Davis Freeberg's DVD AllStars

Under discussion:

The Net  (1995)

I wouldn't consider this one of the best movies about technology, but it was still pretty good.  Sandra Bullock plays a character who ends up sideways with a shadowy government and ends up having her identity stolen in a big way.  While the plot is fairly predictable and the acting is a little on the weak side, the fast pace action makes it easy to look past it's flaws.  The key to enjoying the film is to not take it too seriously.  Not recommended for those of you who've had your credit hijacked by Nigerian scammers.

Under discussion:

Chinatown  (1974)

I was never really all that interested in seeing Chinatown until Netflix recommended it to me as something I would like.  After recording the movie on my TiVo, I went to watch it, but immedietely I saw it was a Roman Polanski film.

Polanski is a bit of a controversial figure for me because he's been accused of doing some pretty bad stuff.  In the past I've intentionally refused to see his films, so when I went to watch the film and saw it was a Polanski film I almost turned it off.

Like most of the Polanski films I've seen, the movie was great.  The character development was especially well done.  The storyline gripping.  During the entire film, I couldn't bring myself to turn it off.  

Like most of the Polanski films I've seen, it also included some pretty weird stuff, including a character who had an incestuous relationship with her father.  

While overall, the film is very well done, it was depressing for me to see such a great movie made by such a morally questionable man.  Perhaps I should be judging each film based on the quality of it's work, but I can't help but feel a little guilty that I may have helped to support someone who is still considered on the lam.  

If the moral objections don't bother you, then my advice is to check it out, but personally, I wish I would have stuck with my ethics and avoided this one, even though it turned out to be one of the better films that I've seen over the last year.

Under discussion:

Dawn of the Dead  (1978)

After being a little disappointed with the first film of this franchise, I came in with low expectations for this film, but was pleasantly surprised at how great this film turned out to be.  Filmed nearly a decade after the original Night of the Living Dead, the Dawn of The Dead takes up where the last one left off.  Being made a generation later really added a lot to the film.  It's images are more disturbing, the plot more engaging and the film more sophisticated.

Unlike the first film that took place pretty much in a farm house, this film takes place at a mall populated by a group of bandits and a gazillion zombies that want to eat their flesh.  The film takes the viewer from the first week of the zombie uprising to several months later.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the film was the fact that it was made in the 1970's.  While there wasn't any references to disco, the culture of the 70's really came through on the film.  I also liked that Romero left the ending of the film more open ended for his follow up film a decade later.  Overall, I felt like this was a stronger film in the franchise.