Collection ID 1067
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Unger, James Rebhorn, Peter Donat
Genre: Mystery
Studio: Polygram Filmed Entertainment   Release date: 1997   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: Wealthy financier Nicholas Van Orton gets a strange birthday present from wayward brother Conrad: a live-action game that consumes his life.
My Rating:
My Review: A paranoid masterpiece of suspense and mystery. Directed by David Fincher (Alien 3, Fight Club, Seven), this stylish, dark and moody movie is a non-stop head game. Wealthy financier, Nicholas Van Orton (played by Michael Douglas) is a high powered executive. Haunted by the suicide of his father, he is quickly approaching a fateful rendevous with destiny. As his birthday approaches, his brother (played by Sean Penn) offers him an unusual gift. For the man who has everything... Consumer Recreation Services offers a variety of tailored experiences to their clientelle. Nicholas Van Orton's adventure begins with a rigorous series of physical and psychological tests. Followed by the 'Insurance Release' waiver. That's when the action begins. This movie accelerates forward at a breathtaking pace, sweeping the viewer up in a paranoid, twisted tale of deception, danger, and death defying endings. If you can ignore some of the minor inconsistencies (this is hollywood), you'll be swept away in a fantastic flurry of truly dizzying, non-stop excitement. Michael Douglas was outstanding in his portrayal of a man frayed by events out of his control. The direction was excellent, as was the lighting, sets and costumes. The best part of this movie was head twisting story.

Collection ID 331
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Unger, James Rebhorn, Peter Donat
Genre: Mystery
Studio: Polygram Filmed Entertainment   Release date: 1997   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: Wealthy financier Nicholas Van Orton gets a strange birthday present from wayward brother Conrad: a live-action game that consumes his life.
My Rating:
My Review: A paranoid masterpiece of suspense and mystery. Directed by David Fincher (Alien 3, Fight Club, Seven), this stylish, dark and moody movie is a non-stop head game. Wealthy financier, Nicholas Van Orton (played by Michael Douglas) is a high powered executive. Haunted by the suicide of his father, he is quickly approaching a fateful rendevous with destiny. As his birthday approaches, his brother (played by Sean Penn) offers him an unusual gift. For the man who has everything... Consumer Recreation Services offers a variety of tailored experiences to their clientelle. Nicholas Van Orton's adventure begins with a rigorous series of physical and psychological tests. Followed by the 'Insurance Release' waiver. That's when the action begins. This movie accelerates forward at a breathtaking pace, sweeping the viewer up in a paranoid, twisted tale of deception, danger, and death defying endings. If you can ignore some of the minor inconsistencies (this is hollywood), you'll be swept away in a fantastic flurry of truly dizzying, non-stop excitement. Michael Douglas was outstanding in his portrayal of a man frayed by events out of his control. The direction was excellent, as was the lighting, sets and costumes. The best part of this movie was head twisting story.

Collection ID 1589
Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Sharon Horgan, Billy Magnussen
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Studio: Access Entertainment   Release date: 2018   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: Six close friends meet each week for a game night involving board games, charades and pop culture trivia quizzes. Being the most competitive of the bunch, Max and his wife Annie, who seem to be a perfect match in every way, usually win every time. However, their marriage is on rocky ground as Annie fears that Max doesn't want to have children. When Max's shady brother Brooks reappears after a long mysterious absence and suggests that they have their next gathering at his place, no one expects that their weekly game night is about to go to the next level as Brooks organizes a full blown murder mystery party complete with actors as criminals and cops for them. However, when Brooks is violently kidnapped in front of everyone, it turns out that the game is all too real. Now, Max, Annie, their womanizing dimwitted friend Ryan, his domineering Irish date Sarah, and their childhood friends Michelle and her husband Kevin, who's obsessed with finding out with which mysterious celebrity ...
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 677
Director: Matt Vancil
Starring: Matt Cameron, Chris Duppenthaler, Justin MacGregor, Emily Olson, Phil M. Price
Genre: Gaming
Studio: Dead Gentlemen Productions   Release date: 2002   Rated:   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: One late night in a college dorm, four socially inept geeks immerse themselves in a fantasy world of their own creation. As their characters journey through forbidden kingdoms, ancient ruins, and the forsaken wilderness, the players attempt to solve a mysterious puzzle that could ultimately mean the difference between getting a life and death. Who is The Shadow? Where is The Princess hidden? Will any of them ever find a date? And how long do they have before their annoyed neighbors call the cops?
My Rating:
My Review: Yes - I'm a total geek, I admit it. This is a fanboy movie. The movie is produced by gamers. Those who play RPGs. Not the online sort. The table-top face-to-face kind that I love. Here is a group of geeks gathered around the DM's screen, rolling dice, chugging soda and cracking inside jokes. The movie moves back and forth between shots of the gamers, and 'live action' re-enactments of the characters actions. The costumes, props and production are all low budget, but the writing is top notch, and the jokes are great. I've had many fun hours playing D&D, and I'm not the only one. Here's a group of gamers who finally did what many of us fantasized about. 'Hey we could definitely make a movie out of this adventure'. The adventure in this case is nothing spectacular, nothing extravagant, no epic campaign. It's a standard straight up 'shoot and loot' episode, straight out of anyone's Saturday afternoon campaign. The acting is pretty poor, and the sound work terrible. The characters are laughable, but loveable, the dialog is snappy, and the villains are - well, one dimensional. The ending was a classic RPG twist, one I've used in my own campaign. Despite it's flaws, I couldn't help but love it. If you're a 'Gamer', you'll agree, this movie is awesome! This particular disc is the DVD version of the movie. Originally produced in 2002, this "Director's Cut" features a plethora of special features and short films. 4 of 5.

Collection ID 1371
Director: Matt Vancil
Starring: Matt Cameron, Chris Duppenthaler, Justin MacGregor, Emily Olson, Phil M. Price
Genre: Gaming
Studio: Dead Gentlemen Productions   Release date: 2002   Rated:   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: One late night in a college dorm, four socially inept geeks immerse themselves in a fantasy world of their own creation. As their characters journey through forbidden kingdoms, ancient ruins, and the forsaken wilderness, the players attempt to solve a mysterious puzzle that could ultimately mean the difference between getting a life and death. Who is The Shadow? Where is The Princess hidden? Will any of them ever find a date? And how long do they have before their annoyed neighbors call the cops?
My Rating:
My Review: Yes - I'm a total geek, I admit it. This is a fanboy movie. The movie is produced by gamers. Those who play RPGs. Not the online sort. The table-top face-to-face kind that I love. Here is a group of geeks gathered around the DM's screen, rolling dice, chugging soda and cracking inside jokes. The movie moves back and forth between shots of the gamers, and 'live action' re-enactments of the characters actions. The costumes, props and production are all low budget, but the writing is top notch, and the jokes are great. I've had many fun hours playing D&D, and I'm not the only one. Here's a group of gamers who finally did what many of us fantasized about. 'Hey we could definitely make a movie out of this adventure'. The adventure in this case is nothing spectacular, nothing extravagant, no epic campaign. It's a standard straight up 'shoot and loot' episode, straight out of anyone's Saturday afternoon campaign. The acting is pretty poor, and the sound work terrible. The characters are laughable, but loveable, the dialog is snappy, and the villains are - well, one dimensional. The ending was a classic RPG twist, one I've used in my own campaign. Despite it's flaws, I couldn't help but love it. If you're a 'Gamer', you'll agree, this movie is awesome! This particular disc is the DVD version of the movie. Originally produced in 2002, this "Director's Cut" features a plethora of special features and short films. 4 of 5.

Collection ID 801
Director: Edmon Roch
Starring: Rupert Allason, José Antonio Escoriza, Aline Griffith, Juan Kreisler, Joan Pujol
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
Studio: Centuria Films S.L.   Release date: 2009   Rated: Not Rated   
Language (Country): English, Catalan, Spanish (Spain)
Summary: A compelling account of Juan Pujol, an extraordinary Spanish double agent during WWII who helped change the course of history.
My Rating:
My Review: Garbo - The Spy. Not to be confused with Garbo - The Actress (aka Greta Garbo - born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson). This film is a documentary about a double agent code named Garbo by the British and Arabel by the Germans. The story is so compelling that the movie could easily withstand numerous flaws capable of ruining many films. Born Joan Pujol Garcia, this unassuming spaniard survived numerous trials of turmoil in Spain before he became embroiled in the politics of WWII. The documentary wove interviews, archival footage and clips from old movies (there's been several documentaries based upon the exploits of this particular spy) into a totally engrossing mystery and compelling drama. The story is very absorbing. An intelligence story so compelling that I couldn't tear myself away. Garbo worked as an independent agent, for the Allies and the Nazis in a complex web of deceit and deep cover. Throughout it all, he was always on the side of democracy and freedom. Despising Facism and Communisim, his early experiences in Spain taught him the value of Democracy and personal freedoms. The covert contributions of this one individual (especially during Operation Fortitude) were probably more instrumental than the overt contributions of thousands of other agents, soldiers and politicians. Expertly playing the intelligence game, Garbo created a vast network of agents composed entirely out of thin air. With fictional agents infiltrating all levels of the military, intelligence and political arms of the British and German governments, Garbo's ability to feed false information to the Nazi's was instrumental in the great deception which led them to dis-believe the Normandy invasion up until well after the Allied forces had established themselves well within the heart of occupied France. Garbo's exploits were so important to both sides that he was actually awarded the MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) from King George the VI (on the 25th of Nov, 1945) and an Iron Cross Second Class (from Hitler on 29 July 1944). An astonishing accomplishment for a civilian. If you are a WWII buff, you MUST see this movie. The documentary unfolds in such a way that the typical viewer is unaware of the true nature of Garbo's role until all the facets of this amazing story are pulled together towards the end of the movie. The documentary even includes actual interviews and footage of Garbo long after the Normandy landings. Returning to France to visit the graves of those who gave their lives, and the haunted battlefields of WWII, you can clearly see how this great war still affected Joan some fourty years later. I give this documentary a 5 out of 5 .

Collection ID 1518
Director: Edmon Roch
Starring: Rupert Allason, José Antonio Escoriza, Aline Griffith, Juan Kreisler, Joan Pujol
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
Studio: Centuria Films S.L.   Release date: 2009   Rated: Not Rated   
Language (Country): English, Catalan, Spanish (Spain)
Summary: A compelling account of Juan Pujol, an extraordinary Spanish double agent during WWII who helped change the course of history.
My Rating:
My Review: Garbo - The Spy. Not to be confused with Garbo - The Actress (aka Greta Garbo - born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson). This film is a documentary about a double agent code named Garbo by the British and Arabel by the Germans. The story is so compelling that the movie could easily withstand numerous flaws capable of ruining many films. Born Joan Pujol Garcia, this unassuming spaniard survived numerous trials of turmoil in Spain before he became embroiled in the politics of WWII. The documentary wove interviews, archival footage and clips from old movies (there's been several documentaries based upon the exploits of this particular spy) into a totally engrossing mystery and compelling drama. The story is very absorbing. An intelligence story so compelling that I couldn't tear myself away. Garbo worked as an independent agent, for the Allies and the Nazis in a complex web of deceit and deep cover. Throughout it all, he was always on the side of democracy and freedom. Despising Facism and Communisim, his early experiences in Spain taught him the value of Democracy and personal freedoms. The covert contributions of this one individual (especially during Operation Fortitude) were probably more instrumental than the overt contributions of thousands of other agents, soldiers and politicians. Expertly playing the intelligence game, Garbo created a vast network of agents composed entirely out of thin air. With fictional agents infiltrating all levels of the military, intelligence and political arms of the British and German governments, Garbo's ability to feed false information to the Nazi's was instrumental in the great deception which led them to dis-believe the Normandy invasion up until well after the Allied forces had established themselves well within the heart of occupied France. Garbo's exploits were so important to both sides that he was actually awarded the MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) from King George the VI (on the 25th of Nov, 1945) and an Iron Cross Second Class (from Hitler on 29 July 1944). An astonishing accomplishment for a civilian. If you are a WWII buff, you MUST see this movie. The documentary unfolds in such a way that the typical viewer is unaware of the true nature of Garbo's role until all the facets of this amazing story are pulled together towards the end of the movie. The documentary even includes actual interviews and footage of Garbo long after the Normandy landings. Returning to France to visit the graves of those who gave their lives, and the haunted battlefields of WWII, you can clearly see how this great war still affected Joan some fourty years later. I give this documentary a 5 out of 5 .

Collection ID 627
Director: Zach Braff
Starring: Zach Braff, Kenneth Graymez, George C. Wolfe, Austin Lysy, Gary Gilbert
Genre: Drama
Studio: Camelot Pictures   Release date: 2004   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Spanish (USA)
Summary: A conversation about the movie Garden State, with actor Zach Braff, who is also the films writer and director, and actors Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard. Next, restaurateur Sirio Maccioni and co-author Peter Elliot discuss the book Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque.
My Rating:
My Review: A highly stylized drama. A light hearted romance about loss, love, moving on and coping. Written, directed, and starring Zach Braff. Co-starring Natalie Portman as the compulsive liar love interest. The lead character 'wakes up' one day to learn that his mother has died. Reluctantly, he leaves his zanax behind, returns home to his home town, and attempts to unravel his past so he can move on. While home he realizes many truths, falls in love, forgives himself and his father. The film was highly stylized and a bit pretentious, but I liked it a lot. The camera work was excellent. The pacing was great, the casting was terrific. There could have been less profanity, and I didn't care for the way that drug use was glorified. The writing was excellent and the music was fantastic. Sad, happy and sappy funny all at the same time. The ending was great. I loved it.

Collection ID 1326
Director: Zach Braff
Starring: Zach Braff, Kenneth Graymez, George C. Wolfe, Austin Lysy, Gary Gilbert
Genre: Drama
Studio: Camelot Pictures   Release date: 2004   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Spanish (USA)
Summary: A conversation about the movie Garden State, with actor Zach Braff, who is also the films writer and director, and actors Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard. Next, restaurateur Sirio Maccioni and co-author Peter Elliot discuss the book Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque.
My Rating:
My Review: A highly stylized drama. A light hearted romance about loss, love, moving on and coping. Written, directed, and starring Zach Braff. Co-starring Natalie Portman as the compulsive liar love interest. The lead character 'wakes up' one day to learn that his mother has died. Reluctantly, he leaves his zanax behind, returns home to his home town, and attempts to unravel his past so he can move on. While home he realizes many truths, falls in love, forgives himself and his father. The film was highly stylized and a bit pretentious, but I liked it a lot. The camera work was excellent. The pacing was great, the casting was terrific. There could have been less profanity, and I didn't care for the way that drug use was glorified. The writing was excellent and the music was fantastic. Sad, happy and sappy funny all at the same time. The ending was great. I loved it.

Collection ID 466
Director: Bill L. Norton
Starring: Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Grayson Hall, Bernie Casey, Scott Glenn
Genre: Horror
Studio: Vci Home Video   Release date: 1972   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: Whether it's 1972 or 2002, it doesn't matter, "Gargoyles" is just simply grand entertainment of the highest order. A professor/writer and his daughter (Cornel Wilde & Jennifer Salt) come across a bunch of (recently re-birthed) gargoyles in the desert. Some of the highlights: an excellent and mysterious beginning (the first 20 minutes or so wherein some old desert rat shows the professor and his daughter a gargoyle skeleton in some dark barn/shack out in the middle of the desert; night comes down and then the gargoyles attack), Great spooky atmosphere, haunting soundtrack, excellent gargoyle costumes (remember this was a TV movie, not some big-budget blockbuster), good cast, dirt bikers, chases, hellish cave sets, cool gargoyle voices, grisly gargoyle murders, etc., etc. Hey, there's got to be a reason all these Amazon costumers are giving this TV flick such a high rating and stating how they never tire of seeing. Add me to the list! Definite proof that you don't need a big budget to make a great, engrossing flick.
My Rating:
My Review: Written by Stephen and Elinor Karpf. Directed by Bill Norton (as B.W.L. Norton) (Cisco Pike (TV Movie), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series), Tour of Duty (TV Series) More known for television shows than feature movies). Starring Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Grayson Hall, Bernie Casey and others. This made for TV movie is better than many made for the theater feature length films. At only 84 minutes, it manages to tell a creepy, suspenseful tale of survival, where humans may be the threat and the threatened. A paleontologist and his daughter are traveling through the southwester U.S. when the stumble upon a colony of actual 'Gargoyles'. I remember watching this movie when I was 10 or 11. I used to stay up late to watch the scary movies. With a blanket draped over the TV (to muffle the sound), I would silently watch the Creature Features television show, while struggling not to scream, shout or otherwise disclose my late night viewing. I can remember this movie vividly (I now own a copy, and I've seen it many times). The creepy voice of the leader of the Gargoyles - Especially the way he said 'Diana' (the name of the professor's daughter - played by Jennifer Salt). The special effects were rock bottom, but the music, pacing and screenplay created a sense of dread and suspense throughout. The use of slow motion was a brilliant play, the voice filtering (for the Gargoyles) and the silent flight of the Gargoyles over the Arizona desert made for gripping dread in this late night viewer. Surprisingly good acting and superb costumes & makeup for such a low budget film. This movie still creeps me out to this day. A made for TV Horror movie that outshines some of the highest budget flicks. I give it a 4 out of 5.