A Pup Named Scooby-Doo: Complete 1st Season

Lots of fun!
My 4 year old daughter loves this DVD! The stories are short and simple, the "monsters" are silly, and with 13 episodes, this gets us through a long car trip! I'd highly recommend this!!

Good but not great.
I loved this series of Scooby-Doo when I was a kid and so now that my daughter has an obsession with Scooby-Doo I was happy to pick up the "Pup" series, season 1 for her. I'm a little disappointed however. There are some significant areas of the DVD transfer that left the animation sketchy. It should be much much clearer than it is. This isn't an issue with my TV or DVD player. Some parts of the show just seem to look like they've been ripped from an AVI. If it wasn't for the low quality DVD transfer I'd have given this a 5 star rating; as it stands now though, it's a 4 star.

Scooby Doobie Puppy
This version of Scooby and the gang is a series i watched on Saturday morning TV and i liked it. Shaggy would often serve as the narrator at the start of each episode, usually ending his monologue inserting the name of the series. For example: "...things aren't usually what they seem to me and a pup named Scooby-Doo..." and then that episode's story would begin. On hand for the show were Don Messick and Casey Kasem as the voices of Scooby and Shaggy respectively. I always got a kick out the running gag's on the show where Daphne would almost always call out for her butler in a time of crisis and sure enough, her butler would appear out of nowhere. Velma had few lines on the series...usually saying only her catchphrase of "jinkies". Her eye glasses were exaggerated. Fred was written more of a know it all who didn't really know it all...usually blaming high school bully Red Herring as the criminal in each mystery. The facial expressions were more along the lines of Tex Avery and Bob...

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Life After People (History Channel)

Eerily Amazing
This show, along with the National Geographic Channel's Aftermath: Population Zero, both bring across the interesting concept of what life on Earth would be like after Humans disappear from the face of the earth, though in the case of both these shows there is no explanation of how we disappeared and only that it was basically overnight. In any case, this and its consort both propose an idea which I myself find intriguing in the one of the most terrifying ways. A must see as well as something I simply could not take my eyes away from while watching it.
This one by the History Channel shows more over a broader range of years since our disappearance, and for a few of the earlier ones compares them to current examples that exist (i.e. 20 years to the land around Chernobyl).
All else I can say is that this is a MUST SEE!

Very objective vision of one possibility...
I really enjoyed this objective, well-researched and thoroughly explained account of what would happen to the earth if mankind were to disappear. To me, it's not important how this happens, as that would be another film (or several) entirely. This one is about what the results would be on earth if this happened. It does not delve into the causes, but rather the effects, which I thought was enough for any 2-hour program. I was impressed by how well the visuals complimented the dialogue. I didn't feel sad about the loss of mankind's knowledge or achievements- who would they be passed on to, and would they be able to be understood, and would this knowledge only contribute to a faster demise of a future civilization? No, it's up to future beings to develop in their own way. It's good for us to occasionally be reminded how insignificant and expendable we all are. A little humility is not a bad thing!

Food for thought
I watched this video on the History Channel. It presents a realistic view of what earth will look like and become after man has managed to destroy himself. Makes you realize just how much we have manipulated earth to suit our needs. Sad to think that everything we've done will be lost and have to be discovered all over again, if human life re-emerges,
at some point in time. The movie doesn't give much hope of preserving
anything between the cock roaches and micro-organisms feeding on and changing the composition of all man made materials. This video will
definitely cause you to think about what really matters.

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Walker, Texas Ranger - The Fourth Season

Walker Spectacular!
One of the highlights of my DVD collection is the Walker, Texas Ranger series. As a fan of old TV western films that starring Gene Autry, John, Wayne, Clayton Moore, Gary Cooper, and Jimmy Stewart, "Walker" hit the genre dead on without being western.

The fourth season of Walker continues the grand tradition of adventure, and moralistic adventures. Ranger Cordel Walker, Jimmy Trivette, and Assistant DA Alex Cahill tackle crime in the Dallas area. With Walker and his half Cherokee background, you just never know what kind of case (or evidence) comes up. "Ghost Rider" includes a mystic vision that leads Walker to the murderer in an 8 year old cold case. Eastern mysticism comes to the forefront in "Higher Power" as Walker protects a chosen one until his return to the monastery. Alex Cahill faces her father in court in "Redemption", and discovers how thick blood really is. Cordel Walker plays "Christmas Carol" to a group of orphans in a touching episode "A Ranger's Christmas"...

Loved it!
We love Walker, and the whole family cheers him on. In this season Alex and Walker have a stronger relationship and for my kids who are romantics, this makes the movie. I just love to see good triumph over evil. This show is a winner in my book!

Love love love it!
I am so happy to have these Walker Texas Ranger DVDs. This is my favorite show! I can watch anytime and however many times I wish. They are packaged nicely and tastefully, the packaging is not cheap. I plan to buy the complete series as they go on sale. Thanks Amazon!

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One Piece: The Desert Princess and the Pirates - Adventures in Alabasta

Totally Awesome
How my ratings work:
5 - I really liked/loved it
4 - I liked it
3 - Could've been better/worth a look
2 - Just didn't live up to the potential
1 - Simply awful

I just saw this movie today with my friends. I've been a fan of One Piece for a good while. I've yet to read the manga, but I plant to read it some day. This movie has everything you could want: action, comedy, drama, intense battles. I don't need to go into the plot since it's mentioned above. The voice cast is outstanding, and it's cool to see it all uncut (I've mainly seen it on tv). If you love One Piece, you'll love this. If you're a fan of anime, movies, and pirates, you should love it in general.

The wacky and delightful adventures of superhero pirates on a quest to save a desert kingdom
I don't know anything about the Manga upon which this is based and have never had the chance to see any of the episodes of the popular television series featuring the characters from One Piece -- but all that really isn't necessary to enjoy the eye-poppingly enthusiastic animation and delightful story of how a mismatched group of super-powered pirates rally behind a desert princess to save her kingdom from the dangerous fiend Crocodile.

I suppose this ought to be classed under the heading of guilty pleasure (for me) since its target audience seems to be teenage boys and girls -- though I understand that manga and anime have a much larger adult audience in Japan than comics and animation have in the US. The animated women are all voluptuous and not afraid to use their feminine charms to disarm an enemy, and there is lots of blood and violence -- though it is certainly not to the point of being gory or pornographic, the film does "earn" its PG-13 rating. Still, the film...

Thank you Funimation and Toei! Can't wait for the rest of the series!
After buying several of the Fox 4 Kids DVD versions of the "One Piece" series, I was close to giving up on ever seeing a U.S. release of the show, with both the Japanese AND English soundtracks, and without the EDITED video (where they added 'water guns' and changed parts of some storylines). It had reached a point were I ended up purchasing DVDs with only the Japanese soundtrack, with really bad English translations. However, now Funimation have STARTED to release "One Piece" with BOTH Japanese and English soundtracks (Sanji no longer sounds like he has a stuffed nose!), and with the ORIGINAL video/story intact!!! (I say 'started' because the DVD says that the TV series will be released UNCUT starting MAY 2008!!!) I've waited so long for this. While some people may look at this series as just a 'kid's show,' it isn't. It's entertainment for ADULTS as well as children! It's funny. It's heartwarming. It's inspirational. Now, hopefully, people will understand why it's celebrating it's...

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Vol. 1-Best of Bozo

BOZO
THE SHOW IS ORIGINAL EPISODES. VERY GOOD AND GOOD FOR CHILDREN TO LEARN GAMES AND LEARN TO SIT STILL. IT'S FUNNY.

I am a kid at heart!
Being a grown woman, I still love BOZO! I watched it when I was a kid, and my kids watched it too.

dirty
The dvd had smudge prints on it and would not play until i cleaned it up. I almost threw it away, Mike

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Europe's Big Top Circus Stars Live from the Hippodrome

Buyer Beware...
A long-forgotten 1966 summer replacement series for "The Red Skelton Show" makes its way to DVD via Timeless Media Group. "Hippodrome" was a variety show combining performances by great musical acts of the day along with some of Europe's top circus acts.

If you are expecting complete shows, don't look to this DVD set. As always, the legal nightmare of music and performance clearances has resulted in these shows being heavily edited. All the great musical guests have been removed, leaving each show with an average running time of 24 minutes (from the original 51 minutes).

Timeless Media does get credit for even considering the release of such an obscure item from television's past, but the removal of such critical content makes it hardly worth the effort.

Europe's Big Top Circus Stars Hippodrome
This is a great set of Video's,
Brings back a lot of fond memories of the Wonderful World of the Circus from the late 1960's



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Chrysanthemum... and More Mouse Mayhem (Scholastic Storybook Treasures)

Meryl Streep is phenomenal!
Streep's performance of Chrysanthemum is priceless. Owen is also a favorite with my family. We love the book versions, too, but the voice performances really add something.

It was a gift
My granddaughter loves it. It has become her favorite DVD. She has a flower name herself, so identifies with Chrysanthemum.

It was a gift
This was a Christmas gift for my three-year-old grandson; however, and book with Chrysanthemum always has great pictures and is always entertaining!

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NFL Films: Legends of Autumn, Vol. VI - Eyeball to Eyeball

From NFL's golden era.
These films are from the days when the coach wore a suit and a topcoat, and the players wore grass stains.

Classic
Classic, and funny footage of NFL bloopers from the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. I really enjoyed the extra feature's of old NFL footage.



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Good Night Gorilla... and More Great Sleepytime Stories (Scholastic Storybook Treasures)

Fantastic & Sweet, A Family Favorite
My daughter, who is two, loves this DVD more than any other video she has seen. In fact, she loves it so much that it has become part of the goodnight routine--we read books, and, with the promise of this dvd, she happily lets me brush her teeth before we sit down and watch it together. It's sweet, relaxing, and really like being read some good bedtime stories, with some complementary music and a bit of animation. Her favorites from this DVD are Goodnight Gorilla, How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, Happy Birthday Moon, and The Napping House (the first four stories). All of the animation is delightful, the stories are sweet, and these are far from the annoying, over-stimulating television that is often aimed at children. We often read the books beforehand, and then watch the video. Highly recommended.

My son adores this bedtime dvd!
We have a huge stack of bedtime books that we alternate at night, but when i saw this, we had to try it. My son is 19 months old and LOVES "goodnight gorilla" and "happy birthday moon." He always says "happy happy happy" at bedtime...and when he wants Goodnight Gorilla he goes "zoooo" - it is so cute. Both of them are absolutely a delight to watch. They are animated enough to bring the stories to life but not fast paced enough to excite your child at night. The music is gorgeous and relaxing, and honestly, i've fallen asleep watching them with him. We have the books as well and sometimes alternate between reading the stories and watching the dvd. If you have a child who is a little tired of your bedtime routine or w/ the same old books, try adding this dvd into the mix and you will have a very enticing bedtime routine!

A Family Favorite!
We have both the book and the video in this scholastic favorite. We recommend both. Our daughter follows along with her book as she watches her video. Goodnight Gorilla is a modern day classic that everychild must own. It is simple enough for a 2 year old to follow. But my child just keeps watching it. The other videos on the collection are also fun. But it is hard to beat Good Night Gorilla.

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Dangerous Crossing

Excellent Suspense Film
"Dangerous Crossing" [1953/Fox/b&w] was a low-budget film, but a first-class spellbinder. Scenario in brief: a new bride boards an ocean liner with her husband. The ship sails. He disappears. Why? How? Did he even exist? The bride's hysteria builds...until the mystery is solved.

This alarming, but riveting story was conceived by John Dickson Carr, a veteran contributor to CBS Radio's "Suspense." Director Joseph M. Newman's delayed-gratification, "march to the guillotine" pacing; the successful creation of an absolutely suffocating atmosphere of dread; the heart-rending performance of beautiful Jeanne Crain in one of her most challenging roles as the young bride; the sympathetic contributions of Michael Rennie as the ship's doctor: all distinguish "Dangerous Crossing" as a suspenseful film noir of the first order. Recommended without reservation.

Fine Fare from Fox Film Noir!
This highly suspenseful film featuring the exquisitely beautiful Jeanne Crain finally makes it to DVD. Also starring Michael Rennie, Carl Betz (Donna Reed show) and a host of recognizable character actors provide us with a more than convincing edge of your seat thriller. This short (75 minutes long) film is packed with Hitchcockian touches making for a fine addition to any one's Mystery/Suspense collection!

UPDATE 03.18.08

This release is beautifully restored with excellent gray-scale resolution.
Bonus features abound including:
*Audio Commentary by Film Historian Aubrey Soloman
*Peril at Sea: Charting A Dangerous Crossing (Featurette)
*Interactive Passbook - Still Galleries
*Original Theatrical Trailer

A Solid Entry in the Fox Film Noir Series
As I write this review, there have been two reviews of this film posted here, each of which gave it five stars. I enjoyed the movie, but I have to say that five stars is a little over-exuberant for this particular movie. I would reserve that sort of rating for a Casablanca, The Lady Vanishes, Duck Soup, and quite a few others, but I don't think those who made this movie intended it to be an undying work of cinema art, and so I'm giving it three stars, recognizing it as a solid, workmanlike product churned out by the studio system in (as the special features on the DVD point out several times), just nineteen days of shooting.

Let me be a little more specific. I'm going to limit what I say to a certain extent, because this is a film based on a story by John Dickson Carr, the master of "locked room" mysteries, and a large part of the film's dramatic energy stems from the fact that the story starts out with one of those seemingly impossible situations -- the young,...

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Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things / The Undertaker and His Pals (Bone Chilling Double Feature)

Thought it would be campier
I thought these would be more of a hoot than they ended up to be - unfortunately more violent and nasty than funny (especially towards women) than I expected, watched it once then gave to Goodwill.

Transfer is a bit worn
No extras which was expected I guess and the transfer isn't very good on either movie, but it is of two old obscure movies that are kind of nice to have on one disk. I never even heard of The Undertaker and His Pals, so that was a plus when I was searching for CSPWDT.

A Lesser-Known Zombie Flick
The eerie little gem by Alan Ormsby and Bob Clark about the rising dead as well as some necrophilia. I thought it took a really long time to actually see the Living Dead, but the wise cracked dialog between the cast made the time fly. If you are looking for a good living dead movie to add to your collection that has no intelligent plot, yet just good zombie fun, then don't let this cheap, undderated, tongue-in-cheek flick pass you by!

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Frontier Justice 50 Movie Pack

Oh carry me back...
When MCE's WESTERN 250 Movie Pack was issued in late '07, it contained 95 titles this manufacturer had never released before. All but two films in their FRONTIER JUSTICE 50 Movie Pack are drawn from this pool of 95 (the other two are from earlier box sets). The emphasis here is on hour-length cinematic series such as Billy the Kid, The Range Busters, The Rough Riders, Lightnin' Bill Carson, The Three Mesquiteers, The Cisco Kid and The Texas Rangers. Stars featured are Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Buster Crabbe, the Maynard brothers, Johnny Mack Brown, Hoot Gibson and Randolph Scott.

Several of the later Roy Rogers pictures in this collection were originally released in "Trucolor." The copies here are b&w-- probably dubbed from 16 mm prints once used on early broadcast TV. Despite this source material limitation, Frontier Justice is an excellent choice for fans of vintage westerns. It's also a fine...

too many roy rogers movies for my liking!
Seems as if, because Roy made more movies than anyone else, Mill Creek figures we better see 'em all........ha!

This Pack is Not As Advertised on Tim McCoy
I was searching for old Western DVD's that had Tim McCoy and Ken Maynard in it. This DVD pack was highlighted as having a majority of Tim McCoy and Ken Maynard movies in it. Yet when I receive the pack the majority of the movies, (4 to 1) were Roy Rogers followed by Gene Awtrey. There was only (1) Tim McCoy movie in the pack.

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Funny Games

Clever, effective and disturbing
It is a good idea to know something about this film before watching it.

On the surface it is that familiar thriller where strangers terrorize a family.

But really it is about how you, the viewer, are complicit in on-screen violence. This is the film's priority and it is not afraid to abandon its original, more traditional plot line - however bizarrely - whenever it feels right to emphasize this.

Remember. All these horrible things are happening because you won't switch off. Overly violent films only get made because people keep paying to go and see them.

The skill of the director of Funny Games is that he makes his point without resorting to hardly any on screen violence, unlike many of the films he parodying.

I strongly recommend this film but be warned - it is not a "date movie". See it on your own because it is impossible to know how people will react to it. If you like this film your friends may think you are SICK. You are not. But Funny Games brings...

The cure for being too enamored of movie violence!
I never realized the extent to which big-budget American action films condition audiences into savoring and craving "justifiable" acts of violence until I saw this fascinating and deeply disturbing Austrian movie from noted German director Michael Haneke. I couldn't sleep after seeing it, but after about a week had passed, I was very glad that I'd seen it. I'm now "immune" from being manipulated into enjoying onscreen violence, because the movie made me keenly aware of when I AM being manipulated ... and of the "commandments" that movies featuring cathartically satisfying acts of vengeance are built upon and dare not violate.

The storyline is sort of a hybrid of THE DESPERATE HOURS and CAPE FEAR, with two very Aryan-looking young men invading the summer cottage of an upper-middle-class family of three and sadistically playing "funny games" with them. But there's much more than the surface story at work here ... Haneke has some clever tricks up his sleeve when it comes to...

See it if you Dare....
One word comes to mind after viewing this film... Mindblowing. You probably have never and will never see anything like this again. I purchased this DVD after reading Fangorias book on ''100 Horror Films Youve never seen''- I dont know if I could classify this as strictly horror, it goes beyond that.

This is a whole other realm thats never been touched... At least not to this severity.. Ive seen many horror/psychological terror films and after watching the likes of Maniac or Gummo I didnt think anything could outdo it, but this beats them all. Gummo was disturbing but it had no merit to it; this film has more to it than the sadistic violence and ''funny games'' the characters play. Ive never seen anything like this. The director takes a more original approach, during the film the killers actually look and talk to the camera at times, not often; but they even play the ''games'' with the audience.

Plot- a couple, their child and dog go to their vacation home. Soon...

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Wrestling Wars

A.J. Styles Wrestling Wars Collection Disc 1 & 2
I had trouble finding this here on Amazon so I searched for it using the upc number and I found it with no info and no picture at all which pissed me off. Just another wrestling dvd huh? Bulls**t, this is classic indie wrestling with alot of good matches on it. All the matches were from NWA Wildside in Georgia.

Disc 1

1. A.J. Styles vs. Air Paris vs. Sabu 12/14/2000
2. A.J. Styles vs. Rick Michaels 12/22/2001
3. A.J. Styles vs. David Young 2/5/2002
4. A.J. Styles with Larry Zybysko vs. Ron "The Truth" Killins with Jeff G. Bailey and Steve Martin 3/29.2003
5. A.J. Styles, Altar Boy Luke & Gabriel with Dusty Rhodes vs. Christopher Daniels, Rainman & Azrael 3/23/2004

Disc 2

1. The NWA 53rd Anniversary Show - it warns that the quality is not too good as it is from a fan-cam.
2. Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. Dagon Briggs
3. Pepe Prado and Mark Gold vs. The Cuban Assassins
4. War Is Hell 5 On 5 Steel Cage...





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Something Mental

Tiernan is great, so is this DVD
Few stand-up comedy DVDs really capture the energy of the comic. This was especially a challenge with Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan. This DVD has to be one of the best filming jobs ever.

Tiernan is in fine shape with only one lull near the end of the show. In many ways, this show is a celebration of the twisted and sometimes dark human experience, especially the Irish version of it. This stand-up comic has the ability to never really be negative while still pointing out flaws and imperfections

If you like Tiernan and have seen him live, you will certainly not be disappointed. If you are unfamiliar with this comic, it really is worth your dollars.

One of the Funniest Comedians of our time!!!
Simply put he is hilarious. His style of comedy takes you on a journey. He tells a story with 8-12 minute blocks and your laughing the whole way through. He talks about life and personal experiences which makes things a whole lot more relatable and humorus. Have watched it several times with different friends with different types of humor and everytime they all life, including myself even though I have seen it enough to recite verbatum. Plus he has an irish accent, what more could you ask for?

Ahhh, Tiernan...
what a funny, funny guy! No-holds-barred humor. If you want to roar with a good, long belly-laugh, buy this DVD.

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Bachelor Party 2 - The Last Temptation (Unrated)

Really Funny!
Honestly, wasn't expecting much considering the title - was surprised they would make a sequel so long after the original. Well, as it turns out, it's not really a sequel at all, it's a new story with all new characters. More importantly, it's really funny! My girlfriend and I were laughing all the way through. Harland Williams is hyterical and the rest of the cast is really good as well.
I can see why they would call it Bachelor Party 2 because it reminds me of fun 80's sex comedies like Bachelor Party, Porky's, Stripes, etc. Maybe they should have given it it's own title to avoid confusion.
In any case, was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this much more than a lot of the crappy comedies that are in the theater these days.

Great movie, great adult fun and lots of craziness.
I had no interest in watching it, but as it turned out, this movie was great. It has all of your movie cliches, the gorgeous bachelor, the big fat party animal, the grizzled married man, the jewish germaphobe and the evil future brother in law trying to get the groom on film in compromising positions. While it does have every cliche in the book, it has heart and American Pie humor.

The plot is a man is marrying into a wealthy company and the future father in law likes the groom better than his current son-in-law. So that son-in-law throws him an all out-big money bachelor party that seems to last a week. He uses this time to setup the good guy groom in awkward positions. There are several chances and several misses, but before the movie gets stale he meets a woman that could change his good guy ways and make him cheat.

Not to ruin the surprises, but each of the movie's characters have their own memorable storylines with big punchlines at the end.

Great...

moooovie.
The previews gave me a totally different impression... but its a good movie for the most part.
Its not a MUST SEE, but its good... :/ LOL

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Harold and the Purple Crayon... and More Stories to Spark the Imagination

Harold Works His Magical Purple Crayon
The DVD is a nice way to present these Harold stories and some other very special stories too. The Harold films were made in the 60s and 70s with some nice Jazz scores and interesting presentations. The other books included are Smile for Auntie (my personal favorite), Drummer Hoff and The Mysterious Tadpole. My only regret is that Scholastic didn't restore these films so they would be crisp and clear rather than grainy.

Not the HBO version.
I thought that this was the same as the episodes we've watched on HBO, but it is a different narrator. Some people prefer this one; unfortunately, my 4-year-old is not one of them!

Great supplement for the inspiring reader
My son loves Harold storybooks and seeing the stories he loves so well come to life on DVD was an amazing experience! As a result, he loves the books even more and requests to have the books read to him and is fixated when watching it on DVD. It is a great supplement to inspire your child to read.

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Kill Your Darlings

Odd, but enjoyable
I just love Alexander Skarsgard. So he was 100 % the reason that I bought this DVD. And I thought he was wonderful in his part as the depressed transvestite. So for his contribution only I am so glad that I got this movie. I will admit that the overall plot was a little strange and often somewhat hard to follow. But in general, I did like the quirky performances. It certainly was like no other movie I have ever seen.

Some parts are mildly amusing, but overall it is a mess......
The "plot": A young Swedish screenwriter has writer's block, until a crazy woman (portrayed by Lolita Davidovich) takes him on a thoroughly insane road trip, giving him material about which to write. In a parallel plot, a group of psych patients, including a 6'6" transvestite, are being transported to Las Vegas by a hitman/chauffeur to participate in their therapist's (portrayed by John Larroquette) highly publicized book release and reality TV program.

Parts of this strange offering were mildly amusing. Lolita essentially steals the show with her off-the-wall characterization of a lunatic who is trying to help the young Swedish author. Some of the situations are somewhat clever and amusing in their utter absurdity. However, taken as a whole, this is a complete mess. It just doesn't make much sense, and making the matter even worse, the real author of this screenplay claims that it is all true and actually happened to him. To insult an audience with a ridiculous, disjointed...

Awesome Dark Comedy
I love this movie because it is funny. It also has a great cast including one of my favorite Swedish actors and the storyline is so off the wall that it is really funny movie. It is one of my favorites.

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Appleseed Ex Machina (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Worth the watch.
The visuals are nothing short of stunning, especially in HD. It's worth the download just to check out how beautifully the cg animation is rendered. The action scenes are tight, with Matrix-esque slow motion shots, crazy camera angles and an emphasis on heavy gun play, indicative of producer John Woo's style. One drawback on the cg animation though is that when characters interact with each other physically it seems awkward. They don't feel like they are touching. I imagine that when you make something with animation like that you'd run into clipping issues when the characters intereact heavily. In fact, it reminded me of cut scenes from Eternal Sonata, a video game using similar animation techniques but on a bigger scale obviously.

The story is an upgrade from the first movie, although the main antagonist borrows heavily from classic Star Trek villain, the Borg. There's even a Borg like cube of sorts that serves as it's foundation. The subplot consists of a triangle...

Better Than The First? Yes and No
The first Appleseed film (from 2004) was quite a treat. The cell-shaded CG graphics looked very good for the time. Complementing this obvious standout aspect was an intriguing story and an excellent soundtrack. It's worth noting that the story, in particular, felt like a genuinely original re-animation of sci-fi concepts.

Fast forward to today and we have the sequel, Ex Machina. It's pretty simple to separate what works and doesn't in Machina:

GRAPHICS:
The level of detail in the graphics has improved dramatically, and characters look less like geometric objects with textures painted on and more like genuine people. The cityscapes are even more impressive. Furthermore, the action is more frequent and looks even slicker.

My two gripes with the visuals are these: First, in what is all too common in action movies like this, the best scene is the first one. Hands down. I don't understand why so many directors feel the need to frontload their...

3

Way Of The Dragon

Sifu Lee at his best
Bruce Lee never reached his prime in film making; dying before his time. The Way of the Dragon, is a loosely put together story, with fight scenes used as glue along the way. This film was out of stock for years, but this re-mastered version is worth the wait; being much clearer in both audio and video. The tour of the City of Rome Italy is beautiful. But I must admit, the face-off fight between Chuck Norris and Bruce is classic. This is the main reason to get this film. It shows how adaptable Lee's Jeet Kune Do fighting style was. Bruce used Mohammad Ali like foot work and feinting to wear down his opponent, then attacked with his lightening speed and power. This is a must have for all Martial Arts fans.

Bruce Calls the Shots
After the success of "Fist of Fury," Bruce Lee believed he could make better films than the Hong Kong directors. As a result, he called the shots on "Way of the Dragon" (1972). In his third starring feature, director-writer Lee emphasizes humor and characterization. Bruce plays a resourceful martial artist named Tang Lung who arrives in Rome to protect his relatives from mobsters. The highpoint is a climactic battle between Bruce and Chuck Norris in the Roman Colosseum - perhaps Lee's most brutal fight sequence. Though enjoyable, the remaining action scenes lack the bravura of "Enter the Dragon" and "Fist of Fury." Nevertheless, "Way of the Dragon" showcases Lee as an accomplished filmmaker whose skills might have flourished in more imaginative directions.

EXIT THE DRAGON, ENTER THE COWBOY
ENTER THE DRAGON was Chuck Norris' first movie part, and he did it as a favor for his friend, Bruce Lee. This movie contains the only fight scene to my knowledge in which Lee is decked by an opponent. While the fight scene between Norris and Lee is somewhat stiff on NORRIS' PART(he hadn't yet learned the art of movie fighting), the exchange between the two reflect the two classic styles of solid rock-hard karate versus fluid, graceful kung fu as it was practiced at that time. The plot and acting may have been less than first rate, but the fight scenes are some of the best filmed up to that time and well worth seeing.

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Hitman (Unrated Edition)

This was a hit with me
I didn't expect to be impressed with this movie because in my mind it was simply another flick made from a video game but man, I was blown away! In fact it was so enjoyable that ten minutes after finishing it I wanted to see it again, and that rarely happens. Never mind the few geographical errors, this movie is all action and there is no waste of precious minutes on mindless love scenes - the one actually has one cut short by the main hero and it was humorous, how he was all business, him being this monk killer for hire who lives a chaste life. In a way it was like a James Bond character who actually didn't try to bed all the babes, impressive. And Timothy Olyphant was flawless, even thought I prefer men with longer hair he looked cool and totally acted the part, mysterious, brooding but with a heart in there somewhere.

Bald and serious, dressed in an expensive suit, red silk tie and an impeccably crisp white shirt the Hitman is a force to be reckoned with. He's not too...

It helps that he is a little bit HOT!
I really enjoyed this movie....I mean what is there not to like. You have a hitman (the sexy #47) who has been trained from childhood to be the best at what he does. Trained to hold his breath, shoot anything that moves from any distance, armed with sexy weapons and a barcode (tattooed beautifully in his scalp), along with an air of calm (that would make anyone scared who he faces), he is the perfect killing machine and running for his life. Determined to protect Nika, a prostitute to the President of Russia, from who else (her lover), #47 goes about the task of fighting the bad guys and righting what he thinks are wrongs. With a Interpol Cop on his heels, he attempts to uncover the truth about why someone he thought he killed wants him dead and what the whole thing is about. I enjoyed this movie...with its cool fight scenes and nice special effects. It was definitely worth renting on a Sunday afternoon.

Much Better Than I Heard
I had heard a lot of bad things and bad reviews about this movie. I was suprised when I watched it that it was as good as it was. I thought Timothy Olyphant did a good job and that the girl who played his love interest was also good and HOT. The guy that plays T-Bag on the TV show Prison Break was also good. I have never played this game but I thought the story was pretty solid. It kind of reminded me of The Bourne Identity as he is a trained super assassin from a place that churns them out and he has flash backs of good and bad things.

Anyway, the action rocked and it was exciting and entertaining beginning to end. It was pretty good and fun to watch.

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The Civilization of Maxwell Bright

Starts off a little rough, but evolves into a sensitive, moving experience
I picked this DVD largely for very shallow reasons.....the cover picture. I like Patrick Warburton from his Seinfeld appearances and was curious about his attractive co-star. The first fifteen minutes, however, left me wondering about the wisdom of my choice and that of Mr. Warburton. In amateurish, hand-held porno-grade video, our man Patrick (alias Maxwell Bright), completely naked for all to see, is depicted having a profane, physically violent altercation with his similarly (un)attired girlfriend on a public street. Bystanders, police, and the audience are all left gaping at the spectacle, while Pat/Max, spouting some seriously politically-incorrect epithets at everyone involved, is finally silenced by his disgusted, hoe-swinging girlfriend. As my wife eyed me from across the room, contemplating what punishment I should face for picking this train wreck, we both considered pushing the STOP button on the DVD player and calling it a night. I am glad we didn't.

What...

The Civilization of Maxwell Bright - Perhaps The Most Surprisingly Good Movie I've Seen In Years
The Civilization of Maxwell Bright has the grainy appearance of low budget filming and a story that seems tailor made for Lifetime Television or late night Cinemax. So it's only natural to think that the bare bones production probably produced an unimpressive movie. And yet, I found this movie to be engaging and powerful.

The story does not break familiar ground. All the clichés under the sun are here. An over-aggressive type A American man thinks the cure to his woman problems will be a submissive Asian woman. The Maxwell character will remind you of dozens of disgruntled controlling men portrayed in many movies. They don't hide from the cliches; in fact they embrace them. All sorts of taboos are touched upon here: sex, religion, and displays of polical incorrectness that will make you laugh and cringe from one moment to the next.

But the way the story unfolds feels so real...

For those who worship Warburton
This film is mostly for people that think Patrick Warburton is the hottest man in the world. For those who wanted to know what he looks like in boxers, in swimming trunks, in Speedos, then this is for you. We see much more of him than we were fortunate enough to see in "Big Trouble." In fact, he gives us his all, if you know what I mean. He doesn't stay on screen as long as M.C. Gainey blessed viewers with in "Sideways." Really, if you blink you'll miss it. Still, for those who have wanted to see Warburton as a main character, rather than a peripheral one and who want to experience more of his corporeality, then this is for them.

This is a low-budget, indie film. You can tell by the few cast members and the way the camera focuses on small areas of space. This film has several of what Brad Pitt called cigarette burns in "Fight Club." The character played by Simon Callow wears an earring in his right ear, though he has a wife on-screen. If this weren't made before...

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Pam Ann: Live

Just hilarious!
I bought this DVD a couple of weeks ago and I found it hilarious! I would only recommend it to those who fly somewhat often or are somehow involved in the airline industry. Otherwise, some of the jokes might not make sense. For example, if a viewer doesn't know that EasyJet is a large European LCC then he or she will miss out on a few great jokes.

Unbelievably funny.
Watched to it one night, laughed out loud repeatedly. Watched it the next night with someone else and laughed out loud AGAIN. Being a frequent traveler, especially to international locations, will help you get ALL the jokes, but you can certainly still enjoy it if you've only been on a plane occasionally.

Pam Ann a must have...
If you think of all those times you got on a plane and thought to yourself....Goodness, that flight attendant doesn't look like she wants to be here looking after me, well you are right...Pam Ann is absolutely hilarious!!! Being a flight attendant myself I can totally relate to this comic performance. Very talented comedian, hopefully they bring out more things from Pam Ann.

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Tin Man (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

An Exquisite Revisiting to the O.Z.
If you are expecting ruby slippers and a cackling green lady, you are in for an awakening of your own. Growing up with singing munchkins, I realized, hey, I am a grownup. And SciFi seemed to realize it too with a magnificent departure from the 1939 MGM film to a brilliant, futuristic, decadent, and sometimes apocalyptic telling. The reinventions of characters and fantastical sets soon transport you from the familiar to a place you find yourself hard to take your eyes off of-- from phosphorous-glowing trees, desolate paths, Metropolitan-like art deco palaces, and underworlds unlike anything and then again reminiscent of a certain alphabet city pre-Rudy.

The story itself is not for the kiddies. Mine were told continuously to leave the room, go play, and find something else to do. But the grown up fairy tale is long overdue. The story actually had twists, turns, and menacing meaning-- much more substance and meaning than the trifles the network and cable gurus seem to...

Amazing
This will sound wierd, but this movie is like a realistic explanation for the original wizard of oz. I know its incorrect to say this, but, when I watch this movie I feel like its the real version, and the old movie is like a watered down "kids" version of the story. That being said, I really enjoyed it, all six hours of it on the Sci-fi channel. Anyway, I will definitely be purchasing this when it comes out. Its so cool to see a movie you kind of know, but then dont really know at all! I recommend it for anyone, all ages.

Great concept, so-so execution
WARNING: SOME SPOILERS

I loved the premise behind this--a darker, more adult, epic fantasy version of the Wizard of Oz. I was actually pretty psyched about seeing this. Did it deliver? Well, kind of.

The plot moves along at a good clip for the most part, and the special effects are surprisingly well-done for a made-for-TV miniseries. I liked that the monkey bats seemed to be some sort of puppetry or stop motion rather than entirely CGI. But overall, I was left with the feeling that this series could have been so much better.

One of the biggest problems for me was the dialogue. Tin Man suffers from a severe case of "writer speak"--characters spout lots of "clever" lines that no real person would ever say. It doesn't help that Zooey Deschanel seems to be locked into a narrow range of acting. I don't know if it's her fault or the director's, but regardless of what's going on she conveys a deadpan, sardonic nonchalance. When she's swept into...

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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom... and More Fun with Letters and Numbers (Scholastic Storybook Treasures)

amazing stories, told amazingly well
My 2 1/2 year-old son *loves* this video. At first it was just "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom," which is a story about the alphabet with a super-catchy tune. (Different from the Ray Charles version that comes with the book, but good on its own merits.) Then he loved "Wild About Books," a story about the librarian who drives her bookmobile into the zoo and gets all the animals hooked on reading. (Narrated wonderfully by Catherine O'Hara.) This story can be easily enjoyed by a 2-year-old and still has some things that will entertain an adult.

There are just so many great books narrated (and animated) on this DVD: "Blueberries for Sal" is a classic, as are "A Story, a Story," "Inch by Inch," and "Millions of Cats" (although personally, I don't like the last book). "Five Creatures" was new to me, but I also recommend it.

The animations on this DVD and the choices of stories are wonderful. We put on the subtitling, which highlights the words as they are being read. This...

So whimsical and fun!
This is one of my favorite Scholastic Read-along DVDs! The stories are all so CUTE!!!

CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM is a great alphabet sing! It has a very singable chorus (I'm a music teacher, so I really appreciate a good sing-along story!), and is animated very well

WILD ABOUT BOOKS is an adorable story with very current references to popular children's books. The animals are illustrated by the same guy that illustrates the "Arthur" series, although I find these illustrations even more whimsical than Arthur. The best part is during the credits, they made fake bloopers!!!! SO funny and cute!!!!!

INCH BY INCH is a great story about an inchworm who proves his usefulness by measuring different parts of different birds (the tail of a robin, the legs of a stork, etc.) so that he won't be eaten! He finally comes across a stubborn nightingale who tells him to measure his song or he'll eat the inchworm! Beautifully illustrated, and very cute!

FIVE...

Great fun with a little learning on the side!
My 4 yr old granddaughter loves this video. We play it every time she's here. I even find myself singing along with it! I highly recommend this for your preschooler.

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Dale Earnhardts Whitetail Adventures

Great Father's day gift
I got this for my husband as part of his father's day gifts. He really liked it, he's a huge NASCAR fan so this was a real treat for him. Very good hunting documentary type movie.

Damaged dvd case
I thought I was getting this like new, but the case for the dvd had broken pieces. I was buying this as a gift so I was disappointed.



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The Shepherd: Border Patrol

Shepherd Herds in Rogue Special Forces
In "The Shepherd" (2008), Van Damme plays a Texas border cop battling former member from an elite U.S. military force who now turned their past expertise into running a proficient drug smuggling trade from Mexico into the US. The movie breaks new grounds for Van Damme as he moves in to a more mature role with stronger acting. Van Damme's trademark fight scenes highlights an upcoming martial artiste, Scott Adkins whose zeal nearly turns the staged studio fights into a legitimate match between the two with a visual delight jammed with innovative techniques and true-to-life kicks. Reality slips into the fights forcing and inspired and newly invigorated Van Damme to truly draw on his own genuine fighting history to legitimately weather his younger rival. By way of irony, Adkins in real life while growing up was inspired by Van Damme.

A Shepherd over your Damme desires
I must say, I was really looking forward to this movie. And I was probably looking forward to Scott Adkins as much as I was to Van Damme. My expectations were high (even for a ridiculous b-movie like this) after what Issac Florentine and J.J. Perry did with Undisputed II. The movie wasn't spectacular and it didn't quite reach my highest hopes, but I wasn't disappointed. Van Damme played his usual laconic self - this time with a bunny. Scott Adkins' character wasn't very interesting either (and the main villain was a bit annoying), but you can't have it all with these kinds of movies.

With the exception of the final showdown, the fight scenes were very well shot and choreographed. J.J. Perry (the fight choreographer) did a great job with Van Damme's abilities while still giving him room to exhibit his "Van Damme" style. Scott Adkins was excellent as usual (although his skills are best displayed in the director's other films), but it doesn't seem that the writers gave much...

Damme Good After All These Years!
The Shepherd: Border Patrol is a very good film! Van Damme's best and most action packed since Wake of Death. Seriously, all the good ingredients are in there, guys. There's plenty of hand to hand fighting in The Shepherd, even the gratuitous bar fight. There's a likable chemistry between the lead and supporting cast, and the villains are well picked. There's also a lot of good soundtrack work done in a style familiar to spaghetti westerns.

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Kill Them All & Come Back Alone

Better than average Spagetti Western!
I first viewed this "spagetti" western back in 1970 when I was just a nine year old kid in the back seat of the crowded family car on a Saturday night double-feature running at my hometown's drive-in theater. The images of this movie were so powerful to me back then (almost 30 years ago) that I never forgot them, nor the name of this excellent film, originally titled, "Go Kill Everybody, and Come back Alone". It's never been available on DVD in English to the USA until just now, and I was incredibly anxious to see it again, though I am now older than Chuck Conners was when he made the film. I was not disappointed. The story is a well-conceived revenge tale set in Texas during the Civil War (filmed in Spain). Chuck Conners (star of the hit, "Rifleman" TV series) is a hired mastermind for a shady Confederate captain (Frank Wolff) who wants him to break into an impregnable Union fort to steal $1,000,000 in gold (tactfully mixed in rolls of dynamite). Conners pulls together a tight-knit...

A must own Spaghetti
Of the 450-500 spaghetti westerns made there are a handful that are must owns (of what has been released on Region 1 or 0 DVD). Django, The Great Silence, Keoma, A Bullet for a General, Mannaja, Sabata, Companeroes and anything by Leone are just a few. Kill them All and Come Back is another spaghetti that is a must own.

Here we have Chuck Conners (popular from his American westerns) has a group of ruthless killers and he is given a do-or-die mission by Frank Wolff (The Great Silence) to get a fortune of gold. His one one order was to "Kill Them All and Come Back Alone" but when it comes down to it can he kill off his motley crew?

Great anti-heroes, grand stunts, and extremely visual directing by Enzo G. Castellari (Keoma, The Big Racket, Street Law). If you have an interest in spaghetti westerns then you will eat this film up.

The DVD by Wild East Entertainment is also tops with a beautiful animorphic widescreen transfer with an interview and trailers.

Favorite Spaghetti Western of all time finally on DVD
I saw this as a young lad in Puerto Rico way back in the early 70's and the impression it made, last to this day. It was a main topic of conversation at our school. Just a great western adventure worth checking out, finally available after all these years! Chuck Connors leads a motley crew of "specialists" in search of wartime booty of gold. Kind of a western Dirty half dozen.Great characters,particularly Bogard-the muscle of the gang and the guy with the bazooka.Genial! Other than the not very original title,this one's a keeper. I enjoyed as much as I did as a kid and there's not many movies you can say that about. Absolutely loved it!

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The Best and Worst of Tred Barta

Great for hunting/fishing realists
Good videos for entertainment purposes. The hunts are realistic and Tred is a pretty entertaining character. Other than the water safety they are not instructional or meant to be. More just a view into the life of a bow hunter and fisherman.

tred barta is the man
worth it just for the grizzly hunt. does it his way and even leaves in the mistakes, so you can learn from them too.

TRED BARTA
While I've never been hunting for some reason I saw this on tv one day and watched it and it ended up being one of my favorite shows.Barta proves it's not always about the kill.It's about doing things the hard way,the Barta way.

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La Fea Mas Bella

It's a souvenir, not a substitute.
Wow. Don't buy this unless you've already seen most of series, especially towards the end. That way, your memory can fill in the large gaps left behind by merciless editing. Otherwise, I don't think this DVD set is going to make much sense to you.

When I heard this set was going to be less than 20 hours, I got worried. The actual series was about 300 hours long, minus commercials. Even though that included a lot of filler material I knew I'd never miss, I didn't think there was any way to get it down to 20 hours without losing some important plot points.

Well, maybe there is a way to do it, but this DVD set isn't it. The runtime is 15 hours, 24 minutes, which means (predictably) that there's a lot of stuff missing.

The packaging is very cheesy - inside the box, there's just one small sheet of paper (printed on only one side) that lists the chapter breaks for the main program. If you want to know where the extras are, you need to hunt around the disks...

Sorry Explanation for bad editing
I'm seriously upset with the DVD set, many of the already posted reviews match everything I would say... so I'm only going to post what happened when I emailed the CEO of Xenon Pictures.... This does not make up for anything maybe if more fans emailed Xenon and complained something better might come out of it.

"Hi Cynthia. I'm sorry you were disappointed with the dvd version of La Fea Mas Bella.

As you are aware, the original telecast versions of La Fea and other telenovelas are often up to 300 hours in length. If we were to release an unedited version of any particular show, we'd be asking consumers to pay $150 per telenovela given the fact that it would be a 25-30 disc set. We tested a full length version of Amor Real (the most popular telenovela of its time) and no one wanted it at that price. Another difficult issue is music clearance costs which makes a full length version too expensive to produce.

In terms of what you saw in the final product of...

You won't get the whole story!
This DVD set has already been released in Mexico. Although there are four DVDs you will not get the whole set of episodes that were shown on TV. They are edited and a lot is missing, especially toward the middle and end. The main story is there, but you might have to look up an episode guide on the internet to make sense out of some of the plot. Otherwise there will be some very strange jumps in the story. Other than that, this is a great series with excellent acting and a lot of it is laugh-out-loud funny, so you will probably enjoy it even when the plot seems a little incoherent.

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Hogfather

Faithful to the book... read the book first
After much hunting I found this DVD in the US... I wasn't sure what to expect from a live action Discworld movie, I just couldn't imagine that the humor could translate properly. In the end, it did and it didn't.

A short Summary:

In the fantasy world of Discworld, their winter festival is called Hogswatch, which is ruled over by the Hogfather... a fat jolly man with tusks who doles out gifts to nice little children. An Assassin is hired to "take care of" the Hogfather, and he goes about it by invading the lair of the Toothfairy. To try to keep the world in order, Death puts on the Hogfather Costume and tries to sub in for the evening... meanwhile, Death's grandaughter, Susan is off to figure out what happened to the Hogfather.

If you have read the book, then you know that you probably laughed so hard you cried. Though the movie is funny, it is not nearly so as the book. They remain fairly faithful to the book, cutting only where necessary. But if...

Well Done
While awaiting the release of the Hogfather movie on DVD, I was amazed to run across the movie on the ION cable TV network on 12/23/07. I too expect that for those not familiar with the Discworld, it may be a little mystifying, but for those of us that are, the little details were wonderful. I particularly liked the rendition of HEX, complete with the "Anthill Inside" sticker and the little hourglass which popped out when it was processing. Getting a look at actual actors in costume playing Constable Visit and Nobby Nobbs, however briefly, was a treat--in fact, all the costuming and casting was very reminiscent of the way the Discworld is pictured in the Paul Kidby illustrations. The rendition of Susan and Bilious the Oh God inside the child's painting on their way to the Tooth Fairy's domain was excellent and very much as I had imagined it. Finally, Terry Pratchett himself makes a cameo appearance as the proprietor of the toy store where Death purchases the wooden horse to give...

Hogfather - The Movie, at Last!
The Hogfather, on the Discworld, is what Santa Claus is in the United States. Except it's called "Hogwatch" rather than Christmas. All the way back to that red and white, the colors of blood on snow.

The Discworld has Auditors, creatures who loath humanity and all the things that make us human. The Auditors engage the Guild of Assassins to whack the Hogfather, and the Guild designates the very spooky Jonathan Teatime (it's pronounced "tee-ah-tim-eh"), who hires a gang and methodically sets about this task. It takes Death; Death's granddaughter, Susan; Bilious, the Oh God of Hangovers; most of the wizardly faculty of Unseen University; and the Tooth Fairy to defeat Teatime, his gang and the Auditors.

Because more is at stake than Father Christmas. Belief is what makes us human, where the rising angel meets the falling ape. And if we can't practice on little lies - the Hogfather, the Tooth Fairy and the like - we won't be ready for the big lies - that there are...

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American Gangster (Three-Disc Collector's Edition)

A Superb Film That Exceeds Expectations
This viewer rented the DVD form of AMERICAN GANGSTER, having passed it by in the theatrical run, thinking that it was yet another 'crime and corruption in New York' genre film. It was surprising to discover that this very long film (just under three hours in the Unrated version) is completely riveting and in a way far different than the usual gangster film: this story, based on real people as outlined in an article by Mark Jacobson (transformed for the screen by Steven Zaillian), and while it has its share of grisly killings, it seems more concerned with the issues of integrity in the face of police corruption as embodied in the character of Richie Roberts, the etiology of the heroin use escalation following the Vietnam War, and the presence of a 'Black Mafia' lead by one Frank Lucas. It is delivered with compelling gusto and intelligence by director Ridley Scott and has some of the best acting of the year. In other words, this is not a film to be lightly dismissed as a Hollywood...

American Gangster - Awesome and Tragic (Spoiler Free Review)
American Gangster 2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition

In American Gangster Ridley Scott has created the perfect storm of an American movie masterpiece. An amazing group of actors, headlined by Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe, produces a very convincing period piece of 1970s New Jersey and New York and the crime culture that existed there. It's hard to feel anything but shame watchig this movie. This movie is both believable and tragic, and it startles me that neither Crowe nor Washington received nominations for two incredible performances.

The Story and the Script

The story is supposed to be based on the real life exploits of Frank Lucas. Movies like this usually exaggerate. The fact that this movie is so believable makes it all the more tragic. There are no black and white characters and we are left to choose between murdering drug pushers and crooked cops.

The...

Excellently acted and directed, but . . .
we've been here many times before. This film offers nothing new to the genre, but it is still a terrific film.

Ridley Scott is an already proven director who is well overdue for an Oscar, but just what attracted him to this story is something of a mystery. Perhaps being a diverse director with films like the first Alien and Gladiator he wanted to add another genre to his credits and that is admirable (more admirable than Martin Scorsese who keeps making the same film over and over again and then wonders where the Oscar is). However, Scott could have selected a gangster film that didn't include so many tributes to better films in the genre (The Godfather, The Untouchables and...

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Jesus Mary & Joey

The Best Catholic Movie You Never Heard Of !
I don't know if the movie, Jesus, Mary and Joey, would make a 'Best Ten Catholic Movies' list, but it certainly is a movie that would be enjoyed and appreciated by Catholics. I'd never heard of it until I saw it and bought it at a video store a couple days ago. My wife and I watched it this evening, and we were simply captivated by it. The movie is classified as a romance and a comedy, a romantic comedy, but it is much, much more than that because it all revolves around the character's relationship with Jesus.

One Sunday, Joey went to Mass as usual. But that Sunday he spotted a beautiful, almost angelic-looking blond for the first time. It turned out that she, Mary, had gone to Catholic school with Joey years before, but had moved and they forgot about each other. They strike up a friendship, but it soon becomes apparent that Mary has a very close relationship with Jesus. She had gotten sick in the intervening time, and her family had come to accept her pending...

The Search For God
What a beautiful, human film....A young man comes to realize that he needs more in his life than just religion...He meets a beautiful girl from his childhood who awakens his soul and it is not an easy journey...
To find a 'new' life, one has to deal with with the 'old' life....
Mary Shelton is a fantasic actress..and the cast is magnificent...Charles Durning, Stacy Keach, Olivia Dukakis, Tess Harper,and Anthony Pagano...all have great scens where they dispense wisdom ...I guraentee a rich spiritual experience....

A video that many of today's Catholics will enjoy!
Intriguing title and not what one would expect. We had seen video previously and wanted our own copy.

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THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE

Sensitivity
Few films released last year have the quiet sensitivity in writing (Allan Loeb), direction (Susanne Bier), cinematography (Tom Stern), and acting (Berry, Del Toro, Duchovny) as this gem of a movie. Taking on a subject of grief after a sudden traumatic death and the way it affects family and friends would seem like a tedious subject for a two hour film, but THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE proves again that care and devotion in telling a difficult story with restraint and tenderness is far more compelling that many of the 'big' movies that fill the theaters with more superficial topics.

Brian Burke (David Duchovny) is a generously warm man to his beautiful wife Audrey (Halle Berry), their son Dory (Micah Berry), and daughter
Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) as well as to his longtime, childhood friend Jerry Sunborne (Benecio Del Toro) who is constantly struggling with an addiction to heroin. Brian is suddenly dead as the film opens and the friends are gathered at the Burke home for...

What was lost in the fire was an opportunity for a better film.
I really wanted to like this film as I'm a huge fan of Halle Berry and the storyline just looked so compelling on paper. However, the delivery of this story just falls flat.

The story is told in present tense, but cleverly spliced in flashbacks fill in the background. Halle plays Audrey Bruke, a mother of two, whose husband Brian, played by "X Files" David Duchovny, is killed (I won't spoil the story by stating how, but we are told he's killed early on). We learn via the flashbacks that his childhood friend, Jerry, very well played by Del Toro, with whom he is still close is now a heroin addict and that Brian is the only friend he has left checks on him regularly and buys him food much to Audrey irritation as she worries about him going to see Jerry in the very bad neighborhood in which he lives.

Perhaps as a way of hanging onto her dead husband's memory or simply out of a selfish need for company, Audrey invites Jerry to "recover" from his addiction at her...

"What's Important in This Life..."
There are many things that happen in `Things We Lost in the Fire;' so many that it has an immediate impact that keeps a flow through the whole film. While most of the movie contains dialogue that makes the movie move so slowly, it saves itself from becoming a trivial soap opera by making every movement deliberate and absorbing.

Brian (David Duchovny) and Audrey (Halle Berry) Burke start the deliberations as a loving, mixed racial couple. He's a successful businessman, and they have two lively and likable children, Harper (10) and Dory (6), who look up to dad, even though he's a bit rough when teaching the timid Dori how to swim. Not a perfect family, but love and prosperity pervade their home. Instantly, we make a connection when Brian tells Dory she is like a fluroscent light, glowing from within.

Creating friction is Brian's best friend from childhood, Jerry Sunborne (Benedicio Del Toro) who is a heroin addict on the mend and attending Narcotics Anonymous...

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Ben 10: The Complete Season 3

Relivin' Saturday Morning FUN with your nephews, and nieces
I was watching TV (Cartoon Network, of course!) with my younger brother's boys, and my younger sister's girls. Shows like Kids Next Door, and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, two shows okay for kids, but left me talking to them about the cartoons that "I" watched when I was their age: The Herculoids, Space Ghost, etc. They sat there listening to me talk about these shows, and how cool they were to me, when my youngest nephew says "Ben 10". I asked them what that was and they tell me its about a boy that can turn into 10 alien monsters to fight bad guys, kinda like the cartoons that I watched, but way better! It comes on right after Foster's. Well an hour later (they showed two episodes in a row of Ben 10) I was hooked! Ben 10 has a very interesting storyline (even for adults), and very cool Alien/Monster designs. The two episodes I watched dealt with "Ghostfreak" one of Ben's aliens escaping from the Omnitrix, and trying to merge its form with Ben's so it can survive in the...

Big Ben Blammo !!
I can't believe that the third season of "Ben 10" is out on DVD already ! Why not "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Season 3" ? Or "Ed, Edd n Eddy: Season 3" ? Ah, well....

Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max continue their greatest road trip ever with some crazy adventures along the way to places beyond belief. This DVD set has thirteen more episodes such as:

"Ben 10,000" - Ben and Gwen are hurtled into the future where they meet grown-up versions of themselves who are in need of some help.

"Merry Christmas" - The Tennysons enter a holiday-themed village where Grandpa Max has been kidnapped by a villain who thinks Max is Santa Claus.

"Super Alien Hero Buddies" - After seeing rip-off versions of some of Ben's alien heroes, Ben seeks revenge on whoever's responsible for this.

"The Visitor" - Xylene, an old friend of Max's, thinks the true owner of the Omnitrix is Max himself. Now Ben must set things right with a new alien hero:...

Great Cartoon Series
Kids will identify with a kid that a kid making mistakes while learning to be a super heroe. Very good stories.

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Mistico: Idolos de La Lucha Libre

How disappointing
I bought this DVD hoping to see at least a few of Mistico's matches, what I got was 40 minutes of ego stroking. Oh sure they have a few clips of his matches but that's all they are clips, most of the DVD is spent answering innane questions. I would have liked to see at least one complete match, but all you'll see is the same moves over and over. The clips don't even contain the original commentary by the announcers, so it's great if you like uncomfortable silences.
The people who put this out seem more concerned with singing Mistico's praises than with displaying good Lucha Libre. All in all if you're a diehard Mistico fan go ahead and get this, but Lucha Libre fans should avoid this.

Fun, short interview documentary
My husband, who is a Lucha Libre fanatic loved the movie. It's a 40-minute question-answer interview with Mistico sitting in a mostly-empty auditorium. There are Lucha Libre action scenes sprinkled throughout as he talks, but mostly it is just him talking (of course with his mask on). If you want to actually see Lucha Libre in action this is not the film for you, and I wouldn't spend more than $5 on it.

Best Lucha Libre DVD EVER!
This is a wonderful DVD by SONY pictures and CMLL wrestling on the life and career of Mistico the greatest Latino luchador in the world today,Mistico is now Sin Cara in the WWE,this is a collection of all his greatest hits,his humble personality,deep faith in GOD and his amazing wrestling skills are all shown here,all his greatest matches from CMLL are shown here,in Mexico they anouncers introduce the wrestlers and they let them fight without talking to much,while this might be strange to some American excepting to here talking,the announcers just shut up and let the wrestling speak for itself,afterward they talk about what happen in the matches with Mistico,you here the music in the arena and hear the fans but mostly you see the greatest wrestlers in the world go toe to toe in some of the greatest lucha libre matches in wrestling history,if you are a wrestling fan this is a must have,if you are a fan of Sin Cara,Rey Mysterio,Eddie Guerrero,Evan Bourne,Kofi Kingston and Shawn...

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Eleven Men Out

Wow! That was disappointing.
This is a slick film coming from an interesting place, Iceland, filled with sorta cute people (of both genders) and some interesting family dynamics, and the main plot circles around a sports star. This film had lots of potential.

In a nutshell, the central figure, an Icelandic soccer ("football") star, Ottar, decides to come out as gay in order to be on the "front page" of a magazine. This leads to problems, as the Icelandic people are evidently quite homophobic, and Ottar is sent packing, his family is enraged/horrified, his son ostracized, and his wife/girlfriend/son's mother is driven further into her liquor-induced semi-coma.

Fortunately, there is another soccer team which is more accepting, and Ottar decides to give it a try on a new team, essentially forming a team of gay and gay-friendly men who become quite successful, mostly because nobody else will play them.

This film fails, mostly, because of a flaw in the story. You never get the...

Strangely mean-spirited & dull
This is not a "feisty comedy" a "hilarious comedy" or a comedy at all. It's probably not a film of any sort. It's just filmstock.

So let's not delude ourselves -- as a movie that typifies a sub-genre of gay cinema, a combination of 'coming-out' and 'sport,' "Eleven Men Out" offers nothing distinctive or titillating or rewarding for its target audience, presumably gay males.

If this movie were simply a rehash of the cliches that have come to dominate much of imported gay European cinema, the movie might have been tolerable. Some sweaty guys, some jokes about balls, some family acceptance scenes, some investigative sex, a club scene, a break-up, etc. But "Eleven Men Out" fails to capture even one or two of these marketable tropes. What the film does have are strangely mean-spirited and dull episodes, perhaps edited together, chronicling a vaguely handsome soccer-player's interactions with strangely mean-spirited and dull family members, lovers, fellow players. This...

Okay
This is an identical plot to the German movie Guys and Balls but their like stops there. As one is fun, energetic, spontaneous, and likable, the other is not. They are both made by the same production company.

Eleven Men Out is a very depressing, serious, and awkward movie where the acting is barely passable. And I did not like that the main character's son gets caught in the middle of his father coming out and his mother being a slut and a drunk.

This is an Icelandic movie. Basically the plot is based on a famous local football player playing for the first and most popular team in Iceland. He announces in the beginning of the movie that he is gay just to get a story and a picture in the local magazine. Then he joins a third rate all gay team.

The rest of the movie is the tribulations of him adjusting to his new life and team. His father is a psychiatrist and a member of the board of his former team. At first his former team chastises him but toward...

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Rhinoceros Eyes

for those of you that like their movies a bit on the odd side
I've been looking forward to seeing Aaron Woodley's "Rhinoceros Eyes" since its release in 2003. Five years later and I finally got my chance as it was just recently released on dvd.... finally. I had read a review on the film that had heightened my expectations. Were they met? Absolutely.

Rhinoceros Eyes is a fantastical coming-of-age story revolving around Chep (Michael Pitt), a young, reclusive prop-house employee who falls in love with a detail-obsessed movie production designer named Fran (Paige Turco). Fran's need for authentic props sends Chep to great and questionable lengths as he tries to satisfy her requests, and ultimately...win her heart.

Pitt's performance is absolutely stellar as the idiot savant playing a recluse in the prop shop unwilling to leave it's safety and the fantasy world it is. After meeting his love interest, Chep's line between what is real and what is not rapidly deteriorates. He is unable to distinguish what is actually happening...

Dancing Gale Harold. How bad could it be?
Bought this movie because I'm a Gale Harold fan. I found it a bit odd, but certainly worth watching more than once. The scenes of Gale dancing are fun.

Not what I expected
Too little of Gale Harold for my liking - i decided to buy it only cause Gale was in it. I felt sympathy for the child/young man in the movie but have to say overall it was a bit of a different type of movie and one I would not rush out to buy. I did enjoy seeing Gale in yet another type of role. Seems he cannot be typecast in anything but QAF.

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Girl's High Collection, Vol. 1-3

Girl's High Rocks
These animes are very funny and, on occasion, very serious and thought provoking, if you look for it (especially episode 3).

Well executed characters who maintain their characterisation throughout; nice animation and great voices. Himeji's voice I particularly like.

The bonus episode, cast interviews, textless titles (one of the coolest opening/closing title sequences around) and, to a less extent, the trailers are all very welcome.

I came across this series on YouTube and just had to have the full quality product (missed a few meals to afford it!!!).

My only complaint is that the subtitles have been Americanised; and the language toned down. I much prefer the 'real' subtitles (with the YouTube rips) but I guess I can live with it.

10 out of 10 but shoot the subtitler... (I know enough Japanese, and the story-lines of these, to just about do without these subtitles anyway).

Good Diversion
Girls High Collection, Vol. 1-3

Though it was a little short on story, I completely enjoyed it.
Plenty of laughs and some decent character development make this
an imperfect yet fun series.

If you like pratfalls and common indecency than you'll probably like
the Girls High series.

Cute & Real Teen Life
"Girl's High" is a wonderful anime; not because it shows fanservice (which it does), but because it acurately depicts some true developmental issues that girls go through in the teen years whether they live in Japan or elsewhere. There are some things that regular anime watchers will recognize as regular high school events such as sports day, joining clubs, getting big-time school physicals, and more. But "Girl's High" is deeper than that. Issues such as first-time sex, being so truly concerned for the safety of your friend that you would be willing to kick your boyfriend to the curb, getting a "monthly" at the most inconvenient time imaginable, etc. These are just some of the "real-life" issues that are dealt with in this anime (if you are willing to look past the lingerie) and remember that this story was originally autobiographical. Hopefully, we as a culture have come a long way from the 1966 Hayley Mill "The Trouble With Angels"...

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The Last Emperor (The Criterion Collection)

Blu-ray edition is not a direct carry over from the deluxe 4 DVD edition
When I was informed that the Blu-ray of the deluxe 4 disc Criterion edition would be missing the extended cut of 218 minutes, I sent an e-mail to Criterion to confirm this information. I have included my e-mail and the response I received from Jon Mulvany at Criterion. I hope this helps in your decision if you are planning to upgrade to the Blu-ray.

Dear Jon,
I have long been a fan of your company and the fine treatment it gives to movies. I originally purchased one of my all time favorite movies, The Last Emperor earlier this year when it was given the deluxe 4 disc treatment, I was thrilled with all of the extras that were included. I was most impressed that both versions of the movie were included for me to chose from. When it was announced that it was coming to Blu-ray, I sold my copy and was waiting to upgrade. I was! I have learned that the 165 min. version is the only one that will be included on the Blu-ray and not the 218 min (my preferred version) cut...

Magnificent Criterion Set... Mouthwatering Extras... Some Caveats... Notably Ugly Cropping
I won't go into the movie itself. It is already well known. It swept the Oscars winning all 9 for which it was nominated, including Best Picture and Best Director. A first for an independent foreign film. It is an historical epic about a culture which until then was little known in the West. It tells the story of China's Last Emperor, a weak and ineffectual man who came to the throne hailed as The Son of Heaven and The Lord of 10,000 Years. His misfortune was to be born at the twilight of Imperial Rule in China. Enthroned as a God, he is cast out by Chinese Republicans, used as a puppet by the invading Japanese, humiliated by the Communists and then "re-educated" to finally become a "useful" member of society - a common gardener. It is the story of one man's tragedy and of an ancient civilisation's painful march into the modern era. A film not to be missed.

This is a truly magnificent set. Criterion at its best. Spread over 4 discs, it includes both versions of the film,...

"Director's Cut" versus "Theatrical Cut"
This review is not so much a review of the movie or this release in particular. It would seem that there will be no shortage of glorious reviews of this movie and I would just be adding my voice to the gale winds of appraise. I write this to clear up the common mis-perception that the longer cut of this movie is a director's cut.

The previously released longer cut of The Last Emperor which was released on DVD and subsequently labeled as a "Director's Cut" is in fact a longer, made for television mini-series version that was made to satisfy a particular distribution/production deal. Bertolucci himself has gone on record to say that the actual version of the film that he envisioned is the one that went out to theaters, thereby making the shorter "Theatrical Cut" the actual director's cut.

Being the huge fan of this movie that I am, I can't help but want more of this movie, but I'd be lying if I said that the shorter version isn't great just as it is. The movie does...

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