Moriarty's DVD Blog 2007 (UPDATED WITH NEW GAME)

[Moriarty]

This is going to be the official thread for the new format DVD blog that will be running on the front page.

I assume some of you are coming here from the front page and aren't regular users of the Zone.

As you look around (and you should... it's swanky), keep in mind that any avatars you use should be 160(width)/200(length). Our mods encourage you to use Photobucket to expedite the process.

I'm going to be trying some different things out to see how this sort of casual coverage works best, and your feedback will be appreciated along the way.

For now, here's the text that will be posted on the main page tomorrow.

[i]Allow me to explain why I constantly try to set goals for myself that we all know I will never be able to maintain.

It’s because I’m a fucking idiot.

Oh, I’m a bright guy in conversation, and I’m well-read, and I think I have a fair sense of sentence structure and rhythm and decent taste, but when it comes to things like “realistic workloadâ€

[Moriarty]

I need to keep a running list here of everything I watch as I'm watching it.

I've been very, very bad about this so far.

Right now, for example, I'm watching disc four of DOCTOR WHO: SERIES TWO. I just watched disc four of the SIMSONS: SEASON NINE Box Set. Next up is disc three of HOMICIDE: SEASON FIVE.

I've got movies in there, too, of course. I just watched SAYONARA JUPITER and UP PERISCOPE. It does take a lot of time to get into these big TV series box sets, so movies end up taking the hit. I try to just keep things moving, though, and mixing it up like this keeps it all fresh instead of trying to push through a full season of one thing at a gulp.

I'll put together a list of everything I've seen so far this year, since it's all in the "Just Watched" stack on my desk. Then I'll start trying to keep the running list up once a day.

For actual reviews, though... front page.

[Lord Voldemoo]

No blog posts.

Locking...

I need to keep a running list here of everything I watch as I'm watching it.

I've been very, very bad about this so far.

Right now, for example, I'm watching disc four of DOCTOR WHO: SERIES TWO. I just watched disc four of the SIMSONS: SEASON NINE Box Set. Next up is disc three of HOMICIDE: SEASON FIVE.

I've got movies in there, too, of course. I just watched SAYONARA JUPITER and UP PERISCOPE. It does take a lot of time to get into these big TV series box sets, so movies end up taking the hit. I try to just keep things moving, though, and mixing it up like this keeps it all fresh instead of trying to push through a full season of one thing at a gulp.

I'll put together a list of everything I've seen so far this year, since it's all in the "Just Watched" stack on my desk. Then I'll start trying to keep the running list up once a day.

For actual reviews, though... front page.

Very cool, Mori. A number of us are trying to do the same thing, here:

http://zone.aintitcool.com/viewtopic.php?t=53520

though it isn't restricted to just DVD.

Looking forward to the new blog!

[MasterWhedon]

Uh oh... Are we gonna give this guy more to complain about?

Best of luck with this, Mori. It's quite the undertaking.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

Oh, I’m a bright guy in conversation, and I’m well-read, and I think I have a fair sense of sentence structure and rhythm and decent taste

damn right, even when blazed!

[quote="Moriarty"]but when it comes to things like “realistic workloadâ€

[Moriarty]

Okay... the story is up on the site.

It's about 2:00 on Tuesday morning. I've still got three hours of work to go, and I've got the DVD platter loaded with stuff.

I'll update here each time something new starts and ends.



FAMILY TIES: SEASON ONE (disc one)

What a time capsule this show is. It's amazing to see Michael J. Fox looking so young. He was a kid when this show began. Fox had awesome timing from the very first episode, though. He was a machine. And Justine Bateman was fokkin' hawt.

The show was pretty polished right away. I mean, looking at it compared to the way the average network sitcom looks these days, it's fairly crude. There's no art to FAMILY TIES. But it was one of those NBC sitcoms during the era where they could do no wrong, and it absolutely knows what it is doing. The basic premise -- a liberal hippie '60s couple has settled into suburban life in the '80s with their kids, who are all products of the Reagan era -- is basically ALL IN THE FAMILY turned inside out, but there's no bite to the comedy. It's as safe as safe gets, which is in keeping with the general attitude towards comedy on TV in the '80s.

[Pacino86845]

Good luck with all of that Mori, it's no small task what you've chosen to undertake. I like that you're reaching high with this, as you usually do, 'cause even if you don't get to do as much as you initially set out to, you'll probably get a hell of a lot more done than most reviewers.

And that text you wrote in the first post is just damned inspiring.

[colonel_lugz]

This is going to be immense. Good luck Mori!

[Moriarty]

Next up: APARTMENT ZERO.

This one's been out of print forever, and the longer theatrical cut's never had a proper home video release. Now there's a new disc coming soon that's got the theatrical cut, two commentary tracks, and a new letterboxed transfer.

I know this one's got a cult following, so I figure here's the perfect opportunity to see what the fuss is about.

[WinslowLeach]

Family Ties is one of my all time fave TV shows. I havent seen Apt Zero yet. Gotta check that one out.

[Tennyson E. Stead]

This sounds real good to me. Most of my favorite DVD purchases over the last few months have been films I'm only now discovering, and having a place to go where I can expand my horizons is a fantastic gift. I'd love it if you'd post links for Amazon and Netflix on your reviews as well.

Thanks, Moriarty! T

[Moriarty]

Wow. Woke up and finished APARTMENT ZERO after errands and lunch.

Impressive. I'll review this one on this site this afternoon.

Let's see what's next up in the platter. Various things have arrived in the mail all day. OPEN SEASON. AMERICAN HARDCORE. That TEEN TITANS movie. NIGHT SKIES. RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES. Interesting stuff for the next few days.

Ahhhh... Robert Mitchum's next in the platter... part of the new box set.

[Moriarty]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31397

APARTMENT ZERO review is up.

[Moriarty]

Okay... I love Robert Mitchum.



But THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS was a drag. It's one of those jokey Westerns made as the genre was dying. This is the sort of film Mel Brooks was roasting the hardest in BLAZING SADDLES, the smirky plastic Hollywood stuff that just plain smothered any life out of the genre.

Not worth a full review. Barely worth my time to watch.

[Moriarty]

Next up, I'm going to dip back into that BOND ULTIMATE COLLECTION.

It's double-dip heaven as far as MGM's concerned, but the joke's on them. I've never bought a single Bond film until now. It was the Lowry Digital frame-by-frame clean-up and the 4K master scan that convinced me.

I think I'm going to throw on FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. I liked it in the theater, but it may well be one of the few I've never revisited. Guess it's about time to check it out again, especially since I just watched ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE the other night, which should play right into the start of this film.

[FLIM]

You hit the nail on the head with that one moriarty. I have the original lp of the star wars soundtrack and the story book and the trading cards . It was indeed a way of owning the film.

And now we do. Too bad it wasnt the Han shot Greedo first ,version but then again where's Sebastian Shaw?

[Brocktune]

AMERICAN HARDCORE.

man, i was so fuckin PISSED that i missed that one. it only ran down here for a week.

[Moriarty]

Wow. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is sort of a piece of shit, isn't it?

I think the great unspoken truth of the Bond series is that Roger Moore was the worst Bond ever by a long shot. And he made a whole lot of truly awful films. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY came right on the heels of MOONRAKER, widely regarded as one of the low points of the entire franchise, a surprise since it followed THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, maybe one of the best overall popcorn riffs on Bond. FYEO had to be lean and mean because MOONRAKER was bloated and stupid, and for the most part, I think FYEO does what it sets out to do. It strips down the character to basics. It's very formulaic because it wanted to make audiences comfortable...

... wait a minute, I feel myself working up to a right rant about Bond, as I normally do. I think I should write this for the site instead of for here... so to be continued...

[Andre Dellamorte]

Even stripped down, Moore couldn't not be snarky stupid, and, and, the hockey rink fight just ruins the tone.

[Moriarty]

And in the meantime, I'm going to watch this TEEN TITANS movie.

I was a TITANS collector back in the day. Fifteen years or so of loyal readership starting with the Perez/Wolfman kickoff. The NEW Teen Titans. That's what I'm all about.

You kids and your anime-influenced redesigns of everything...

*sigh*

[Moriarty]

Dre!!!

What a pleasant sight!

Dude. Hang out. Pull up a chair. Introduce yourself around.

Huzzah! Dre is good peoples, everybody. Film freak of the highest degree. Glib or not, it's good to have him here.

[magicmonkey]

Even worse than Timothy Dalton? No never, ever. I swear that movie "License to Kill" was made by idiots laundering money with no interest in movie making.

[Ribbons]

Welcome to the fold, Andre. If you wanna introduce yourself formally, here be the place to do it.

[Andre Dellamorte]

Hi. I'm Dre. Or Andre Dellamorte, and you might know me from the Jedi Council, Chud, and/or Collider. I'm a Pisces, I love Howard Hawks and sodomy.

Though License to Kill went entirely too strong on the 80's action sentiment, The Living Daylights is a fine film. Moore always played Bond like it was all a big joke, which worked in the more absurd Bonds, which were themselves quite terrible. I still think his finest hour was the Geriatric Bond Octopussy.

[magicmonkey]

The problem with Bond, is that the films age too quickly, a product of how superficial they are I guess. Connery had his era and it's seen as the classic bond. Whereas the others kinda get worse as the years go by. Be interested to see how this all applies to Casino Royale. Welcome to zone dre.

[Moriarty]

The TEEN TITANS movie just makes me feel old.

But on the other hand, I'm really glad I named my son Toshiro. Asian pop culture is eating the world.

Next up, something I've been putting off for a while. It's hard to explain, but I just didn't want to see it. And I had it hyped up to me to such a degree that I needed to let that wear off so I didn't hold it against the movie.

I'm going to put on Richard Donner's SUPERMAN II cut from the new box set.

Let's see what all the fuss is about.

[AtomicHyperbole]

If I'm going to buy bond, it's Connery and Casino Royale all the way. Even going back to Goldeneye was a disctinctly odd experience. It feels so old-fashioned now... even Serra's score grates like hell.

I need to see the RD S2 to understand how it ties into the, imo, weak Superman Returns. Quite why a directors cut only people in the know about Superman (considering he's a movie icon as well as comics, he transcends his roots as it were) was used as the basis of a new movie is beyond me, but there ya go...

[Moriarty]

Off to bed, and regarding the Donner cut, I'll just say this...

... I'm not impressed.

[AtomicHyperbole]

That should make me care less, but now I'm just curious.

Is it WORTH seeing? In the light of me being a bit pissed off with SR?

(answer tomorrow hehe)

[Doc Holliday]

Off to bed, and regarding the Donner cut, I'll just say this...

... I'm not impressed.

This makes the cliffhangers at the end of a LOST episode seem ordinary by comparison!

I have the RD cut on my radar....it'll be interesting to hear your final verdict.

[Curious Jorge]

Roger Moore started out good, but as his Bond career wore on and he got older, he didn't come across as that young, virile stud... more like a creepy old guy hitting on people's daughters. Watching a 50-something Moore making time with buxom 20-something ladies just made me feel dirty. And not in a good way.

And then there's the whole problem of Bond-as-superhero that plagued the progression of Moore's Bond films. Somewhere along the line, you lost the sense of his human fragility as he became bulletproof, invincible. Watching A VIEW TO A KILL, you practically expect to see a big red "S" bursting out from his shirt. All of the dynamic tension is gone from the film.

In fact, you can clearly see the sparks flying from the undercarriage while watching AVTAK, when the franchise truly bottomed out. Climbing into bed with Grace Jones! Yeesh! I saw this film in the theater, and I remember a collective "Ewwwww..." coming from the audience. Back in the mid-eighties, you could still shock people by telling them you were Bi... I just imagine Roger Moore one-upping those conversations at Hollywood parties by saying, "Oh, yeah? Well I did GRACE JONES!" Stunned silence....

That's one thing that I appreciate about Pierce Brosnan, is that he brought Bond back into reality, made him human again. Most notably in DIE ANOTHER DAY, where he spent time in a POW camp. That was awesome. DAD renegotiated our perception of the character.

Anyway... one thing that I liked about FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is that it was one of the later Moore flicks that diverged from Bond-as-Superman. He has a brief romance that ends with the woman's murder, so you feel a sense of loss in the character. And the female lead is alluring in her simplicity. The movie is more down to earth; there's less reliance on gadgets. Personally, I think FYEO is one of the better entries from Moore.

Wow. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is sort of a piece of shit, isn't it?

I think the great unspoken truth of the Bond series is that Roger Moore was the worst Bond ever by a long shot. And he made a whole lot of truly awful films. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY came right on the heels of MOONRAKER, widely regarded as one of the low points of the entire franchise, a surprise since it followed THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, maybe one of the best overall popcorn riffs on Bond. FYEO had to be lean and mean because MOONRAKER was bloated and stupid, and for the most part, I think FYEO does what it sets out to do. It strips down the character to basics. It's very formulaic because it wanted to make audiences comfortable...

... wait a minute, I feel myself working up to a right rant about Bond, as I normally do. I think I should write this for the site instead of for here... so to be continued...

[AtomicHyperbole]

I'd have to comment on Die Another Day...

...

... it's just THAT bad of a movie. Thanks be they pressed the reset button... as much as I appreciate that they seemed to attempt to humanise Bond, the utter preposterousness of the movie failed to engage me in any way whatsoever. I agree, they needed the Brosnan period, but I'm glad they stopped it before he became the next Moore.

[Holer]

I always thought 'Man with the Golden Gun' was the best Roger Moore Bond film, but maybe it was just because of my fondness for Christopher Lee's extra nipple.

I remember about this time also, Roger did that Ffolkes movie about the cat loving, woman hating espionage hero. I thought that was much more his speed actually. Played better to his brittle British personae.

Moriarity - I am a big fan of your movie musings, even though you often don't follow through on your promises to review this and that. When you actually do write something up though, I generally find we are sympatico. Much more so than with Harry's often irritating gee-whiz rantings (no offense).

Are we allowed to contribute reviews of our own or is this your show? I have a pretty decent collection myself, though it pales in comparison to yours. Then again, I have to pay hard dollars for my habit all the way. It would be nice to be subsidized with the occasional freebie.

By the way, how was 'Sayonara Jupiter'? I'm a big Japanese sci-fi fan, particularly the Tohoscope stuff. If you'd like, I can share my review of the Mysterians, one of my all time faves.

Anyway, hope this works out. Looks like fun.

Cheers

[AtomicHyperbole]

Check the av size rules in the general forum, Holer!

Welcome, though!

[Holer]

Sorry! I don't usually do avatars anyway. Posting movie reviews is probably the only thing that's keeping me from becoming a complete Luddite anyway. Maybe it was all the porn and mp3 downloading in the old days. ho hum...

Anyway, thanks!

[Holer]

anyway...

[WinslowLeach]

The opening of For Your Eyes Only is one of my top favorites, but the rest of the movie is so so. I do like the ski chase though.

[Doc Holliday]

Welcome Holer - copy and paste the following line into your offsite AV link and it'll do the trick - but do it now, my eyes are stretching horizontally and it hurts - I want to blink like that guy Will Smith chases down in MIB

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/6122/bloggerph5 .jpg

[Lyle Gorch]

Oh...lay off of Moore already.
Worst Bond by a longshot? Please...

Yeah...his run got sillier along the way, but I agree with his supporters...
...Moore's take was a classier, more urbane Bond.
(An interpretation that Brosnan clearly borrowed from...)
I get why some feel cold towards the playful tone he brought to the character.
But God knows he was better than Dalton or Pierce..

Yes, I said Brosnan.
I like the guy. I've enjoyed his work over the years.
But, outside of The Matador and The Tailor of Panama, his shtick really comes down to his ability to squint his eyes on command.
(An unfair overstatement? Sure...but let me get my jabs in)
IMO, his frame was just too slight to ever be believable as Bond.

Outside of seeing the latest films on the big screen, I've managed to stay away from the Bond films for quite a few years.
Simply because I had already seen them so many times.
And like Mori, I never grabbed the previous BOND dvd's.

The highlight of the first Box Set for me was rediscovering how solid "The Man With The Golden Gun" remains.
Moore's playing a tougher Bond in this one...and I liked the approach.
The film would have been better still if it avoided the return of Clifton James's "J.W. Pepper" character...but I imagine he got big laughs from movie audiences in 1974/1975.

I'll add this about Moore.
Without doubt...he starred in the two of the worst entries of the entire series...
"A View To A Kill" and "Moonraker"

[WinslowLeach]

Hey guys can you resize your avatars? Its fuckin up the whole thread.

[Lyle Gorch]

Hey guys can you resize your avatars? Its fuckin up the whole thread.

I'm working on it man...trust me
Hope this one works...

[WinslowLeach]

Almost there Lyle and yes siree The Wild Bunch rules.

[Lyle Gorch]

Almost there Lyle and yes siree The Wild Bunch rules.

Man...finding a solid Warren Oates avatar (from The Wild Bunch) is tricky.
Guess I'll go with a shot of the man as 'Bennie' instead...

[WinslowLeach]

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a great one too.

[Lyle Gorch]

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a great one too.

IMO...an American masterpiece.
And Peckinpah's second best film. (Which is saying something)

Bummer to hear Mori's take on THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS
I'm planning on tearing into the Mitchum box set this weekend.

[WinslowLeach]

What are the other films in that boxset?

[Holer]

Oh...lay off of Moore already.
Worst Bond by a longshot? Please...

Worst Bond movies were possibly the Timothy Dalton ones. They are the most dated for sure and they aren't really very entertaining. I like Tim as a villain but I think he was miscast as Bond.

Pierce is too Remington Steele, I agree, but I did enjoy 'The World is Not Enough', if only for the Michelle Yeoh set pieces.

I'm curious to see Casion Royale because I hear it cleaves closer to the book than any movie since 'her majesty's'. But I keep asking if 'The Bitch is Dead' quote gets used and people just give me a puzzled look, so I guess not.

[Holer]

Oh and what was Peckinpahs BEST movie? Wild Bunch? He was an uneven, even sloppy film maker and the appeal of some of his films escapes me, especially 'Pat Garret', though some of the scenes in that movie are amazing.

I love The Wild Bunch and the restored Major Dundee is awesome. Too bad he couldn't see that one through. Might be Charlton Heston's best performance.

For me, it's Alfredo Garcia, though. I don't think he did anything as good, or as personal, as that.

[Nordling]

I'll defend THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS forever. I'm not a huge Bond fan but that movie really works.

Also, yeah, FYEO dates badly. Really badly.

CASINO ROYALE finally makes it a franchise worth a damn, in my opinion.

[Lyle Gorch]

What are the other films in that boxset?

Angel Face (THE reason to buy the set IMO)
Macao
The Sundowners
Home from the Hill
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
and The Yakuza