DVD Verdict reviews: GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX (VOLUME 1) and more!

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of ARTISTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY:
SALVADOR DALI, BASTOF SYNDROME: THE HACKER (VOLUME 2), THE CHINESE CAT,
DEATHWATCH, DRAGON DRIVE, FAUSTO 5.0, GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE
COMPLEX (VOLUME 1), GRRL POWER!, THE JADE MASK, MEETING AT MIDNIGHT, 9
DEAD GAY GUYS, PARK DAY, SABU, and SPIDER-MAN VS. DOC OCK:


ARTISTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY: SALVADOR DALI (reviewed by Eric Profancik,
overall score 78/100):
"The disc forgot to tell us about the painter but instead just showed
us his art."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/salvadordali.php

BASTOF SYNDROME: THE HACKER (VOLUME 2) (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall
score 45/100):
"BASToF Syndrome is kind of like Inspector Gadget suddenly deciding it
wants to be Ghost in the Shell."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/bastof2.php

THE CHINESE CAT (reviewed by Paul Corupe, overall score 75/100):
"The story drags a bit in the middle as Chan runs around town trying to
piece together fragmented clues, but the engrossing 'locked room' murder
plot and a pair of murderous twins, gives this entry enough legs to make
it stand out as an interesting Chan chapter."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/chinesecat.php

DEATHWATCH (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall score 77/100):
"There is absolutely nothing about this film that hasn't been done
countless times before. At times, it seems almost like Predator, with
an invisible enemy stalking them. At other times, it seems more like
The Thing, with a group of isolated soldiers gradually turning on
each other. Just as often, it feels like Event Horizon, with a
clearly supernatural force leading them all to an unavoidable and
surprising fate."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/deathwatch.php

DRAGON DRIVE (reviewed by Sandra Dozier, overall score 85/100):
"The fact that Dragon Drive is just the latest meat for the grinder of
video game knock-off anime is probably its most damning quality."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/dragondrive.php

FAUSTO 5.0 (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall score 78/100):
"While the original tale was a moral lesson about ambition, the film
focuses more on our tendency to dwell on terrible desires and wishes,
which would make the world a terrible place if they began to come true."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/fausto50.php

GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX (VOLUME 1) (reviewed by Rob
Lineberger, overall score 93/100):
"Ghost in the Shell = deep, Stand Alone Complex = not so deep."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gitsvol1.php

GRRL POWER! (reviewed by Sandra Dozier, overall score 80/100):
"The key to enjoying Grrl Power is to get past the screaming."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/grrlpower.php

THE JADE MASK (reviewed by Paul Corupe, overall score 77/100):
"The Jade Mask is another Charlie Chan film that mixes dangerous spies
and deadly murder into a potent conspiracy for the master detective to
unravel. Although far from the best film in the set, this entry still
uses many of the classic Chan formulas to admirable effect -- lots of
action, an atmospheric old house that holds many secrets, and a gaggle
of equally suspicious subjects."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/jademask.php

MEETING AT MIDNIGHT (reviewed by Paul Corupe, overall score 76/100):
"Meeting at Midnight is one of the best Chan films released in MGM's new
set, a popular choice that had a second life as a revival house print."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/meetingatmidnight.php

9 DEAD GAY GUYS (reviewed by Eric Profancik, overall score 78/100):
"9 Dead Gay Guys could almost be used as a reference source for all
things gay: the straight gay, the femme gay, the size queen, the slut,
the troll, the whore, the peeing peek, the swish, the back room, the
breeders, and so forth. As a mere bystander myself, I'm not offended by
the movie, but I've seen others who have been."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/9deadgayguys.php

PARK DAY (reviewed by Bill Gibron, overall score 79/100):
"Park Day wants to destroy a past immersed in prejudice and
disenfranchisement. Macer wishes to point out that, even in the
wooded wonderland of Middle America, the ghetto still exists...as a
state of mind."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/parkday.php

SABU (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall score 78/100):
"The plot of Sabu seems to be influenced heavily by both The Count of
Monte Cristo and Les Miserables. It is interested in justice and
revenge, as Eiji survives countless hardships leading up to a moral
decision of whether to forgive or punish the people that framed him."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/sabu.php

SPIDER-MAN VS. DOC OCK (reviewed by David Johnson, overall score
72/100):
"Execs may have suckered a few, but I hope that you in the know will be
savvier. I mean, the set is probably decent enough for the little kids
who will absorb anything Spider-man related, but as something remotely
interesting for sentient beings out of grade school, this is merely
dredging the past to make money."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/spidermanvsdocock.php

Mike Jackson
Editor & Webmaster, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com

DVD Verdict