life of their friend Mary Alice Young ends tragically. After her suicide all that is left are dark secrets. The facade of perfect suburbia starts to crumble.

Clues are: a mysterious baby blanket of a child never seen before, a disturbed son who starts to remember shocking details from his past, a dangerous husband ready to do everything to cover up a dark secret, a spy on Wisteria Lane, a tape from Mary Alice's therapist, a threatening note and so much more.

Each episode gives hints and clues to the main mystery that spreads throughout the season and ends in a shocking cliffhanger filled finale. But the mystery is a backdrop to the real appeal of the series: the lives of our Desperate Housewives. Each one desperate to lead a perfect life and devastated when she realizes that it cannot be achieved. From the picture perfect Bree whose marriage starts to fall down, Lynette with her never ending job of being a perfect mom to her 4 children, Gabrielle who has everything yet feels a hole in her life to Susan who struggles to find love.

Each episode moves at high speed, so much is going on. It never gets boring. This is the perfect guilty pleasure and so much more. Marc Cherry, the creator, has planned every plot line from the beginning and it really shows. Everything is perfectly plotted and comes nicely together in the end. The comedy walks a fine line between dark humor and slapstick (Susan especially) with some great Zingers.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment has put together a great 6-Disc Set. All 23 Episodes of the 1st Season are presented in a crisp clear 16:9 widescreen transfer. The colors really pop out from the screen and add a lot to the overall tone of the show.

Extras include:
- Audiocomentaries from the Housewives on selected Scenes (which can be viewed as a half hour featurette)
- Audiocomentaries are provided for 5 Episodes including the pilot and the finale. They are all interesting. Creator Marc Cherry provides great insight into the show.
- Behind the Scenes of Desperate Housewives - a 25 minute Featurette about the creation of the show and the first season
- 3 Featurettes on the Costumes and Art Design (10 min.), DH Phenomenon around the world (10 min), Production Secrets (11 min.)
- Oprah Winfrey visits Wisteria Lane (8 min.)
- Outtakes
- Deleted Scenes (with optional commentary by Marc Cherry)
- Easter Egg (on Disc 4 i think)

Some of the Episodes are Extended and run about 45 min in length (as opposed to the usual 42 min.) adding bits and pieces to the storylines. These extended episodes include intros by Marc Cherry.

As you can see there is much to see and experiance in the first Season of Desperate Housewives. It's TV gone very right and a pleasure for everybody. I highly recommend it.

5/5 Stars.

This is a post about DVDs you may not be familiar with. Hidden not well publicized DVD Treasures of the past Years. Today we have:

Burnt Offerings (1976) 

This is truly a spooky horror shocker without gore, blood or foul language. Yes, something like that really exists. Nowadays it would be shot different, the family would be replaced by teenagers, but not back in the 70ties. Great story with a mind-blowing twist and spooky atmosphere. Perfect Halloween movie, and so much more. The DVD comes with an optional Audiocomentary by director Dan Kurtis and actress Karen Black. Very informative! A Trailer is also included.

Buy the DVD on amazon.com

This looks like a brainless movie, but still it could be a lot of fun if you don't expect too much. I liked "The Day After Tomorrow" from the same Director Roland Emmerich. Be sure to click the HD Button (if it's not already clicked) to View in High Definition.

The Blog has new Layout and the new content will be posted in High Definition Widescreen!!! Hopefully you will like it.

As Halloween is approaching the search for a good Halloween night movie opens up. Well, search no more, here it is. Even though "Trick 'r Treat" is already two years old, it's coming out on DVD/BluRay now. It captures all that is Halloween: spooky stories, dark alleys, candy, scares and blood... But above all it offeres a unique story. Something that is lacking in recent Hollywood productions. It's almost like a very dark and twisted fairy tale. The Movie relies on ancient history about the holiday, yet brings with it something the audience can connect to. The basic premise is that it's Halloween night and children are trick or treating for candy. This serves as a basic backdrop on which various storylines unfold which are connected by the "killer". 

There is some mystery in this film, which keeps you guessing how all parts are connected. By the end everything is revealed and you are left wanting more. But it's not a movie which presents you the answer bluntly and without your involvment. It's not a Lynch movie of course, still the answers are not spellt in front of you. That's one aspect i liked. There are many twists in this movie. And that's another point i liked. I guess i wasn't expecting them and so they were a real schock sometimes. But nevertheless, they are good, spread evenly through the movie. Just when you think the story will go in one direction it will turn to another.

Scary images and a good original story. What more can you want for a perfect Halloween night...

10/10 Points from me.

I know this is probably old news for everyone, but BBC's Planet Earth is the best thing when it comes to Nature Documentaries. It is captivating, shocking, interesting, moving and refreshing. The world is right before our eyes, but certain areas will always be unreached to most people. Thanks to this 5 Disc DVD or 4 Disc Blu-Ray Set we can now enjoy the wonders of far away Africa or the Amazon Delta. The cinematography is breathtaking with never before seen scenes of landscapes all around the world. The main focus of this series are  the wildernesses that are left in the world.

This is a must buy. The DVD Set includes almost two hours of Behind the Scenes Featurettes which go into detail on how the Series was shot. On the DVD Set you'll find a 5th Disc with 3 "Planet Earth: The Future" documentaries.

Can't wait for it!

I posted an all new Poll asking the above question. It's on the right side of this blog. Feel free to participate. Once the poll is closed the results will be shown here.

Thank you for voting!

P.S. An article about my own DVD Collection is in the making...