Advantages: creepy, good sound
Disadvantages: slow

.... Then as time goes on they come to realise that not all is as it seems in this innocuous looking shelter and they soon begin to think that staying there may not have been a good idea. Dead Birds was recommended to me a little while ago and I decided to rent it out to see what it was like. And whilst its title is misleading I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the film, it is by no means perfect but it is far from being a complete lemon. On one side the film is fairly original in that it is set during the American Civil War, and in that whole setup looked good to me, the uniforms and the war-weary look in the people's faces all went to create a world that seemed believable and convincing, (to me at least). But it also follows standard genre conventions in that we have a creepy house, complete with a large cornfield that is spooky... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: lovely mini-series to watch
Disadvantages: bit long to watch in one go

...Colleen McCullough wrote The Thorn Birds in 1977. The story of illicit love between a priest and a young girl, set in Australia, starting in 1920 and spanning the next 60 years in Rome and Australia. The Thorn Birds was turned into a mini-series in 1983, starring Rachel Ward and Richard Chamberlain in the starring roles. I remember watching this, I would have been 11 at the time and I have also read the book several times. My husband gave me the DVD for Christmas, so here is a little review on The Thorn Birds. CAST +++++ Mary Carson - Barbara Stanwyck Megan Cleary - Rachel Ward Father Ralph de Bricassart - Richard Chamberlain Fiona Cleary - Jean Simmons Anne Mueller - Piper Laurie Luke O'Neill - Bryan Brown Dane O'Neill - Philip Anglim Justine O'Neill - Mare Winningham... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The video contains the missing piece of the puzzle - the trailor
Disadvantages: Those without the trailor have truely missed out

...This is one of Alfred Hitchcocks most famous films, and yet it is sadly not one of his most entertaining. Of course it comes with his superb direction skills. The camera angles and sounds bring the maximal support to the viewers experience, but to be honest, it is simple not meaningful. For those that have seen the film alone, with no supporting material, you will mostl liikely have found that while your were suitably impressed with the direction, you were less than enthrawled. The story is a simple one of the birds simply attacking humans. thats it. It captures some of the fear of those involved, once again through Hitchcocks skills, but you dont really understand the point. Now the the subject of this review: Why you must watch it on video... The video of The Birds comes with a copy of the the trailor for the film... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The music, the directing, the performances.
Disadvantages: Very depressing.

...I bought 'Bird', the Charlie Parker story from Amazon, for £5.99. Though the film was released initially in 1988 it has been quite hard to get on DVD (even though it was released in this format in 2006), for some reason, and as a big Charlie Parker fan I was thrilled to see lots of copies now available. It carries a British '15' rating. and is a mammoth 154 minutes long (yep, that is nearly three hours). Clint Eastwood directed this film, partly as a labour of love, as it was never going to be an all time best seller or break any box office records, though it did win best actor at Cannes film festival for Forest Whitaker who plays Charlie Parker. Deservedly so, as Forest Whitaker puts in a dark, moody and believable performance, even some of his sax' 'playing' looks convincing. On top of that the New York Film critics award... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average