Snow White - The Fairest of Them All (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have very mixed feelings about this particular Brothers Grimm adaptation. First, I must consider that in the past Fairy Tales have been far from mediocre tales about sanity. Often they are warnings about our most inner desires bringing us certain destruction. This movie deals with jealousy and innocence, kindness and evil.
Caroline Thompson has a great concept at work here, but in places the script falls prey to the cliché. The acting would have been better if the script had been more mature. They seemed to want to make this for children and I could not help hearing the Barney song in the background of my mind when I saw the rainbow and politically correct admonitions. I was disappointed in her naming the dwarfs after the days of the week. I think the names Disney gave the dwarfs were more interesting and would have given them stronger personalities. The acting would have seemed better if all the characters had been given a much stronger script. Yet, this adaptation seems to be reaching further into the past than Disney ever envisioned.
The salvation is in the creativity with which the story is told. It is visually appealing and once you watch the extras on the DVD you will realize this was a low-budget production.
The mirror is fascinating. Not only are there a variety of mirrors, the mirror is broken at one point and contains magical properties. This mirror then becomes a transporter, video camera and weapon. It is no longer just a "mirror, mirror on the wall." The scenes of "raining glass" were wonderfully creative along with the sound effects.
The artificiality of some scenes lend themselves to the "Fairy Tale" appeal. The very fact that the characters are not completely believable at times gives them a certain freedom to be completely evil or completely good.
Snow White (Kristin Kreuk) is incredibly beautiful, but almost solemn in her awakening to the world. She has an almost gothic appeal. As a baby, she is born into a world where apple blossoms fall from the trees into a pond near her home and red rose bushes almost envelope the cottage. Her father John (Tom Irwin) is desperate to save her life after his wife dies after childbirth and tries to make it to a close village. He almost fails and yet his tears awaken a creature frozen beneath the ice. This bewitched creature is able to fulfill wishes like a genie and gives him three wishes. He also unfortunately has a sister who is not quite so kind.
Even as a baby, Snow White was able to sense evil intentions and disliked her new mother-in-law Elspeth (Miranda Richardson) who is part of the wish-fulfillment plot.
In the original story in German, Snow white is born as a princess. In this adaptation, she inherits her royalty through magical means. When the huntsman is told to kill Snow White the new queen asks for her liver and lungs. In this adaptation parents might not appreciate their young children seeing the queen eating "what she thinks" is Snow White's heart.
When the queen finds out Snow White is still alive, she poses as her dead mother instead of a witch. Offering an apple to someone has been known to be a declaration of love or deceit. In this movie, it spells certain death. Snow White is buried in ice instead of a glass coffin.
The queen is not transformed back into her true self until the end of the movie when she is subject to the violence of the "garden gnomes" that come to life to seek revenge. In the real story, she dances to her death in a pair of iron slippers which would not have been enjoyable to watch onscreen. The violence of the gnomes is more "implied."
This is not a calm, happy movie but does have a happy, yet questionable ending. Would any father let such a young daughter ride away with a prince? I think not. In the real story, Snow White grows into an adult while in the coffin. Her hair is still black as ebony, her lips as red as blood and her skin as white as snow.
This movie does contain some violent content I don't think "very young" children should be exposed to although I imagine they might miss some of the implied meanings. This should have been rated PG in some instances in my own mind.
Otherwise, there are elements in this story I really enjoyed, especially the magical elements incorporated into the mirror, castle, roses, forest and the inclusion of various intriguing elements not seen in a Snow White movie to date.
~The Rebecca Review

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Smallville: The Complete Third Season (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)With the TV airwaves overstuffed with tired reality shows and crime dramas, shows like Smallville with it's intelligence and fantasy continue to be a refreshing change.
Season three continues this shows really quite remarkable development and quality. Bit by bit, little by little we see Clark developing into the character who will won day be know as Superman.
There are 22 episodes in Season three. i won't summarize all of them due to space but here are some of the highlights:
"Extinction" - Clark discovers someone is hunting people affected by the kryptonite rocks and the killer's next target is Lex. Clark uses his powers to save Lex, but is caught off guard when the killer learns his weakness and shoots him with a kryptonite bullet.
"Perry" - Our first introduction to Perry White, The editor of the Daily Planet in the Comics, a once promising journalist whose career was destroyed by Lionel Luthor, arrives in Smallville in search of alien stories for a tabloid news show. In spite of being constantly inebriated, Perry believes he has witnessed Clark using his extraordinary speed, so he devises a dangerous scheme to expose Clark's superpowers. Meanwhile, Lex learns that Perry has powerful incriminating evidence of Lionel's shady past.
"Relic" - Clark discovers that Jor-El was on Earth forty years ago. Lana's great uncle, who was convicted of murdering his wife forty years ago, shows her a picture of the man he believes really killed her aunt, and she is shocked to discover the drifter looks just like Clark.
"Whisper" Attempting to stop a robbery, Clark is temporarily blinded when he shoots off a burst of heat vision that is accidentally reflected back into his eyes by a piece of kryptonite and soon realizes his body has developed super-hearing to compensate for his lack of sight.
"Hereafter" - Clark discovers that his schoolmate Jordan can foresee the future, but is horrified when Jordan tells him he "sees" Lana dying in a fire in the next few days. When Jordan bumps into Clark, the viewer is treated to a quick image of the classic Superman "S" symbol on a red cape, while the camera flies through space.
"Covenant" - Things come to a head in Smallville when Kara, a beautiful girl with superpowers, who claims to be from Krypton, comes to entice Clark to fulfill his destiny. Overwhelmed, Clark turns to his parents for advice but is shocked when Kara forces Jonathan to finally reveal the deal he made with Jor-El. Also, Clark makes a discovery that ultimately redefines his relationship with Lex, and Clark's relationship with Lana takes a final turn.
One of the best things about watching Smallville is tryting to find all the little hints and inside bits that they place in almost every episode such as the constant use of REd, Blue, and yellow, Superman's costume colors, and the appearance of the trademark "S".
Nice extras include commentary on select episodes, deleted scenes, etc...

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Clark Kent lives in Smallville, but in many ways he is out of this world, and so is this spectacular series that provides a fascinating spin on Superman lore. Season 3 is marked by Clark's inability to overpower destiny and its pressing call for his return home. Clark, who has left Smallville for Metropolis, returns to Smallville to help his parents, who are desperately trying to save their cash-strapped farm and is happily surprised to find that Lex Luthor has survived a deadly jet crash. Lex and Clark's ill-fated camaraderie is strengthened by this miracle but causes tension in the close-knit Kent family, as Jonathan fears that Lex will emulate Lionel and his unscrupulous ways, even while Lex has tried to establish his own identity.

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Smallville - The Complete Seasons 1-7 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)My rating is for the series and not for this particular set of DVDs, which I consider to be appallingly priced. I am a longtime watcher of SMALLVILLE and I wouldn't discourage anyone from taking time to get acquainted with the show. That said, I'm not sure that catching up on the show is best accomplished by buying this set. As I write this review the discounted price is $325. Unless the price drops dramatically, my advice is to buy this set a volume at a time. What I usually do when I want to collect a TV series (and I own around 40 series on DVD) is put all of the individual volumes into my Amazon shopping cart and then save them for later. Then I periodically visit my Cart to see if any of the items I'm watching experience a price drop. For instance, I had all of THE GILMORE GIRLS in my cart, waiting for the price to drop during a sale. One day I logged in to see that the prices for most seasons of GG had dropped to under $20 and I instantly bought all those seasons. Do the same with SMALLVILLE and I think you will get the entire series for a whole lot less than $325. (By the way, an interesting tie-in between Superman and THE GILMORE GIRLS is that the back lot that was used for the filming of GG was adjacent to the one used for THE ADVENTURES OF LOIS AND CLARK [it was also used for the tragically cancelled PUSHING DAISIES]. When Clark visited Smallville in that series, the Smallville town square was the same one used for the Stars Hollow town square.]
The other big question is whether someone will want to catch up on this show. It definitely isn't for everyone. If you enjoy fantasy or Sci-fi it can be a heck of a lot of fun. Comic book purists sometimes get too angry watching it to enjoy it. My daughter, for instance, knows more about Superman comics than anyone I know. She could probably teach a college level course on the history of Superman and his various incarnations. She does not share my enthusiasm for SMALLVILLE. The series is not a canonical version of Superman: The Early Years as much as it is a reimagining of the Superman legend focused Clark Kent of Smallville rather than of Metropolis. There are analogs of nearly everything that you can find in the regular Superman comics, but in a slightly different form. As of Season 8 many of Superman's traditional enemies have put in an appearance on the show, from Lex Luthor (who was through the first seven seasons a series regular) to Brainiac to Doomsday. There have been multiple references to the Justice League and many of Superman's future colleagues have been introduced in the series (but to date no Batman, Wonder Woman, or Green Lantern - though it is interesting that the acclaimed Green Lantern writer Geoff Johns has begun to work as a guest writer on the show - next to Grant Morrison, Johns might be the most respected writer currently working on DC superheroes), with JLA stalwarts such as the Green Arrow (a series regular in Season 8), the Flash, Aquaman, the Flash, and the Martian Manhunter (a recurring character who in Season 8 has made several appearances, though he is temporarily stripped of his powers). In Season 7 Clark's cousin Kara (Supergirl) was a regular. Seriously, the Superman references are too many to attempt to count.
SMALLVILLE, while freely altering elements of the Superman story, is deeply respectful of its source material (though many fans of the comics would undoubtedly disagree). Clark almost always dresses in variations of blue, red, and yellow, the constituent colors of Superman's cape and tights. The producers have brought onto the show as guest stars a large number of actors from previous Superman TV shows and movies. For instance, Christopher Reeve had a recurring role that ended only with his death, Margot Kidder appeared briefly as a guest star, and Christian Kane, the Superman from THE ADVENTURES OF LOIS AND CLARK. The two things that the creators of SMALLVILLE said that we would never see on the show are Clark flying on a regular basis or Clark wearing the Superman uniform. Frankly, I think that was fine for the first several seasons, but I don't think they imagined the show would last for 8 seasons. I'm not keen on seeing Tom Welling put on tights, but I think the show would be well served by allowing him to fly. At this point Clark's failure to gain his last ability has become rather silly.
The early years on the show were largely structured around a meteor-freak-of-the-week format. The idea is that when Clark arrived in Smallville from Krypton he did so in a meteor shower bringing many "meteor rocks" (i.e., kryptonite) with him. While toxic to Clark, the rocks imbue normal humans with a variety of powers. So, each week in the first few seasons Clark would have to struggle against some person with unusual powers created by the rocks. It was pretty consistently the least interesting part of the show.
Thankfully, alongside the meteor-freak-of-the-week were the main relationships in Clark's life: his parents, his friend and then later nemesis Lex Luthor (played marvelously by Michael Rosenbaum), his best friend Chloe Sullivan (again, played wonderfully, this time by Allison Mack), and most of all, the first love of Clark's life, Lana Lang (played by the almost impossibly cute Kristin Kreuk). During all of this many interesting story lines were introduced and developed, though to tell the truth after a certain point keeping Lana the focus of Clark's love life kept the show from developing. Lana left the show at the end of Season Seven, and the result has been in Season Eight a complete resurgence of the show, easily the best season in several years, as the departure of Lana and Lex has allowed the development of an entirely new dynamic for the show. In particular, while Clark and Chloe's cousin Lois Lane have enjoyed a love-hate relationship (with Lois treating Clark with persistent disdain), in Season Eight is definitely more love than hate. The relationships on the show have sometimes led to some atrocious storylines, none worse than in Season Six (the worst season on the show), where things heated up between Lex and Lana.
Over the years I've definitely enjoyed the show more than it has upset me. My main complaint is that I'm not sure that there is an overarching story. The narrative definitely feels like it is being made up as they go along. It isn't like LOST or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, where you feel that the story as a whole is informed by where the series is going to end up. There is an interesting dynamic in the writing, however, that is fairly unique to SMALLVILLE. Most shows tend to end pretty much at the climax of the episode, or at most a minute or two afterwards. Almost every episode of SMALLVILLE climaxes a good 8 or 9 minutes before the end of the episode. You then get a few scenes that shows the main characters reacting to the events of the previous half hour. So you'll always get a scene, say, between Lex and Chloe and then between Lana and Clark. Most episodes have a fairly leisurely feel to them. All in all, a good thing.
In short, this is a good series, though certainly not a great one. If you enjoy fantasy and Sci-fi, you'll probably enjoy it. You'll sometimes be irritated (especially at how thick-headed Clark is, though in most other ways Tom Welling makes a thoroughly enjoyable Clark, and he certainly looks the part), sometimes entertained, and sometimes blown away. The show usually has memorable season finales, more than its fair share of truly awful episodes, and a good number of excellent ones. If it never becomes consistently excellent, neither does it become consistently bad (with the possible exception of the terrible Lex/Lana story of Season Six). It does get better after the first couple of seasons, stays pretty much on the same level after that (with the exception of Season Six), and then gets very good in Season Eight again. All in all, I give this series a thumb's up. I've always looked forward to seeing it each week and I'll continue to do so until they decide to bring the series to an end. Just do yourself a favor and collect the individual seasons individually and not through this very expensive set.

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Smallville: The Complete Eighth Season (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am one of the rare "Smallville" fans that greatly prefer the darker seasons of late to the light-hearted, freak-of-the-week seasons that the show started with. Season 8 introduced the marvelous Tess Mercer (as excellently portrayed by Cassidy Freeman) who filled the shoes of an MIA Lex Luthor with more charisma and grace than, dare I say it, the great Michael Rosenbaum in the past couple seasons. Also among the characters this year is Davis "Doomsday" Bloome, who is taken to the next level by Sam Witwer, who plays the role in such a way that the viewers can actually sympathize for the tortured, lonely murderer that Davis has unfortunately become.
There are only two problems that I have with season 8. The first is that around episodes 8.03-8.05, the show lagged. A lot. The episodes, I thought, were quite boring and just not the best work that the "Smallville" writers have put forth. Specifically 8.03 "Toxic," which could've been a fantastic exploration of Justin Hartley's Oliver "Green Arrow" Queen character but ended up being a bland, practical snorefest.
The second problem is the Lana-arc in episodes 8.10-8.14. While 8.10 "Bride," 8.11 "Legion," and 8.12 "Bulletproof" were all outstanding and Kristin Kreuk delivered on every front in her reprisal as Lana Lang, the storyline of giving Lana super powers was extremely unwelcome to most fans (myself included) and, if anything, ruined what could've been a perfect end to the lengthy Clark/Lana storyline that has haunted "Smallville" since the first episode. 8.14 "Requiem" is a good episode, mind you, but the poorly done super!Lana storyline brings it and 8.13 "Power" down as the worst episodes of the season.
Now, there are definitely some blockbuster episodes that were perfect, in my eyes. The entire slew of episodes from 8.15 to 8.21 were brilliant - specifically 8.15 "Infamous," 8.16 "Turbulence" (a brilliant and emotionally raw exploration of the characters - specifically Jimmy Olsen), 8.18 "Eternal," and 8.21 "Injustice." Watching this season, I was in awe at how much the actors and actresses - and their characters - have grown since they were first introduced to us and I have yet to be disappointed by the work turned in by the fantastic Tom Welling, the outstanding Allison Mack, and the stunning Erica Durance.
Overall, I highly recommend that new viewers catch this season when its on sale and all "Smallville" fans should purchase this boxset as soon as it's released. As we enter season 9, which may very well be our last "Smallville" season, I have high hopes that the show will kick it into high gear and go out with a bang.

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There's a new reporter at the Daily Planet: Clark Kent, who shares a workspace with Lois Lane. There's a new hero in Metropolis, too. No one knows who he is. But Jimmy Olsen was on the scene of one of the do-gooder's exploits, and he snapped a blurred photo of the hero in superspeed action – a hero everyone now calls the Red-Blue Blur. Red-jacketed, blue-shirted Clark Kent draws closer to his Superman destiny in the exciting 22-episode, 6-disc Season 8 of Smallville. Another Kryptonian destiny also takes shape. Davis Bloome begins to realize he is Doomsday. His mission on Earth: kill Clark Kent. So many new events (will Jimmy and Chloe's marriage last?), so many new faces (Tess Mercer, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy among them!), so many state-of-the-art effects – so don\'t miss a single thrill-packed moment!

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Smallville: The Complete Second Season (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to admit when I first heard about Smallville I had many doubts. A show about "Superboy" essentially??? No costume? No Flying?
But the producers succeeded in making a superhero show that is not about a superhero. Tom welling's brilliantly downplayed role as the young Clark Kent, learing and coming to grip with his powers has been a wonderful surprise to TV viewers and a nice addition to the Superman mythology without making any drastic changes.
While the first season was kind of a "monster of the week" routine with Clark battling a new Kryptonite spawned villian each week, Season two really hits it's stride.
A plot thread is begun exploring just who Clark is and why he is on the Earth...and it may not be very pleasant. We see More development of Lex and Lionel Luthor as they battle over their company, the Kents, and Lex's soon-to-be wife.
Clark finds out about his father, Jor-El...and Jor-el wants Clark to do his bidding.
I won't go over all the episodes but hear are some of the season two highlights:
"Heat" Clark discovers a new power...heat vision.
"Duplicity" Clark's best friend, Pete, discovers Clarks Secret. I still don't like that this happened myself.
"Red" Clark gets his class ring only to find out it was made of red kryptonite. Red Kryptonite effects Clarks mind. Making him arrogant, rebellious, removing his inhibitions, and he abuses his powers.
"Suspect" Lionel Luthor is shot at the beginning of the episode turning this one into an old fashioned "who done it". Suspects abound including jonathan kent and Lex.
"skinwalker" Clark discovers some ancient caves with drawings on the wall that reveal secrets about his origins.
"Rosetta" Perhaps the most important episode of the season. Clark discover the octagonal key to his ship also perfectly fits into a spot on those ancient cave walls. When he inserts the key, he is grabbed by a high power. Later, Clark goes to meet a myserious scientist played by Christopher Reeve. He reveals to Clark that he picked up a strange transmission during the meteor storm that brought Clark to Earth...And He reveals Clarks real name..Kal-El.
"Exodus" The season finale and cliffhanger. Clark Destroys his ship but in doing so his parents are cought in the blast and martha loses the baby. Distrought..Clark puts on his red Kryptonite ring and heads for Metropolis.
Meanwhile, Lex's new wife drugs him, and sends him off in an unmanned plane, straight to the ocean.
Season two really began developing the major characters especially Clark, Lex, and Lionel Luther. The series gets stronger and stronger!

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Girls, homework, kryptonite. Don't miss a single second - the entire second season! Clark Kent lives in Smallville, but in many ways he's out of this world - and so is this spectacular series that provides a fascinating spin on Superman lore. This 6-disc collection includes all 23 second-season episodes plus bonus materials worthy of a hero. Among the episode highlights: Clark grapples with his true calling. Is he on Earth to serve humanity or perhaps destroy it? Lex gets married - twice! Lana moves in with Chloe, adding a new dynamic to their Clark dilemma. Martha and Jonathan receive miraculous news. Lionel pulls devious strings. And Pete becomes a keeper of the Clark secret. One thing we can't keep secret: the legend grows stronger in Smallville!DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDVD ROM FeaturesDeleted ScenesFeaturetteGag ReelOther

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Smallville: The Complete First Season (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Before battling the forces of evil, Clark Kent faced his greatest challenge: high school. The WB's engaging hit drama has finally arrived on DVD. A devastating meteor shower strikes the peaceful town of Smallville. For most of the townsfolk, the event brought great losses and unexplainable results, but for the caring Kent Family (John Schneider & Annette O'Toole), it blessed them with an amazing gift: a son who will become Earth's greatest champion. Producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have developed an original and appealing twist to the Superman myth. "Smallville" is the popular live-action comic book series that follows the young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) adapting to his superhuman powers, his friendship with future arch nemesis Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and the developing relationship with sweetheart Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk). The series is a surprising mix of coming-of-age drama and comic-book fantasy. "Smallville" also features a top-notch cast and stunning visual effects. The first season of "Smallville" definitely keeps viewers entertained but too many "Villain of the Week" episodes give the show a repetitive nature.

Fans of the WB drama will be satisfied with "Smallville: The Complete First Season". All 21 episodes of the first season are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format. Its picture quality is quite bright and reasonably sharp. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is satisfactory with decent surround effects. The box set includes two commentary tracks by series creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, several deleted scenes from the pilot and second episode, "Storyboard to Screen" featurette, an interactive tour of Smallville, some promotional material and DVD-ROM extras. Overall, "Smallville: The Complte First Season" scores a "B".

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Before the Legend...Before the Icon...He was a teenager growing up in Smallville. The Complete First Season of the hit series that chronicles the life of the boy who would be Superman is on DVD in a 6-disc collector's set with super bonus features.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDVD ROM FeaturesDeleted ScenesOtherStoryboardsTV Spot

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Smallville - The Complete First Six Seasons (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)A quick look at each Smallville season (including a star ranking out of five):
Season One (*****): Sets down the roots of an amazing show focusing on the younger (high school) days of Clark Kent, the future hero Superman. In this season, Clark's crush on Lana Lana and friendship (yes, friendship) with Lex Luthor are developed, as well a certain green substance that seems to wreak havoc on the town of Smallville.
Season Two (*****): This season focuses on Clark finding out his Kryptonian heritage, including a very moving guest appearance from a man of Superman movie lore. What I consider to be the best part of this season is all the allusions to the Superman cannon (or mythology)...there are multiple great moments in each episode that will make you crack a smile.
Season Three (*****): What I consider to be the best season of the show, as it explores the potential for evil in Lex Luthor and why he is so troubled. Lex's psychotic break is a high point in the series, while this is also the last season that the Clark/Lana romance remains emotional on a week-to-week level.
Season Four (****): The plot got a little weaker this season (I think the producers needed something for Lana Lang's character to do, thus the "witches" plotline), but it still introduced classic characters from the Superman comics and saw all the main characters graduate Smallville High, taking the show in a whole new direction.
Season Five (*****): This season rebounds from a weaker previous season, as it introduces a new famous Superman villain (at this point much more powerful than Lex Luthor), has an emotional special Christmas episode, and features a 100th episode that will have you reaching for the tissue box on multiple occasions.
Season Six (***): By far the weakest season of the show. Starts out with a bang, but never achieves that kind of success again until the season finale. The Clark/Lana romance is so stretched that it becomes like a soap opera, losing its emotional punch. An evil Lex and a junior Justice League forming are the highlights of this emotional bereft season.

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