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Robin WIlliams rules
great little thriller that does the foreign version justice. Great cast, and not a bore. Wondering if you should see it? the answer is Yes. | 1positive
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An always underestimated Bond film!
With the departure of Sean Connery as James Bond, theproducer found an interesting replacement for him:Australian model George Lazenby snuck into theoffice of Harry Saltzman, to apply for the partJames Bond. And after a while he got it!To understand that this film received 5 stars andstill is not as good as Goldfinger, is not easy to explain.First George Lazenby, who tried as hard as he could,wasn't bad as James Bond, in fact director Peter Huntearns most of the thanks for that. As a matter a factthis time the director is really the star of the picture.In addition, the cast and crew surrounding Lazenby wasjust unique. First of all, the spendid Diana Rigg who broughtthe Tracy character to life, second, Telly (later Kojak) Savalasas the evil main villain Ernest Stavro Blofeld, the best Blofeldever. Third the crew, the cinematography of Michael Reed andthe stunning ski chase sequences from top-notch Ski pro, WillyBogner (he returned for 3 more Bond films). Supplemental theaerial photography from Johnny Jordan (he lost a leg duringfilming "You only live twice" the prior Bond).Fourth the editing by John Glen (who later would direct fiveblockbuster Bond films) and of course fifth, the score byJohn Barry, actually equal with the Goldfinger score.And last but not least sixth, the amazing twist in a Bondfilm, Bond fells in love and marries!! Only low point forany Bondfan, the very sad ending...Otherwise due to cast and crew (who really gave their bestof the best) a highly entertaining, action packed and exciting motion picture...Outstanding and "different" 007 picture! | 1positive
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Beverly Hills Cop II
I enjoyed this dvd more than the original. Yes, it has the same wonderful music too. Lots of action and laughs. | 1positive
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A Great and well produced movie!!!!
This was a wonderful movie. I thought Tommy having a younger baby brother was a great idea! I also think that Dil's name is funny!! This is a movie that I ''INSIST'' you watch! | 1positive
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Such a cute movie!
My daughter convinced me to sit and watch this with her and I am glad that I did. It was a pleasant, feel good movie! Highly recommend! | 1positive
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If you were expecting great sound better buy a cassette
Most than half the movie I resisted the temptation of turning off that awful sound and began a break dance on the DVD.Freddy would hide of shame.This DVD are live performances, with bad shoot places.If I have not bought it, I wouldnt finish seeing it, thats sad because I personally would give ten stars to Queen itself. | 0negative
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No Audio, Bad Video
This is the 2nd copy of this DVD I have put in my player that has no audio at all. Yes, all my other DVDs I put in play fine, but this has no audio so I'll be returning it for good this time. Anyway, the video quality could look more crisp and it's not very visually appealling. | 0negative
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a thinking-man's thriller
With "Zodiac," director David Fincher returns to the crime thriller territory he explored to such effectiveness in "Seven" a dozen odd years ago.For over a decade - from December 1968 to the late 1970's - a serial killer calling himself The Zodiac terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area, dispatching his victims seemingly at random while keeping up a cryptic, cat-and-mouse correspondence with several major newspapers in the area. Despite some impressive leads, the killer was never caught and the murders eventually stopped as quickly and mysteriously as they had started.At 160 minutes, "Zodiac" lacks the streamlining and telescoping we've come to expect from movies about serial killers, which are more often designed for sensationalism and exploitation than contemplation and reflection. Taking a novelistic approach to the subject, screenwriter James Vanderbilt gives the drama room to breathe, allowing detail to pile upon detail, and providing an array of characters who disappear from the drama for long periods of time only to return to center stage when called upon to do so by the facts of the case.The drawback in such a strategy is that the movie occasionally feels aimless and formless, as it ricochets back and forth between plot strands and characters that often seem at cross purposes to one another. But the distinct advantage of this approach is that the movie feels less contrived and artificial and more akin to real life, as it captures the sometimes decidedly unglamorous nature and frustratingly plodding pace of actual crime detection. And for those who might be hesitant to watch the film due strictly to its subject matter, it should be noted that, for a movie on such a grisly topic, "Zodiac" is surprisingly tame in the blood-and-guts department (thank goodness).Indeed, the movie gets its unnerving murder scenes out of the way right up front, so it can turn its full attention to its real areas of interest: chronicling the behind-the-scenes search for the killer and exploring the psychological impact this search has on three men who become, to varying degrees, obsessed with the case. Jake Gyllenhaal, who hit a career high water mark in 2005 with "Proof," "Jarhead" and, of course, "Brokeback Mountain," continues his journey into edgy roles playing Graysmith, the rather nerdy cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle, who managed to get closer to unveiling the true identity of the killer than anyone else, and who went on to write of his experiences in the book, "Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed," on which the film itself is based. Graysmith was able to scoop even the lead investigator, David Toschi (sharply played by the always interesting Mark Ruffalo), who finds his life becoming ever more overtaken by the case the longer it drags on without resolution. The third major actor in the drama is Paul Avery, the crime beat reporter who turned to drink, thereby torpedoing his own career, after the killer singled him out as a potential target. It is the lack of screen time allotted to Avery that offers one of the genuine disappointments of the movie, especially as he is embodied by the brilliant Robert Downey Jr., whose own life experiences make him the perfect choice for the role.With its meticulously mounted, pitch-perfect recreation of the details of the case as well as the times in which they took place, "Zodiac" is one of the few films of recent years that can truly be termed a thinking man`s thriller. | 1positive
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The Best Outsiders!!
My daughter saw this movie in an English class at school. We had an old copy of the movie and she said that so much was missing from our copy. I ordered The Outsiders: The Complete Novel and it had all of the "missing parts" that had made it so enthrallling to a 13 year old at school. This copy of The Outsiders with all of the extras is a great addition to our DVD library, and at a price that I could see paying. It gave my 13 year old a chance to fall in love with all of the "IT" boys from days gone by. | 1positive
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Poor Quality Picture
The picture on the cover of this DVD gave us the impression that the quality would be better than it turned out to be. This was extremely disappointing! | 0negative
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Beginners Only
This was definitely a disappointment. I figured that the 4 modified levels would offer me a challenge. I did the unmodified level the entire time, and it was still a beginner level session. And don't let the title fool you. The part "For Weight Loss" is only serving to feed into the weight loss industry. | 0negative
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Review for Brother Bear
It feels like a project that got quietly pushed through the pipeline while the studio gears up for bigger and better things. The journey is diverting on a Saturday-morning kind of way, but it doesn't compare to say, Finding Nemo. It turns out to be a paradigmaticventure, illustrating both the virtues of hand-drawn films and why they have become an endangered species. Disney hides the morality tale behind a rip-roaring soundtrack, goofy moose sidekicks and enough bear slapstick to delight any child. This opulent movie, with gorgeous rainbow animation, is heavy on message but light on humor, though, I recommend seeing Brother Bear. | 1positive
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hotttt diggity
Not usually my cup of tea, but daaaaang. this movie is good. when you look up bad@$$ in visual thesaurus it shows a picture of Liam Neeson. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could, just because the story could have used a bit more development, but sometimes you just want to see someone kick the crap out of people right?! right. | 1positive
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Hollow Jingoistic Propaganda
This Bruce Willis action drama starts out pretty convincingly as Navy Seals are sent on an extraction detail to evacuate an American doctor played by Monica Bellucci from the jungle of Nigeria.The film accurately depicts the tribal strife that plagues most African nations to this day. The movie also isn't shy about depicting the type of brutality that takes place on a daily basis in these civil conflicts. Monica Bellucci is convincing in playing the missionary wanting to join the saintly martyr cause. Even Bruce Willis is somewhat credible in portraying a disciplined commando who's conscience is his greatest enemy.The movie's realism fails in the final extraction where you have a squad of men fighting off a battalion of guerrilas. I realize that a few men have often fought great odds with success but this is simply absurd. At one point it seemed as if modern fighting had retrograded to Civil War tactics where men form a compact line formation and charge a whole batallion of men with RPGs and automatic weapons: ridiculous. And finally of course, as with all films of this type, the cavalry comes to save the day at the end and everybody is joyous: Yeepie Kiay!Seeing this movie once is quite enough. The more you watch it the more it will remind you of Rambo III or some long forgotten Chuck Norris film. | 0negative
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Best Movie Ever!!
I Loved this movie. The plot is exciting and well-written. Most movies have either bad actting or are poorly written or both, but not this one. "Ever After" is a love story between the Prince of France and Danielle intracatly woven into a story of wit and intellagence. If you like love stories and like history you'll LOVE this movie | 1positive
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MULBERRY DIVE!
Complete disappointment! Did not live up to the hype or praise. All these reviewers interpretating the meaning of this annoying piece are only accomplishing one thing: killing unnecessary brain cells. David Lynch's style of direction is mediocre at best and I feel I am being very generous. He accomplished one thing though: CONFUSION. Viewers who claim they perfectly understand this movie are kidding themselves. The movie is intentionally not meant to be understood. Each person that watches this garbage develops his or her own believing of what message this movie is conveying. Sadly, you are probably all wrong and David Lynch is secretly laughing at the audience. I believe he himself could not explain to you what is really going on, but that is what he wants. David Lynch has got a cult of viewers who are brainwashed into his heap. The acting was not very convincing and the movie did not grip me at all. I never felt mystery or anxiousness of trying to figure it out. I had a hard enough time avoid looking at my watch. The premise of a dream or fantasy as a plot could be very interesting but Lynch fails to execute. As I was watching, I could not help to wonder; what is the big deal? I found most of the scenes to be quite boring along with the numb characters. I did not feel the controversy. This movie is very, very, very, overrated!! To anyone who has not seen it, don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. Believe all the hype and you most certainly will finish this film and feel betrayed. | 0negative
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Sound of Music is Music to My Ears
Since I was a small child, I have loved the Sound of Music. It is a delightful and entertaining movie. It is unquestionably my favorite movie. The subplots are outstanding. The music stays with you and uplifts your spirits. The children are adorable. The love story between the Captain and Maria is breath-taking. The dance scene always makes my heart beat faster. Determination and the human spirit are the forces behind this movie. The movie is time-consuming but worth it. I still wait for the movie to be released on DVD. You haven't lived a complete life without seeing "The Sound of Music." | 1positive
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Wow! I have to give it a star?
Stupid scenario, bad production, medium performance. | 0negative
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Terrific comic acting can't redeem unfunny time-travel farce
Comedy is a notoriously xenophobic traveller - happiest at home; always moaning about the people and conveniences abroad. So whereas a squire and his vassal can cross a millenium in time, the jokes and broad humour stay stubbornly rooted in France, leaving foreigners bemused at how 'The Visitors' so tickles the national funny bone. I guess it's the same with the 'Carry On' films: hilarious for us (in the British Isles), meaningless to everyone else. It's not just a case of knowing about French history or culture, but about being attuned to a particular comic tradition and its modes (in this case Parisian street theatre and cafe comedy) - if you don't understand them, how are you going to laugh at them?'The Visitors' is basically a Gallic variation on the old Rip Van Winkle yarn, with a character transplanted from his age, attitudes and manners, and plonked into our own. Seen through an alien's eyes, the everyday world we take for granted becomes fresh and arguably ridiculous. The fact that this alien is a relative, one of 'us', makes the gap between his age and ours more pointed. So although the medieval realm Jean Reno's knight bestrides is muddy, violent, war-mongering, and socially unjust, it allows for a nobility, honesty, friendship and bravery that has no place in our world. When Reno in 1993 takes a bath in his underclothes, dumping thousands of francs worth of salts and ointments, it is we who look silly, not him, with our pointless waste, and obsessive preference for clean bodies over clean souls. Our world may be more democratic, the peasants may be allowed take over the castle, the French Revolution may have smashed the ancien regime, but a rigid social structure remains in place, there is still a hierarchy of social dependence in which some people get to give orders and others have to take them.'Visitors' makes a case for the continuity of history, the presence of the past in a present that would deny or break away from it - the hidden dungeon in the converted hotel is a kind of unconscious suppressed by the national ego. Typically, women are at the root of social disruption - it is a witch who causes Reno and Clavier to be hurtled through time; it is the tramp Lady Ginette who encourages Clavier to overturn his social position. Medieval military violence translates into modern police brutality.The most disappointing thing about 'Visitors' is the simplistic level of the comic material, the repeated resort to the obvious. There is none of the clash of or inventive delight in linguistic registers you find in Raymond Queneau's 'The Blue Flowers', another story about a medieval knight rampaging through history towards the present. It's a real shame, because the actors are delightful - Reno's mud-spattered aristocracy never becomes foolish; Clavier in a double role alternates gross-out earthiness with an absurd sophistication; Valerie Lemercier is the uptight snob who learns to see new possibilities; and Christian Bujeau as her exasperated husband is a rare example of the straight man getting all the laughs. | 0negative
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Wow!!! You have to see this movie!!!
I saw this movie in the theater three times. It is my absolute favorite movie. Every aspect, from the "and then" shots to the main character herself, make this movie outstanding. You will never forget this masterpiece. | 1positive
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Another ELVIS product RUINED by the money hungry companies!!!...
Well, they've done it again! I waited for months for "Elvis On Tour" to be released on DVD, and now, just one day before the release date, I learn that it's been tampered with! Just add this to the long list of other Elvis products that they've done this with!!! I will NOT be purchasing this DVD because I am sick and tired of having to buy Elvis items 10 tens before they decide to just LEAVE THEM ALONE and release them in their ORIGINAL FORM!!! It's bad enough that TONS of unreleased material from this film exists and NONE of it has been added to the DVD as bonus material, but Warner had to also go ahead and ruin the original release as well!!! I've had it with these money-grubbing companies that PURPOSELY do this so that 20 years down the road, they can boast on the next version that "Johnny B.Goode" has been put back into the film...as if they are doing us a big favor!!! (check out the DVD releases of "Kissin'Cousins" and "Girl Happy"! That's exactly what they did with these, because for ten years we were stuck with the VHS tapes that had one song deleted from both films!!!) We Elvis fans have consistantly been short-changed by these greedy companies for years, and the list of inferior products that they've put out is much too long to even go into here! You can, however, check out some of my past reviews here, if you want to know what to look out for! All I can say is that I'm completely disgusted once again!!! This is one reason why I will NEVER pre-order an Elvis product from amazon (or anywhere else) because these alterations are never announced in advance, and if a fan is purchasing a certain item, they should be told EXACTLY what they are getting!!! I've already read a few reviews from fans that have pre-ordered this disc, and were sorry now that they did! This is NOT fair to the fans!!! As always, I learned about these changes from the Elvis websites, and NOT from any of the sites that are selling this item! As you can see, I only gave this product one star, and it doesn't even deserve that but it's the lowest rating amazon apparently allows you to give!!! | 0negative
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johnny D. lovers
Don't guess if you love johnnys' acting this is a must. I can only imagine his real personality being exactly like this | 1positive
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Muppets score again!
This version may play a little loosely with Dickens' original, but it is delightful just the same. You just can't beat Kermit and Piggy for fine acting. | 1positive
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Expelled: No research allowed
What is shocking about this video is the association of Nazism with Darwin, which is a common creationist tacit, a simple google search yields the following (german and english translation)"6. Schriften weltanschaulichen und lebenskundlichen Charakters, deren Inhalt die falsche naturwissenschaftliche Aufklärung eines primitiven Darwinismus und Monismus ist (Häckel).6. Writings of a philosophical and social nature whose content deals with the false scientific enlightenment of primitive Darwinism and Monism (Häckel).They must have banned religious books, then. But, they banned books that ridiculed religion.c) Alle Schriften, welche die christliche Religion und ihre Einrichtungen, den Gottesglauben und andere einem gesunden Volksempfinden heiligen Dinge verhöhnen, verumglimpfen oder verächtlich machen.c) All writings that ridicule, belittle or besmirch the Christian religion and its institution, faith in God, or other things that are holy to the healthy sentiments of the Volk."In a nutshell, The nazi's exterminated the Jews over an imaginary friend, certainly not Darwin. There is tons and tons of evidence that the Nazi's were doing Gods work (as noted by other reviewers, the Nazi's had 'God be with us' on their belts. To continue, the Nazi's persecuted even Atheists (German Freethinkers League leader, Max Sievers, was executed by the Nazis).Hitler made this comment regarding Sparta and Eugenics based systemically cleaning of the weak:"Sparta must be regarded as the first Völkisch State. The exposure of the sick, weak, deformed children, in short, their destruction, was more decent and in truth a thousand times more humane than the wretched insanity of our day which preserves the most pathological subject, and indeed at any price, and yet takes the life of a hundred thousand healthy children in consequence of birth control or through abortions, in order subsequently to breed a race of degenerates burdened with illnesses" (Hitler's Secret Book, p17). Looks like that Hitler admired this approach, and this (Sparta) was centuries before Darwin.Furthermore, Stein says the following in the movie about intelligent design (in a nutshell): "ID is suppressed in a systematic and ruthless fashion"First of all, science doesn't have any notion about the supernatural. It doesn't exist god/gods/ID because simply put, They do NOT meet the basic scientific method of being testable. While there are things in the Universe humans can't understand, filling in a 'god' to make up for things that can't be explained is simply intellectually dishonest and doesn't promote humans to learn more about the world around them / the universe.Richard Dawkins even mentioned that he was lied to about the purpose of this 'movie', so that goes to show you what lengths pro-ID crowd will go to try and smear science.While I agree that comparative religion should be apart of the school curriculum, it should certainly not be apart of the science curriculum. ID is just another word for 'Yahweh did it' .. | 0negative
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20 years after I finally get to see it.
Well it came out 20 years ago and my family was so poor that I couldn't go see it I had to hear bits and peices of it from my class mates, and Man I am glad I finaly got to see it. It is the best movie I have seen it took me back to my pre teen and teen age years and wow!!! what a rush. Now if I can find the cartoons of Tranzor Z, and voltron, and Robo Tech I'll be a happy man. | 1positive
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Give men more credit please!
This movie was so overhyped. Any one who writes a review here who says "I know wine and I approve this movie" is full of it. Those who work in the wine industry know about the meritage of the featured Pinot including Merlot, but aside from that piece of trivia the fact is, Merlot is a great varietal. It just got too popular, so this movie takes a cheap shot to make fun of it, and all of the people who enjoy it. Wine is not about being snobby and pretentious, it's about drinking wine that YOU you like.(It did a huge disservice to Merlot growers and winemakers by bashing it BTW). That's beside the point, however. The movie was just pathetic in it's interpretation of middle aged men. It had a few moments, but nothing to make up for the pain of having to watch these horrible characters for the length of the movie. Just sad and blah. It's obvious why Sandra Oh left that jerk. | 0negative
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Capra's and Stewart's Personal Bests
A beautifully crafted film that proved to be the apex of triple Oscar-winner (1934, 1936, 1938) Frank Capra's distinguished career, and the epitome of his cycle of works celebrating the "common man". Mr. Deeds found himself suddenly wealthy, Mr. Smith went to Washington as a Senator, and John Doe became the focus of a socio-political movement; but "Life"'s George Bailey never distinguishes himself outside of his small hometown of Bedford Falls --- his brother Harry is the one who becomes a war hero, and his friend Sam Wainwright is the one who achieves financial success. George's triumph is simply his personal integrity, his code of ethics, and his strength of character --- his goodness, if you will --- during the unexciting course of his ordinary, mundane existence. In this respect, George is more an Everyman than any other Capra protagonist, inviting strong audience identification and response.In one of the most exquisite performances ever given in an American film, James Stewart is superb as George. It's not an easy role to play because so much screen time is spent focusing on George's subtle reactions to the world around him. One incredible moment comes at the train station when George slowly begins to absorb the news of his brother's recent marriage and new career opportunity, and how his brother's fortune will destroy his own hopes of leaving Bedford Falls and the family business. Stewart's face is extraordinary in this scene, as surprised realization fades into quiet disappointment and finally, gentle graciousness and acceptance. Stewart's tour de force is given strong support by a superb cast of Capra stalwarts, including Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, H. B. Warner, and the phenomenal Beulah Bondi (as George's mother). And Donna Reed, in one of her first romantic leading roles after a number of years playing supporting ingenues and bits, is excellent in the warm but unglamorous role of George's loving wife, Mary.The Republic Home Video DVD is definitely the edition of this classic to own. Like the LaserDisc before it, the DVD offers a crystal clear, beautifully restored film-to-video transfer which will amaze and delight anyone who is familiar only with the horrible multi-generational VHS cassettes, or the awful colorized version, that were commonly screened back in the late 1970's and 1980's. There are some nice bonus features on the DVD, including a "making of" documentary and the theatrical trailer. This is one DVD that you'll never regret adding to your home theatre collection!Trivia note: If you're a fan of this movie, try finding a copy of film historian David Thomson's 1985 novel "Suspects" which continues George's story and relates the characters from this movie to many others (did you know that Donna Reed's "Mary Bailey" is actually the sister of Gene Tierney's "Laura"?!, etc.) ... great fun! | 1positive
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Way, way, way, way overstyilized (0 stars)
I went into this movie with 90% of me knowing that it was going to be bad, and 10% hoping to be surprised. I was not surprised at all.It's a mixture of a few things, or maybe the books happened before these films, I don't know, nor do I particularly care: Underworld, the Matrix and the Lord of the Rings. I hate every single one of these franchises, so that fact that I detest Night Watch shouldn't come as a shock.The acting is stale, the music is so cliche it hurts, and the use of CGI is way over the top, as is usually the case with these mindless pieces of eye candy. (come on, a flipping, what looks like a, garbage truck? sorry, but no.)It also comes as no surprised that Tarantino's singing praise for this hill of cinematic retardation, on account of the fact that none of his films are nothing more than shallow, heartless, overstyilized pieces of eye candy with no soul. | 0negative
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Good drama-comedy
It's difficult to create a good movie that mixes comedy and drama in a good way. EDtv manages to do it. The movie is perhaps more relevant today than it was when it was released. In 1999, the story was a satire of what might have been, but today with all the reality-tv-shows, it is... well... reality. The movie is fun but it also has something to say. Who wants to be famous. It seems like everyone does. But what sort of skeletons would they find in your closet if they followed you, or your family, around 24/7? And is there a voyeur in all of us, since millions of people tune in to watch everyday people do everyday things? And how can we have such strong opinions about people we only know from TV? In the EDtv, the viewers have opinions about Ed's girlfriend. 71% think she's ugly and annoying; dump her. The viewers want British model Jill to be his new girlfriend and the producers are quick to arrange it. So what's really real and what's manufactured on so called "reality" shows?EDtv is a good mix of drama and comedy and the cast is great. Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman and Woody Harrelson play the leads and the supporting cast includes Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Landau and Dennis Hopper, all doing a great job. | 1positive
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my son loves it!!!
my son just loves these movies!! and since I get to watch them over and over, I think they are really great too! | 1positive
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"As long as Lorna will have me, I'll not abandon her."
This epic production from BBC and A & E is simply outstanding, an underated gem that truly has something for everyone. Set in the beautiful English countryside, the movie opens with John Ridd (played by Richard Coyle) swearing vengeance on the ruthless Doone clan after his father is ruthlessly murdered by one of them. The Doone clan lives in a fortress in a swampland and terrorizes the local population, but beautiful Lorna Doone (played by Amelia Warner) wants nothing to do with her evil relatives. She meets John Ridd and it's love at first sight for both of them. Although they see the danger and risks involved with seeing one another, John will not give up seeing Lorna.Their relationship is put at further risk by sinister Carver Doone (played by Aiden Gillen), who wants Lorna for his own...at all costs. He cares nothing for the fact that she doesn't love him, and he'll stop at nothing to make her his bride. When the aging patriarch of the Doone family, Sir Encor Doone (played by Peter Vaughn), dies, Carver becomes the new head of the family, and makes plans to marry Lorna. John rescues her, however, and takes her to his family's home, where friends of John are heavily armed and prepared to defend the two "lovebirds" from the Doone clan.After a costly assault on John Ridd's home fails miserably, Carver stops his ruthless pursuit of Lorna, but only temporarily. Meanwhile, it is discovered that Lorna is no Doone at all but actually a royal heir to a vast fortune awaiting her in London. She is forced to go to London and her romance with John is furthur put to the test. The feud between John Ridd and Carver Doone finally reaches the boiling point and a huge battle between the militia (fighting alongside John) and Doone men results in the almost complete destruction of the Doone clan. Will John be able to marry Lorna despite their class differences? Watch and find out!This outstanding film has great performances, especially from Richard Coyle and the lovely Amelia Warner, and the scenery of the English countryside is breathtaking. This excellent film has plenty of action, romance, humor, drama, and suspense. Modern films that are this entertaining are few and far between, so I suggest you add this gem to your collection! | 1positive
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Waste of Time
My husband and I were really interested to see this film. What a waste of our time! With all the hype about this film, we kept waiting for something really good to happen. The plots are disturbing. The only good thing about the film were the cinematography and the fact that it finally ended after 2 hours. We rented the film before buying it....I immediately took it off my wish list! I recommend that others skip this film and find something fun to do for the two hours! | 0negative
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A moderately entertaining drama
I have to admit I have very personal reasons for having purchased several copies of this 1980 made for T.V. movie; my family and I were extras in the football audiance! I was 15 at the time and it was being filmed in Mooseheart, Illinois (between Aurora and Batavia. Yes, Mooseheart is the villiage for orphans and other disadvantaged children of Moose club members (I lived there for six months when I was in third grade). The highlight for my family was the scene of the black woman and white man together in the audiance watching the game. You could see the top of my sister Noel's head sitting right below them (she was 12 at the time). I sent a copy to family members for Christmas.Now, about the movie itself. It was about what you'd expect from a "made for TV" movie. It was somewhat hokie at times, but still a fairly interesting drama. Robert Conrad plays a coach who's frustrated by his inabilty to walk as a result of a Vietnam War injury. Turned down from coaching the Chicago Bears (talk about shooting for the stars!) he reluctantly takes up a "temporary" coaching position at the youth reform school at St. Charles, Illinois (filmed on location) as a way of keeping his eye on his recently incarcerated nephew. In the process he turns a motley bunch of unruly youths into a formidable football team. The highlight of the movie comes when the team is allowed to play an elite prep school outside the reformatory grounds.The drama is good but not spectacular. Nevertheless, it's worth watching at least once. One has to chuckle when reminded of the datedness of the movie at the end. As the youths get ready to return back to the reform school, a naive cheerleader asks one of the boys to go out with her next weekend. When he says he won't be available for awhile, she asks "when?", and he replies "1982." (Wow, that far into the future?!) If you have any further questions about the movie, email me at tedmccarron@yahoo.com. | 0negative
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Preston is great
Nobody can ever take Robert Prestons place in this musical. I thought Matthew Broadrick in the remake was awful.Preston is the best. I saw the play on stage a few times and there is no compareson. | 1positive
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Happy Lesson - gotta love it.
I don't see what some of the others are complaining about . Sure it's an unrealistic situation , but isn't that why we watch shows like this in the first place? Sure it's formulaic to a certain degree , but it's different enough to stand on its own .Happy Lesson is a great series with tons of laughs and lots of great characters. The stories are really good , everything from being trapped on a desert island ,to a snow skiing trip gone awry.If you haven't seen Happy Lesson , right now is a good time to check it out , you can pick up a good used copy for around $10 including shipping like I did . With that you get the complete series plus 3 ova's . Treat yourself to this one , you'll like it. | 1positive
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Take back the Oscar
This is not a documentary. Moore should be ashamed for profiting off of this tragedy. | 0negative
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Have Gun, Will Travel
One of my favorite westerns, WINCHESTER '73 is a visual feast, backed by an excellent story and acting talent.Taken on one level it is simply a "quest" film. Lin McAdam (James Stewart) and his pal High Spade Frankie Wilson (Millard Mitchell) have a newly won Winchester rifle stolen from them. The thief is Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally), a fellow that Lin would have shot earlier in the saloon, had not Wyatt Earp (Will Geer) not confiscated everyone's guns. Obviously, Lin and Dutch Henry have a past, and some unfinished business.Lin and High Spade go a'questing, in search of Dutch Henry and his gang. Like Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) in THE SEARCHERS (1955), Lin is relentless in his pursuit of Dutch Henry. Lin is a driven man, but at this point we aren't sure what is driving him.Eventually, after surviving a native attack led by Young Bull (Rock Hudson) on an army division (among whom are Jay C. Flippen and Tony Curtis), Lin and Dutch Henry meet, and shoot it out while Dutch Henry is trying to escape after robbing the Tascona bank. Lin kills a member of Dutch Henry's gang, Waco Johnnie Dean (Dan Duryea), but Dutch Henry escapes with Lin in pursuit. The climax occurs in the neaby foothills.It would be a pretty common story, if this was all there was to it. But interlaced throughout the film is the Winchester rifle. The film begins and ends with it. Many of the people want to touch and hold it; the most ambitious want to own it. As in GUN CRAZY (1949), the gun is more than simply a firearm; it is a fetish. Director, Anthony Mann, essentially follows the weapon from hand to hand, as the story is told. A wonderfully directed film. And it was shot beautifully by cinematographer William Daniels.Of the two Region 1 DVD releases, the 2008 JAMES STEWART 'THE WESTERN COLLECTION' copy is the better print. Both it, and the 2003 DVD release have the Stewart audio commentary, which is a lot of fun, even if you wish that better questions had been asked. | 1positive
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A Cool DVD
I am an exercise enthusiast who loves cross training: swimming, running, biking, tennis, and skiing. I started Pilates about a year ago and it helped every other activity I enjoy. So I bought about five Pilates DVDs from Amazon. Well, I should have gotten Classical Pilates first!These people show what a good challenge Pilates can be, and the verbal instruction is intensely insightful; it's not just someone telling you what to do. The master instructor describes what you should be feeling and thinking about. | 1positive
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Has the Potential to Be This Generation's Star Wars
I know that the above statement is a rather bold claim, and one that's been made many times over. However, this time, it rings true for all those who take the chance and see the movie.I wasn't a fan of the T.V. show when it aired on Fox. To be honest I scoffed at the idea, and considering I couldn't stand Buffy or Angel, I stayed away despite what I'd heard to the contrary. Then I heard that they were making a movie based on the T.V. show, and it got me interested enough to give the show a try through Netflix. Let me tell you now: Firefly is the best television show I've ever seen.I'm a professional sci-fi/fantasy writer so I'm a huge Sci-Fi fan in general. Firefly had me hooked. I loved it. The writing is darn near perfect, as is the acting. The storytelling is just so well done, and Joss carried that over and stepped it up a notch with Serenity.I've been a Star Wars fan since before I could talk. I was raised on it, along with Star Trek and everything else under the sun. I own every Star Wars book- have read them all at least twice. I've seen the movies hundreds of times. Joss said that with Serenity he was aiming to give the audience that feeling he had when he first saw Star Wars, even if they haven't ever seen the show. In my opinion, he accomplished that goal. Lets put it this way: As huge a Star Wars fan (and comic nerd for that matter) as I am, Serenity is the best movie I've seen all year. It beat out Revenge of the Sith. It beat out Batman Begins. So trust me, even if you've never seen a single episode of Firefly, give Serenity a shot. | 1positive
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Exciting, Powerful, High Exposive, Flag Waving good movie
I feel that this movie is extremely exciting due to all the special effects. The characters are funny and likeable. Bruce Willis did a great job playing his character. One of his best performances yet.The directors did a great job of playing with your emotions. You were consantly on the edge of your seat. It made you feel proud to be an American. Yes, this movie is unbelievable...that's what this type of movie is-fiction.I don't recommend you like your small children watch this movie due to the content.I highly recommend this movie for your home theater system. | 1positive
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you have the wrong editorial description.
The customer review you have is for the correct movie. I agree with everything that reviewer said. How do we get them to release it for sale? | 1positive
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Well...I will never get back that time!
I went out and bought this "new" edition of Superman 2 and after just finishing it I can't wait to sell my copy to the first person I see! I only gave it two stars because it had some interesting scenes that were never shown previously. The story line is all out of whack, and whatever four year old they made a movie editor really screwed up a classic!If this was supposed to be the way the movie was to be shown, thank god it never made it to the silver screen! It would have ENDED the Superman series once and for all.The movie jumps around from scene to scene so much you really notice the scenes they left out that were in the original score. I am severely upset that I not only lost $21.00, but also that 119 minutes of my life I can never get back.If you have seen the original edition as much as I have you will definitely notice a major difference in this version. It follows no plot. One minute Lois an d Clark are in Niagra...SHE SHOOTS HIM!!! and then they are flying to his fortress...no explanation whatsoever! Now, I KNOW what happens because I have seen it before, but there could have been a better way to incorporate the previously deleted scenes without butchering the movie like they did. Draw your own conclusions on this one, but as a big Superman fan, this was a major disappointment to me. I am going to go buy the original and give this one to someone else! | 0negative
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Are you kidding me???
I'd heard such great things about this movie in different "best of horror movie" lists, so I decided to give it a try. My mistake. It bordered on horrible and not in a good way. I totally agree with another reviewer's statement of it following the "it's so weird and strange, it must be a masterpiece" logic. Is it visually different? Yes. Does that make up for the rest of the movie being bad? Hardly. There were a couple of high tension moments but overall this movie is completely forgettable. And this is supposed to the best of Dario Argento's work?!?! Good lord, I'd hate to see what's considered his "lesser" work. | 0negative
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Poor quality
The movie is amazing like always, but the quality on the copy I ended up with was very poor. It looked less like a major movie and more like a low budget reality show as far as the the way it looked. | 0negative
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Did I miss something?
After many recommendations from friends, and reading universal praise, I went into the "classic" 6 episode series with high hopes - hopes that developed leprosy and collapsed under the weight of their dead, jaundiced flesh by the end.Gunbuster is wrought with 2D characterization, uninspired designs, awkward fan-service, and a hilariously incomprehensible plot - and not incomprehensible in an entertaining, mysterious sense - but in a pissed out sort of way that's explained in an embarrassing, 30 second, expository excretion. Anyone who says this show has depth must be weighed down by nostalgia for it, because I simply can't understand any other reason for it being praised. It boggles my mind. And if anyone recommends it with a disclaimer about it being made in the 80s, don't trust them - age does not excuse quality.But does Gunbuster have redeeming qualities? Of course - it's very well animated. The drama with characters aging in space is novel. And...uh...hmm...sorry, I just remembered how tedious and head-punchingly bad this show was.If I was forced to recommend this series, I would only for those who are interested in its historical value, to be watched more as research than entertainment. I would explain my reasoning further, but this brief moment of nerd-rage has subsided - and the less time spent with Gunbuster, the better. | 0negative
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Wonderful (Most accurate portrait shows positive and negative aspects of the man)
Came away impressed, shows the favorable and unfavorable of the man equally well showing characteristics of biographers on the left (Roy Jenkins) and Right (Manchester)Worth seeing as so many portrayals don't give you a sense of the main characteristics of the man he is either entirely heroic or (rarely if at all entirely negative). But at the same time those seeking something either entirely favorable or entirely negative will be disappointed as the story seeks to be even.Mr Finney is exceptional and truly earns his Emmy other leads like Ms. Redgrave, Mr. Jacobi, are also quite good. | 1positive
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What can I say?
It's true, no description can even come close to doing this film justice. I'd say it's just a complete and utter tour-de-force in every aspect of filmmaking; but that's a bit of an understatement, if you ask me. | 1positive
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Sorry but this version did nothing for me
I know people are tired of hearing how remakes are bad and originals are best, but in most cases it's true I was not effected by the 2005 version at all, sure Ryan Reynolds is fun to look at, and the acting in the film was great, but the story changes, and the ambiance through out the film was not as creepy as the older 1979 version, in fact I was so bored half way through that I nearly lost track of what was happening, by the way I watched the film on cable uncut and commercial free so I was able to view this snooser in it's full non glory lol, just didn't like it at all just have to be honestI still feel that the 1979 version starring Margot Kidder and James Brolin is best out of all other Amityville films made so far. Well on a good note the the newest version is in wide-screen format and it's a special edition and also in blu-ray format so that's a plus for those of you who enjoyed this version. thanks for reading my opinion. | 0negative
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THEY are coming for you
Okay, I must say this. I can see why people didn't exactly, or didn't like this movie. Most horror movies are ruined by the endings, and this was one of them. Even with the alternate ending, the whole movie would have led to sadness. There was really no way out for Julia from the beginning because THEY had her trapped from the start.Julia (Laura Regan) is a Psychologist in training at college. As a Psychologist, she would come up with a logical explanation for things that are happening. But there is no way to get out of the reality that her world will fall apart around her. When her lifelong friend Billy tries to warn Julia that THEY, the monsters in their closet which may not be so imaginative, are coming back for them, she knows he must be teetering on the brink of insanity. Billy shows her a strange scar that he believes came from THEY so he can be identified, she still thinks there has to be an explanation. When he takes his own life right in front of her, she finally realizes his overactive mind may not have not been so fake after all. When several people she meets end up with a strange and mysterious mark, just like the one Billy had, out of nowhere, she knows he may have been right. When the same mark appears on her forehead, and something comes out of it, she knows she doesn't have much time to live. As she tries to escape the horrorfick vortex that THEY have caught her in, THEY finally come after her in a way she cannot escape.The acting in the movie was okay. I have to say the only good acting in the whole thing was done by Laura Regan. She was great. The plot was good, but if only they could've made it a better ending. Like someone said before, the alternate ending would have given it the Wes Craven idea. Somewhat like Alfred Hitchcock, or John Carpenter. But why was it called Wes Craven presnts They? He didn't even write the story. That was probably ...for publicity just to get attention. I thought the movie would be somewhat perdictable, but it wasn't nearly as perdictable as I thought, considering THEY would jump out at any time, all of the sudden. That's what it gave you that scary feeling. I give it four stars because of a good plot. | 1positive
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A Stroll Down Memory Lane
I grew up watching "Five Mile Creek" on vhs with my family every Friday night. This show has enough excitement to keep kids interested, but the characters are written well enough that adults enjoy it too. When I got my dvd set and popped in the first disc, it was like visiting with old friends that I hadn't seen for many years. And I enjoyed the episodes just as much now, as an adult, as I did when I was a little kid. If you like clean, family-friendly entertainment with lots of horses, Australian accents, and once in a while a little gunplay, you'll like this show. | 1positive
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Wonderful Movie
This is one of the greatest movies I've seen. The 11 kids all loved it and the 7 adults in our party were captivated by the cool graphics, the messages and the story line. I recommend it for every age from 4 to 137. Under 4 may find a couple of scenes a little intense but nothing unsavory. Over 137... WHAT A WAY TO GO! For all else, don't miss this one. | 1positive
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Damm, you all were right...!
Impressive... I saw all your comments on this site and i decided to rent the DVD.The film look like a cheap old time hong-kong movie, the combats are incredibly funny and Steven Seagal is so funny when he starts teaching us the philosophy of life. At the end, (i accelerated the middle of the movie) i was pleased to have seen such an impressive avatar of what never to do with an action movie.I have a small thing to ask : i like the music in the following scene 21. The Tattoo Parlor [5:11]Could someone tell me what is the band and song name? I think this is the only interesting thing in this movie lol | 0negative
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Beautiful, beautiful
What a wonderful film! Emma Thompson has done a splendid job with the script and she is so good in it that you forget that she's really too old for the role. The rest of the acting is top-notch too and as for the sets and scenery, wow. Kate Winslet is so good in this and looks more beautiful than in anything else she's appeared in. Her skin and hair look perfect and flawless and she just glows. What a pity they slapped all that makeup on her in Titanic. | 1positive
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Thought-provoking and spiritually sound
The Least Among You is a new movie by Lionsgate productions. The movie stars Louis Gosset Jr (as Samuel Benton) and Cedric Sanders (as Richard Kelly). It is inspired by a true story. Set in 1965 following the Watts riot, Richard is wrongfully accused of attacking a police officer. In a plea bargain, he agrees to attend an all-white theological seminary (the goal of the seminary's president is to break down racial boundaries) for at least 2 semesters and maintain a 3.5 gpa. Richard comes up against many struggles along the way. He not only has to deal with racism and pressures from the President to bring unity to the student body, but "life" stuff as well...to top it off, he strongly questions his beliefs and faith. Is faith just a religious practice, something we do, or is it something more? What is the purpose of studying theology? What good does it do a pastor to know Greek or Hebrew?The movie is rated PG-13, and rightly so. This movie would not be appropriate for my younger set. Not only is the racial theme a little tense at times (which is necessary), but there is violence, blood, alcohol consumption, and lots of cigarettes. I don't want these to be a negative cast on the movie however--the presentation of these elements certainly reflects the culture and the times (and we know that the 1960's were quite "colorful").Overall I enjoyed the movie, and I would like to watch it again so that some of the ideas presented can sink in a little more. I will admit that I'm a bit of an independent ("Indy") film junkie. I love movies like this that dare to take on Hollywood and wrestle with presenting the Gospel, at the sacrifice of low budgets. I love to be able to support these film makers, in hopes that we can see more movies like this. Yes, it's not a blockbuster and that's true, but it certainly fills my appetite for wholesome, thought-provoking, and spiritually sound movies!I received a complimentary copy of this movie from Thomas Nelson through the booksneeze blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255. | 1positive
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Not the cat's meow, more like the cat's meeOUCH!
Dont get it twisted. This is an awful film. Halle Berry cant take full blame for the reason why this movie sucks. The script was juvenile and corny. Halle Berry gives the worst performance of her illustrious acting career in this movie. She plays Patience Williams(wasnt the original Catwoman called Selina Kyle?), a timid beauty ad designer who accidently stumbles on to an evil plan by the owner of the company she works for. The evil plan involves marketing a beauty cream that is known to cause skin disorder and cancer. Patience is chased out of the building and into a drainage system where she falls to her doom and is revived by a cat.Opinion: This movie is humoruosly bad. Her origin with the cat that revives her is laughable. The way she walks so awkwardly(like she's had one too many catnip) in that tacky cat suit is a riot. The way she cracks that whip like an amateur dominatrix is hysterical. The fight scenes s well as the dialogue is laughable too. The most funniest and probably the worst scene in the movie is where she beats her soon-to-be boyfriend/cop in basketball with HIGH HEELS ON!!! She looked like a total goof dribbling that ball between her legs. Then there's those moments in the movie where you have to suspend your intellect like the time Halle slid through those prison bars without getting stuck or the fact that the toxic cream that the main villain is peddling makes her(the villian) immune to punches and kicks that would knock the average person unconscious.Closing comments: This is the worst movie that Halle Berry has ever starred in and is another blemish is her movie career. The acting is dreadful and the action is a joke. I would be surprised if she could still find work but then again if Eddie Murphy could find roles to play after the crappy I-Spy then Halle should be able to bounce back from this.To Halle: FIRE YOUR AGENT IMMEDIATELY!!! | 0negative
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Goes from creepy to silly in just under twenty minutes.
I figured any movie with Jennfier Connelly, Tim Roth and John C. Reilly would be worth a view, and if we were to isolate their performances in this film and leave it at that, the movie wouldn't be that bad. But that's not how movies work. Instead, we find ourselves watching a mother - freshly divorced from her cheating husband - and daughter move into a creepy apartment. It has all the makings of a momentously horrifying ending - the overly friendly Super(Reilly), the creepingly quiet maintenance man (Pete Postlethwaite - Keizer Soze's associate from The Usual Suspects), who we later find to be a porn-hound, intensifying the creepiness. There's also two teenage punks who harass Connelly's character, and a water dripping that won't stop. Oh, and a sinister voice that keeps speaking to both the mother and daughter.But that's where the frights end. Director Walter Salles had it all - the dark setting, the great actors - and then he goes and throws it all away. The ending, which I'm supposing was based on the novel, is downright hallow. This was one of the least satisfying endings I've ever seen in my young life.I cannot recommend this empty film, a story with more holes left empty than plugged. | 0negative
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this isn't what it says it is
the description claimed this was "The true stories of six ordinary Americans" when in fact it was not. instead, it was some dopey girls gone wild type crap. don't get it. | 0negative
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You want it, You buy it, You�ve got to see it,
Guy Ritchie has taken the crime caper genre and fashioned it into a helter skelter ride through London's east end. Four best mates Eddie, Tom, Bacon, and Soap put their nest eggs on the line for their mate Eddie. Eddie is one of the East End's top card players. He and his mates conjure up 25,000 pounds each, so that Eddie can play in the high risk, high reward card game with Hatchet Harry. The game goes horribly wrong and Eddie Leaves owing Harry half a million pounds. Harry's henchman gives Eddie and his mates one week to pay the money or he starts taking their fingers for collateral. The four friends embark on a riotous journey through the East End's underworld to find half a million pounds. Guy Ritchie's debut film in America is filled with laughs from start to finish and changes the way that comedy/crime is intertwined in a movie. It is a style unlike America has ever seen and it should be welcomed with open arms by anyone willing to sit down and Laugh out loud. | 1positive
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Great DVD for Kids and family
There was one scene in this dvd when puppet Rosita sung a lullabye to a little child. The tune seems pretty sad to my little one that she usually cry everytime she watches this part.I usually rent at blockbuster online now I went ahead and buy her own copy. | 1positive
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Give it a chance and you will love it
I saw this movie in the theater and on dvd. I have worked in and studied musical theater for years and do not typically enjoy movie musicals, because you can never connect to a tv as you can to seeing something live. During the first few minutes I was a bit overwhelemed by the camera shots but soon was able to get into the story. I recomend seeing this movie twice, the 1st time you have to get use to the visual experience but when you watch it again you can fall in love with the story. This movie is very different and refreshing. The plot is simple but it is visually and emotionally stimulating. Even my husband loved it and his idea of a great movie classic is James Bond or Adam Sandler. | 1positive
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Not really worth the time and cost
We generally like the sci-fi action type movies, but this one just never really got going and seemed to be just too "out there" for our tastes. | 0negative
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The Ruined Hunt of the Sun: A Video Rip-off
Take an intelligent movie with leading actors and some beautiful photography and put it in the hands of seeming rank amateurs for transfer to video and you have The Royal Hunt of the Sun. This video is, without exception, the worst transfer I have ever seen or heard. If it weren't for the fancy box, I would swear it was a pirate copy made by a 6th grader.Although this isn't a long movie, the video is inexplicably recorded in Extended Play mode and the cartridge contains less videotape than a Macarena dance demo. As a result, the already out-of-focus film they used is made doubly blurry, reducing faces in the not-too-distant background to stacks of fuzzy lines. Whole segments of film are missing, and what is left is peppered with a constant rain of dropouts, scratches, missing frames, and even dust caught in the lens at one point. The "letterbox" lines at the top and bottom of the picture are not black, but blue--and idiotically distracting choice. And as if that weren't enough, the entire picture shifts down after about 40 minutes, leaving the top border significantly larger than the bottom border (did I mention that a line of distorted picture flanks the borders?). Eventually, the video transfer man wakes up and the picture creeps back up to the center.Then there is the sound, which seems to have been processed through a fuzz box. The sound is so muddy and distorted, listening to this movie becomes a torture worthy of the Inquisition! Obviously, an optical soundtrack wasn't used, because there is also significant print-through. That means you will hear loud sounds about a second before they happen.Simitar, the company responsible for this travesty, certainly lives up to its name: the Royal Hunt of the Sun is a real hack job. | 0negative
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Good movie for children
A comment from Hong Kong :My children, even English is not their Mother tongue, love the film. They enjoy the funny and warm feeling come with the film. And, the music is wonderful. | 1positive
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okay,but barely
This is a good as far as teenybopper movies go-but it most definitely will NOT go down as a classic.It barrows way too much from other better movies,including the movie that started it all-John Carpenter's Halloween.Watch it if you like good movies-watch THIS if you you're looking to kill some time.Problems:That costume is a bit dorky,making me want to laugh rather than scream.Neve Campbell overacts from time to time,and comes off as whiny.Do we really need yet another slasher movie?Didn't think so.The gross over-use of pop culture refrences to appear clever is enough to make anyone gag.The best thing about this is the begining.the rest is just twenty-something actors trying to act like teens,and doing an almost okay job,with an occasional smattering of (obviously)fake gore here in there to please fans. | 0negative
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what a great dvd
If Your a rock fan than you need this gem in your personal library. These dudes truly rock hard and are so underated in the rock world. Steve perry is such an awesome singer and Danny and Greg are awesome guitar players as well. Well worth every penny. Highly recommended. | 1positive
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Excellent special effects AND plot!
This movie combines all the shoot-em-up action of the best and then blows away all the others with intense sound technology and special effects. This movie is definitely going into my collection of DVD because you want to see this in WIDESCREEN man! | 1positive
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Horrifying dystopian vision as realized through the Super Mario mythos
Fun movie!!!! :) MY BODY IS NOTHINGfor fans of:1.2.3. | 1positive
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"unlike other armies, we're out to set men free"
Jeff Daniels' surprising, great performance in words could serve as another Gettysburg Address as he utters them; his words in a speech to Maine's "mutineers" alluded to the only other army in recorded history with just such a mission -but without a powerful political state behind it- That of Spartacus!It's most agreeable that Richard Jordan's portrayal of Confederate Brigadier Gen. Armisted was admirable; a complex part to play, considering Armisted's divided sympathies between both devotion to the State of Virginia and his love for the Union's Hancocks. What a performance Jordan handed in before he died! Not to mention Martin Sheen's equally admirable performance as Gen. Robert E. Lee - I must admit that I wouldn't go see Gettysburg because I didn't think Sheen would carry the role well: He's a dead-ringer for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant!! 1960s TV great Andrew Prine's return to the screen as Confederate General Garnett is as cool as Hitcher star C. Thomas Howell's Lieutenant Thomas Chamberlain (borther of Col. Chamberlain).The action scenes in here were superbly done ... Little Round Top's surprised me, but Pickett's Charge in this film has no past comparison and is the most impressive I've ever seen: With few or no special effects, as Braveheart had aplenty, it pushed the envelope in dedication to the "Passion of Gettysburg" - so well carried out by the reactivated Civil War units on the same historical locations.A film writer myself (Isn't everbody?), I watch this one repeatedly with envy of its conception and execution of materials in a manner consistent with actual historical context and human emotions.Hesitant to see this movie because of Daniel's contemporary appearance in Dumb and Dumber, and Sheen's casting as Lee, I now realize what a fool I'd been - I couldn't wait to buy it on tape and anxiously pre-ordered it on DVD. | 1positive
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One of my all-time favorites!
One of my All-Time favorite movies. My daughter borrowed my copy, so I just got a Blu-Ray to replace it. | 1positive
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Fantastic Workout!
Summer Sanders "Prenatal Workout" with Keri Crockett is a fantastic workout! I recently purchased this DVD based on the various reviews I had read, and I was not disappointed.Prior to becoming pregnant, I typically attended 4-5 exercies classes a week (step, yoga, pilates, Body Pump). Since becoming pregnant, I'm finding it harder to make it to my classes. Most begin around 7pm, I have an hour long commute home from work, and I'm just too tired at the end of the day to go the extra distance to my gym (it makes my commute an hour and 15 minutes). Purchasing a few pregnancy DVDs seemed to be the perfect solution.I am currently 20 weeks pregnant with my first child and found the workout to be challenging enough to leave me feeling like I had gotten a good workout. I've only done the second trimester workout so far, but I look forward to using this workout for the rest of my pregnancy. The routines flowed nicely, and I like the options for the shorter workout. Most reviewers complained about the bantor between Summer and Keri, but if you are someone who is used to taking group exercise classes (especially Zumba or Body Pump - very canned programs), it's fairly typical and really not that annoying/different. Throughout the workout, Keri hands Summer her exercise band. I wish I had someone to hand me my props while I was working out!I'd suggest watching the DVD prior to working out with it the first time so that you can evaluate the space you need to set up for the different sections. Some transitions between exercises are a little bit faster than others. You may need to pause the DVD to set up your pillows for the floor portion so that you don't get behind if you don't have enough space to keep your pillows set up for the entire workout.Overall, I am extremely pleased with this DVD and I would highly recommend it! | 1positive
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Chasing Amy
Let me start off this review by saying that I bought this without seeing it first, but knew it would be great because I loved Mallrats and Clerks, and after I watched Chasing Amy, I liked it just as much as them.THE STORY GOES: Holden and Banky (Affleck, Lee) are best friends who make a best-selling comic-book "Bluntman and Chronic". At a comic convention, their friendship falls on the rocks when Holden's life is turned upside down by another comic-book artist, Alyssa (Adams), who unbeknownst to Holden is a lesbian. I will end there because I dont want to spoil anything for people who haven't seen it.THE DVD: As always, the best and most popular dvd company, Criterion, saves the day. The disc features commentary, Outtakes, Deleted Footage, Trailer, And Movie Intro by the man himself: Kevin SmithRated R: Profanity, Nonstop sexual references. | 1positive
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Bad fit for Demi Moore
I recently watched this movie, hoping to see a quality rendition of Hawthorne's classic novel, but I was disappointed with Moore's performance. I'm used to seeing Moore in action roles such as G.I. Jane and Charlie's Angels II, so it just didn't see like a good fit for her to be playing a stuffy Puritan. I couldn't take her role seriously in the Scarlett Letter, particularly with her accent. I just about gagged in one scene where she says, "Reverend Dimmesdale, I must apologize for my forthrighteousness on Sabbath last..." Um, does that mean, "I'm sorry I was so blunt last Sunday"?This movie would be so much better to watch with a different acress. | 0negative
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Some DVD players will not run this DVD
Go to Google.com and put in "Atlantis, dvd, menu, problem" and read the issues related to this problem.The DVD just cycles thru the previews without allowing you to watch the feature Atlantis. The Lost Empire is really lost to me.Steve | 0negative
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Flawed but still excellent
After seeing this film in the theatre, I was ambivilent. I liked the set design and cinematography, but I thought there were a few too many walking from here-to-there scenes and it needed a few less battles and more character interaction. I thought Jackson's direction was uneven and the battle scenes were muddled and confusing. After watching it for the second time (this time on DVD), I still feel some of those criticisms are valid, but somehow I enjoyed it much more this time. In the theatre I found it too long, but now I think it's not too long at all (and I can't wait to see the deleted scenes in the extended version). The detailed imagery, sets, and costumes in every scene are beautiful and epic. I believe in my heart that this cave troll would kick the arse of the one in Harry Potter too.The acting is very good all-around, but I thought Sean Bean was a standout as Boromir, and Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Sam, and Bilbo were very convincing. A lot of people were upset about the expanded role of Arwen (and about Liv Tyler playing her), but I think it was a great choice. She looks and sounds appropriately beautiful and elven, and I thought having a little romance didn't hurt the story at all (it's a 3-hour movie and she's only in it for 10 minutes). Cate Blanchett as Gladriel actually bothered me more. I like her as an actress, and she looks the part, but I thought her tone was off. She just didn't seem true to what was in the book. The over-the-top "dark queen", Exorcist-demon-voice hallucination really took me out of the story. I blame Jackson for this, though, as I think she could have played it right, but he allowed and/or encouraged her to do it this way and he okayed the unnecessary special effects used for the scene.Technically, this is a very good DVD overall, but it's not great. The transfer is excellent -- saturated, contrasty, and sharp. The audio is ok, but for some reason the dialogue seems to go weak in some scenes when listened to on a two-speaker system (this is the case with both the 5.1 and Dolby Stereo tracks). Listen to the scene with Elrond and Bilbo and you'll see what I mean. The extras are not bad, though a lot of the material is overlapping, and a full-length director and actor commentary is sadly missing. Personally, I'm waiting for the extended version to purchase, and I recommend you do too if you are a fan. Just rent this one for now.Maybe this is one of those movies that gets better with repeated viewings. It seems so to me. I've read the books mnay times, and after letting this movie sink in a while, I'm not only not disappointed, but very happy with the outcome. It's not perfect, but it's an excellent start and I can't wait now to see what's in store for us in the next two films. It was no small task to pull this off, with all the expectations and previous failed attempts. I thank Mr. Jackson and the studio for first even attempting it, and second, producing a result that for the first time is worthy of its literary heritage. | 1positive
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Nothing new...skip this DVD
If you're thinking you will get a better print of this film by purchasing this edition, forget it. Keep the one you have already! | 0negative
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Unwatchable
With all the violence in the world, do we really need to sit through a movie where two women torture and beat the living daylights out of each other? I could not endure this flick to it's "painfully ironic ending..." | 0negative
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The Glam Sham Revealed
The Glam Rock movement was as much about shocking as it was anything else. In its way it took itself more seriously than any popular art form. The artists seemed to lie to themselves and each other with a pretense that nothing mattered, when the reality was that EVERYTHING mattered too much. The affected hairstyles, glitter, platform shoes, outrageous clothing, faux-bisexuality combined belied its phony "I don't care" attitude.Todd Hayne's captures all of this brilliantly in Velvet Goldmine. He is ably aided by a cast who give startlingly nuanced performances and though each succeeds in bringing off the poseur hard-edge to their performances each character is afforded opportunity to also reveal a fragility that is the heart of their performance. Despite all the shock and "glam" we are watching people who are no more than children, unguided trying to make their way in a world technology, morals, where civilization itself was changing faster than anyone could keep up with. The center of the movie seems to be the observation of watching innocence shattered and failed attempts to recapture it and understand the confusion surrounding it.Haynes understands music as well - or better - than any currently working director and "Goldmine" more than any of his other films almost feels as though it is following a symphonic form, repeating its motifs and driving home its confused, distraught yet ultimately hopeful message through its innocence. Visually as well as aurally - and every other way - Haynes scrupulous attention to detail pays off with a rewarding film that won't be to all likings, but is very nearly brilliant in every way.The plot/storyline is often blurred and difficult to follow and once you can accept that this must have been an intentional element, said difficulty almost becomes the point where the actual story isn't as strong as the observation the film seems to be making.The trio of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Ewan McGregor, and Toni Collete are nothing short of remarkable in capturing the jumbled, mass of confusion their characters are. Each tortured in their own way, each attempting to "live out loud" and each failing miserably. Likewise, Christian Bale is the perfect picture of confused dysfunction, searching and living in a world where the lines between dreaming and reality are further and further blurred to the point where it's impossible to tell the separation - if there is one - between the two. Amazing performances all the way around. | 1positive
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Style over Substance
Stunning visuals with little behind them, "Legend" is a prime example of why Hollywood doesn't make many fantasy movies. The story is classic: an innocent maiden accidently disrupts the balance of good/evil in the world and it's up to her boyfriend to save her. The script is simplistic and naive while the acting for the most part is fair, if nothing to rave about. Tim Curry as the Prince of Darkness is thoroughly enjoyable, hamming it up quite a bit for the role. Fans who enjoyed Curry in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" will certainly enjoy it. The visuals, scenery and special-effects makeup make the film worth renting because the movie is bascially eye-candy for fantasy fans. Of course, all the glitter in the world (and there is a great deal of glitter in the movie)won't make up for a weak script and annoying, stereotypical characters. The best part of the film is the soundtrack by Tangerine Dream which evokes all the magic and mystery the movie itself aims for and ultimately misses. | 0negative
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"They can change your life, you know"
At its base, "Death Match" is nothing more than run-of-the-mill karate fodder with the sole distinction of being one of the few starring vehicles for kickboxer Ian Jacklin. What makes it more disappointing than most of the junk that came out around this time, however, is that it may very well have the most abundant cast of B-movie action stars assembled for a single feature (an early, low-budgetThe Expendables, if you will) but fails miserably in taking advantage of its cast.The story: fighter John Larson (Jacklin,Ring of Fire 2: Blood and Steel) was trying to go for the straight life when he finds out that his friend Nick (Nicholas Hill, "Bloodsport 2") disappeared following a fight in an underground circuit run by a shady businessman (Martin Kove,The Karate Kid) and his monstrous champion (Matthias Hues,I Come in Peace). Aided by a lady reporter (Renee Allman,The Stoned Age) and a scrappy street kid (Michele Krasnoo,Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor), John braves death by entering the circuit undercover to find his friend.In addition to the aforementioned performers, we also have Steven Vincent Leigh ("Sword of Honor"), Benny Urquidez (Wheels on Meals), and Eric Lee ("Ring of Fire") in the cast, along with legitimate actor Jorge Rivero (Rio Lobo) as a mob boss and Roger Yuan (Shanghai Noon) and ex-wrestler Madusa Micelli among the tournament fighters. I'm also pretty sure I saw Peter Cunningham (No Retreat, No Surrender) in a couple fights, but he's not listed in the credits. Among the martial arts stars, only about half of them actually fight - Leigh, Urquidez, and Lee are limited to non-combative cameo roles - and a couple others only have very limited action scenes and/or screentime (see Kove, Krasnoo, and Yuan). While I'd expect this kind of underutilization of talent in Hollywood, it's even more appalling to see it happen in a B-grade martial arts movie which solely exists on the strength of physical performances - I mean, did the filmmakers really think the overdone storyline was good enough to skimp on potential martial arts dream matches?Regardless, there are a lot of fight scenes to be had - thirteen, I believe - but the quality of these is another falling point of the film. The best one happens early on, when Nick and Ian take on a bunch of bodyguards and the former gets to show off his awesome kicking ability. Ian the star has a few neat moves throughout the show, but for the most part, he and all other performers are at the mercy of continual questionable fight rhythm, annoying slow motion inserts, and general so-so choreography that doesn't try to do anything you haven't seen a hundred times before. The two fights Ian has with Matthias Hues are particularly disappointing, both for their go-nowhere content and their abortive endings. Krasnoo's single outing lasts about fifteen seconds and ends with her needing to be saved by Ian. None of the brawls ever really have you on the edge of your seat, and the only folks who ought to find enjoyment in them are the admirers of big muscles - Hues is pumped.In hindsight, the production values are fairly good, acting content is passable with Matthias Hues getting more speaking time than usual, the soundtrack kinda caught my attention, and for what it's worth, it's cool seeing tiny Michele Krasnoo get into fights with guys much bigger than her. Sadly, absolutely nothing stands out strongly enough to make up for the movie's heartbreakingly huge waste of talent, and in the end, only completionists will be interested in this one. Everyone else needn't lament that it never made it to DVD. | 0negative
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Wait for a letterbox version
If you love this classic film. Do not buy it until it is available in letterbox. The stunning cinematography and is lost with this full-screen "pan and scan" version. If feels like watching TV. | 0negative
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The Art, The Story...Horrible.
When I first saw the character design (which is much like fifties American cartoons) I thought, "Uh...is this going to change in the second disc?".I was just fooling myself of course.The backround art, is exceptional however. It really annoyed me. I would love to see the characters with that art quality.Some say the way the characters look is 'refreshing.'. I don't see it.As for the story, it's way overdone and has nothing special about it.The best thing about this movie was some of the music and the backround art.I would explain the story, but there are so many other reviewers doing so, and frankly, it's so forgettable, I can't tell you much.If you like the sound of the other reviews though, you should rent it. I think you'll either love or hate this anime.If you're looking for an anime that's good for children, I suggest to you Panda! Go Panda! or Kiki's Delivery Service.I think, though, you're probably here because of all the hype surronding this movie. | 0negative
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Perfect Entertainment
Funny, creative, and very entertaining, with a great cast, and a particularly good acting chemistry bewteen Allen and Keaton. The amusing semi-mystery plot is very captivating. Highly recommended. | 1positive
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Stereotype gone haywire
The first few minutes were promising and then the stereotyping got to be very embarassing. "Look we greeks are funny and weird haha." Laughing at oneself can be a virtue but not if one is trying to make oneself look like a martian.Anyway, I couldn't get thru this thing. | 0negative
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Marketing executives must have written the script
I think that the McDonald's Armageddon cups were ready to ship by the time the script was written as both were crafted by the same people.Gene Siskel said that you are bombarded with so much action and noise that is ultimately becomes amusing.The truth: you are bombared with so much action and noise that it quickly becomes annoying.The movie tries so hard to be a blockbuster as EVERYTHING is overdramatized. At the beginning we have astronomers working in a darkly lit lab with a myriad of blinking lights. They speak to each other in anxious tones. During liftoff of spacecraft, Liv Tyler watches as American flags wave in the background and it goes on and on.Many people say you should just relax and enjoy the show. However, not everyone can relax and enjoy anything so bone-headed.Yes, there are some technical flaw in this movie but I'll spare you the list.I don't know how many dozen movies I've seen in the theater, but this was the only one I walked out on. | 0negative
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The Spirit of Qi Gong
I have been participating in a Qi Gong group for over a year, but this DVD had the distinction of relating various movements to health concerns. I have practiced Qi Gong following along with the instruction and am well pleased. | 1positive
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My son loves this movie but I don't!
My son loves the movie, but I can't stand it.Movie is 90min long- it's the perfect movie length for when your child gets up at 5:30am on a Saturday morning and the parent need some extra sleep. It's also nice to have a full length movie about Thomas as a change from the shorter Thomas stories.As an adult watching the movie, the acting is HORRIBLE! It's painful to watch at times- I really wish they had spent a little more time/money on the film- it could have been great.Additionally, this was the first exposure my son (3yo) had to a villian (Diesel10)- he was frightened the first time we watched it- if I had known that the movie was going to frighten him, I would have better prepared him for it.I have also noticed behavorial changes with my very laid back son after he has watched the movie. He becomes aggressive/angry when he plays with his trains (like how Diesel10 is in the movie)compared to how he plays with the trains when he hasn't seen the movie for some time.So even though my son does love this movie, and asks for it often, I very rarely permit him to watch it. I don't like the change in his behavior after the movie. I think an older child would really like the movie, and I'm sure my son will still love the movie a few years from now. | 0negative
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By the Pricking of my Thumb Something Stinky This Way Comes
How on earth did Orson Welles ever end up in a dud like this? I mean... I can hear Welles's magnificent voice coming from what's meant to be King Saul but the makeup he's wearing says bloated, window-peeper. I'd categorize David and Goliath more on the side of cheesy sword & sandal rather than biblical epic and given the genre It's more than a bit distracting when they try to treat Holy Scripture like Shakespeare; in fact the screenplay sounds like something from an amateur church pageant (thee's and thou's flow like cheap wine).Apparently the director thought a story loosely based on scripture and lavish sets would carry throwing together a group of actors, ranging from legendary to lame, and having them just recite their lines. Hilton Edwards, the veteran of so many religious and historical films, plays the prophet Samuel but unfortunately looks more like one of those big, slow-moving muppets from the Dark Crystal, randomly quoting unrelated clips of scripture like some sort of a nickel-operated fortune-telling machine. Listening to the characters David and Eglah (sounding like corny dialogue from bad anime) I almost giggled when she was struck by lightning which just goes to show how detached I was from this terrible film. Goliath (the main antagonist and half of the title) is obviously a person in a body suit from a distance and a furry, sweaty sort-of caveman close up and his sidekick Cret (meant to be the only comic relief) reminds me more of a goofy claymation character.The real tragedy of this movie is that it obviously had a decent budget but I can't emphasize enough how lame it is overall and the poor transfer quality makes it even more difficult to watch. It's not my intention to be irreverent with this review, I just think such a beloved story deserves better treatment not to mention that Amazon will usually list this stinker in the recommendations when looking up true religious classics like The Robe, Ben-Hur, Quo-Vadis, etc. :o) | 0negative
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Typically mediocre TV sci-fi for the undiscriminating viewer
Given all the buzz this series received, I just had to check it out for myself. With all the positive reviews, I must admit that my expectations were high going into the series. Sadly, the series didn't live up to my hopes.<Full disclosure: I was a young fan of the original TV series. I enjoy sci-fi, but technology and special effects are no substitute for good writing and acting.>This series is very second-rate, even compared to the lower standards which are typically applied to science fiction.The basic premise is lifted from the original series, but the creators have made numerous attempts to introduce twists and turns to generate multiple complex plot lines. Despite the quantity, the various plot elements are often silly, unbelievable or simplistic. As a fan of sci-fi, I am willing and able to suspend disbelief, but Battlestar Galactica never gives me sufficient material to make that leap. The plot(s) doesn't hold up to any basic scrutiny and that's a shame because I always thought that the core premise was a promising basis for a sci-fi thriller.The writing is poor. Characters are simple and shallow. The viewer is continually beat over the head with whatever character flaw or baggage a character is supposed to possess. Characters don't really develop or grow. Additionally, the attempts to incorporate more mature themes (e.g. romantic & platonic relationships, politics, institutional dynamics, religion) are simplistic and one dimensional. This writing will only appeal to an undemanding audience that wants everything spelled out clearly and with minimal ambiguity.The acting is really bad. Edward James Olmos will never be accused of being the world's greatest actor, but he looks like Dustin Hoffman compared to the rest of this cast. The cast is full of newbies and nobodies and they do not impress. It doesn't help that the writing is so bad that the actors have very little with which to work. Even making that allowance, the acting is really bad. Some specific examples? I'll name Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck), Mary McDonnell (President Roslin) and James Callis (Baltar), but I'm probably just picking on them because they have so much more screen time than most of the other performers.Technology has a relatively small role in the series, but I thought the creators did a good job with it. The small nods to the original series were appreciated and the special effects were good for a cable TV series. Costumes and sets were generally good, except for Mary McDonnell's 1970s Farrah Fawcett hairstyle.In conclusion, this series is very mediocre at best. I remain astounded at the enthusiastic reviews for the series. I think this is simply due to the traditionally low standards of the core science fiction demographic. They have always been willing to sacrifice good writing for a basic sci-fi plot loaded with special effects. If that's your cup of tea, check out this series. If not, don't waste your time on this series. | 0negative
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AVOID this BD Release of Gladiator!
The picture is extremely shoddy in this Blu-Ray release! Avoid like the plague, so the studio gets the idea! What the heck is the studio doing releasing this atrocious transfer on BD when the movie itself is such a great one? Unbelievable! A movie like this should have a flawless transfer! Argh! | 0negative
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It was terrible!!
I frankly don't think they have it anymore.. They did before a little bit. I was never a big fan but now I am not one at all. | 0negative
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One of the landmark films in American film history
A host of factors make this one of the greatest American films. First, the directing is impeccable. Coppola allows the story to unfold simply, employing for the most part a static, immobile camera, allowing each scene to unfold like a series of tableaux. Second, the cinematography. Most of the craft of the cinematography went into the lighting, which generates some of the greatest use of light and shadows since the demise of black and white film noir. Coppola also intensifies each scene by using surprisingly little music in the film. Although the film is famous for its outstanding score by Nina Rota (later discovered to have been partially reused from an obscure film he scored in the late 1950s in Italy, which led to his nomination for an Oscar to be withdrawn, an award he certainly would have won), the fact is that the music is used selectively and comparatively rarely. Silence engulfs most of the scenes. And although there are many famous lines in the film, it is driven as much by the silence between the characters as by what they say. Also accounting for the brilliance of the film is the script, which is brilliant for its simplicity. Coppola distills the tale down to only the most essential elements, with nearly every shot moving the story along or imparting a crucial piece of information to the viewer, allowing the crucial tensions of the story to unfold early on. The enormous simplicity in the telling of the tale makes the more complex moments�for instance, the crosscutting during the baptismal scene�all that much more effective. And any listing of all the reasons for the brilliance of the film leaving out the extraordinary art design would be woefully incomplete. This was one of the first films made that made historical accuracy a high art form, and has exerted a profound influence on any historical film since then.Of course, one of the main reasons this is a great, great film is the acting. Few films have ever featured so many memorable performances, and no film had featured so many performances by so many actors who were explicitly Italian. In fact, the film was a �coming out� for one aspect of Italian culture in the United States. Even in films that were fairly transparently about the Mafia and crime families in New York and Chicago, ethnicity was completely left out of the picture. After THE GODFATHER, everything changed. The film was Marlon Brando�s triumphant return to star status after a series of failures, garnering a well-served Oscar that he turned down. The quality of the acting is shown by the fact that no less than three of the other actors�Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, and James Caan�received nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey won for CABERET, in what might have been the greatest group of performances in the history of Oscar for the award).There are a million stories that whirl around THE GODFATHER. My favorite, and one of the happier accidents in casting history, was that originally Robert De Niro was cast in a small part in THE GODFATHER. Al Pacino, on the other hand, was wanted for the part of Michael Corleone, but was already obligated for the film BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY. Francis Ford Coppola worked out a deal whereby De Niro would replace Pacino in the one picture. Unfortunately/fortunately this meant that De Niro was unable to be in THE GODFATHER, which meant that he was free to appear in THE GODFATHER II as the young Vito Corleone. THE GODFATHER was a film where just about everything seemed to work out best for all involved, and this illustrates this perfectly. | 1positive
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just read the review
This movie is complete trash. Don't go out of you way at all to see this. There is nothing entertaining in it except maybe a couple of interesting scenes containing gore. One scene the aligator jumps along the side of the boat. When the water settles you see the deputy has no head anymore, it was cleanly taken of at the neck. I gave it two stars only because it had decent visuals. Do not see this. If you want to see a horror mutant animal movie go see Deep Blue Sea or ANY others, just not this piece of garbage. Let's see if this review pisses any lake placid fan off. | 0negative
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Not one for the ages...
I have a vague memory of having seen this film in the theater after it came out and having left it feeling like Kevin Smith had touched my soul. Perhaps it was because I too had been "Involved" with a couple of "Lesbians" in my college years and felt the film somehow spoke to me. Some years later I rented this one again, having just seen Clerks again recently. Let it be known that I belive Clerks is pure genius. Chasing Amy was painfull to watch. The dialogue comes off as though it were written by a high-school sophomore and made me wince on at least one occasion: during the Coming Out seen when Amy is sitting on the tire swing and describing how her friends pleasure each other. It has a few moments, but Chasing Amy will not make it in to my DVD collection next tomy copy of Clerks. I find it somehow fitting then that I have found out that the "Lesbians" I knew in college are now married (to Men) and having kids and going to being wifey. | 0negative
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Dumbo DVD
I am completely thrilled with the promptness and quality of the Disney Dumbo (Big Top Edition) DVD I recently purchased. I am always somewhat leary of online purchase, but was pleasantly surprised when the DVD was received. It not only was in excellent shape but also arrived a week before anticipated. I have been able to enjoy this with my two year old granddaughter on numerous occassionsDumbo (Big Top Edition) | 1positive
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Live And Let Compute
One acronym to express my disappointment: CGI.One of the most interesting and entertaining features of the Bond franchise has since Diamonds are Forever been the very clever stunts (how many cool stunts have been seen for the first time in a Bond flick?), and how they keep on updating them as the series progresses. Two cases in point: a car driving on two wheels (Diamonds are Forever), then a tanker truck (License to Kill); a car flips (The Man With The Golden Gun), and a quarter of a century or so later, a boat does the same (The World Is Not Enough). Seeing a motorcycle jump above a Cessna (The Living Daylights) was also quite entertaining for the audacity of reversing the usual spatial relationship between these two modes of transportation.But let's get to the point. These stunts are interesting because they've been done FOR REAL. There's a certain dullness to seeing the question "How did they do that?" increasingly being answered with "CGI". Not that I don't enjoy computer-based effects, but I also tremendously respect the work of stuntmen. Therein lies I think the strength of the Bond franchise: their reliance on practical rather than simulated effects. However, knowing that an helicopter I just saw passing in a very narrow street, wreaking havoc along the way (Tomorrow Never Dies) was done with an helicopter without its blades, which were then digitally added afterwards, doesn't bother me: there is a difference between digitally creating stunts and digitally enhancing practical stunts.If the producers continue this dreadful trend away from real stunts, the franchise will lose much of its interest and will become just another spectacular but bland action series, and I will eventually stop watching the new releases. CGI, yes, BUT NOT FOR BOND! The series has for the most part toed a very fine line between believability and outrageousness (they did totally ignore this in Moonraker, though), and the producers should keep on doing so, and I think a good part of this is keeping the stunts believable.A few other minor points: aside from the sheer ridiculousness of seeing 007 surf ahead of a melting glacier or a plane slowly disintegrating, I found the invisible car a cool effect and plot device.The coda (in the aforementioned disintegrating plane) was way too long, which only added to the ridiculousness of it.I'm a long-time fan of the series (since my pre-teen years, when Radio-Canada -- the French branch of the CBC) used to show in sequence, every summer, the complete series so far on Thursday evenings), but I was sorely disappointed with this last entry... | 0negative
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My Husband bougth this!
This story is very graphic and bloody! I cannot watch it! But then again I think it is a guy movie. | 0negative
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Pretty Good Adaptation
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a refreshing trip back to the late 18th century, and how science was evolving as man's curiosity takes the place of rational thinking. Here we have Robert DeNiro playing the monster, and he turns in a respectable performance. I thought all of the acting in this movie was generally good, and the environments really brought the novel to life. Sure, the writers put their own spin on a few scenes (which I don't want to mention and therefore spoil), but it adds to the overall feel of the movie. The monster is a bit human-like, but I think that it was a deliberate attempt to depict Frankenstein as a more intelligent and tangible being. There are quite a few graphic scenes, but then again, what does one expect from an intense story like this? This movie is filled with emotion, which is one of its strongest points. Overall, a very watchable movie that does the novel some justice. | 1positive
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A great show, spoiled by poor editing
Wonderful dancing, wonderful Bill Whelan score. Michael Flatley is a great dancer, but I personally prefer Colin Dunne's less flamboyant style to Flatley's "I'm the greatest!" style. And Jean Butler is marvellous. The thing that lets the whole thing down and stops me giving it 5 stars is the editing, jumping from whole ensemble to individual to feet alone and back again. As you are dwelling on an aspect of the performance, the scene changes and you're disappointed, because you feel you've missed something. Lingering longer on particular shots and angles is the best way to enjoy dancing, and this ensemble deserves the best editing that there is. Pity it didn't get it. | 1positive
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On This DVD
The DVD's contain:Disc 1 (1972-1976)'Re-make/Re-model' 06/72--Royal College of Art'Ladytron' 06/20/72--Old Grey Whistle Test'Virginia Plain' 08/24/72--Tops of the Pops'For Your Pleasure' 11/25/72--Full House'Do the Strand' 04/03/73--Old Grey Whistle Test'In Every Dream Home a Heartache' 04/03/73--Old Grey Whistle Test'Editions of You' (Live) 04/29/73--Golden Rose Festival'Pyjamarama' 01/23/74--Musikladen'Amazona' 01/23/74--Musikladen'Psalm' 01/23/74--Musikladen'All I Want is You' 10/04/74--Top of the Pops'Both Ends Burning' 10/75--Empire Pool, Wembley'Love is the Drug' 10/09/75--Supersonic'The Thrill of it All' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm'Mother of Pearl' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm'Nightingale' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm'Out of the Blue' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm'Street Life' (Live) 01/23/76--StockholmDisc 2 (1979-1982)'Dance Away' 04/16/79--ABBA in Switzerland'Manifesto' (Live) 05/06&07/79--Manchester Apollo'A Song for Europe' (Live) 05/06&07/79--Manchester Apollo'Still Falls the Rain' (Live) 05/06&07/79--Manchester Apollo'Ain't That So' (Live) 05/06&07/79--Manchester Apollo'Angel Eyes' 08/79--promo video'Trash' 1979--promo video'Over You' 05/15/80--Top of the Pops'Oh Yeah!' (On the Radio) 08/07/80--Top of the Pops'Same Old Scene' 11/80--promo video'Rain, Rain, Rain' 12/19/80--Rockpop In Concert'Flesh and Blood' 12/19/80--Rockpop In Concert'Jealous Guy' 02/81--promo video'The Main Thing' (Live) 08/27/82--Frejus, France'While My Heart is Still Beating' (Live) 08/27/82--Frejus, France'Avalon'(Live) 08/27/82--Frejus, France'My Only Love' (Live) 08/27/82--Frejus, France'More Than This' 04/82--promo videoBonus Track: 'The Main Thing' 1982--promo videoBonus Track: 'Avalon' 1982--promo videoRoxy Music (1st album), For Your Pleasure, StrandedRoxy Music was one of the most interesting bands of the 1970's. But they produced so many different kinds of music that they are a hard band to define. Initially, they were an art rock act (Bryan Ferry was an ex-art school teacher) and their first gig was played at an art school. Very few bands were or have ever been as artsy as Roxy Music c. 1973, and the early performances w/ Eno dressed in his infamous peacock feathers are revelations for the eye and the ear. But with the departure of Eno after the second album, they became another, and, for some, less interesting, kind of band. (Interestingly enough, Eno claims his favorite Roxy album is the third one, Stranded, the one they made right after he departed).Country Life & Siren:Rock critics tend to prefer Country Life 1974 & the mainstream record collector found Siren 1975 irresistable. These are both masterpieces. The thrill here is seeing the rarely performed "Nightingale" from Siren.Disco Era: Intoxicating SpellsInbetween Siren and Avalon were two forgettable waspy disco discs, Manifesto and Flesh & Blood. Disco was a pitfall for many bands in the seventies, but Roxy, on occasion, makes disco look like an intoxicating trap. Everything Roxy Music did was intoxicating, they were a band that wove spells in their listeners heads while making the body move. In this era they were still making good singles but overall the records are much too bland and the songs sound much better when performed live than they do on record or disc (ie: "My Only Love").Avalon:Massive critical & commercial success. Plus the tour (well documented here) that accompanied this album is equally tremendous.Visual Style & Visual PleasureTelling the 'visual history' is appropriate as this was perhaps the most stylish band on the planet between 1972-1982. That word, however, is like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, its a compliment, but, on the other, its a slight. "Style" often means lack of "substance". That's occasionally true here. On disc one Roxy's sense of "style" (and irony) is outrageous & intriguing (they were not followers of fashion, rather they were crafters of new waves & trends). On disc two, the Roxy "style" loses some of its meaning and force (and the irony vanishes altogether). On disc two "style" means wistful romantic musing and slick, though nonetheless accomplished, sounds.This band has always had an air of exclusivity. Early on it was an art school exclusivity and their campy brand of cultural critique was much more sophisticated than anything rock music usually offered; later on, as their lush sounds became fixtures on the posh cosmopolitan disco scene, they were exclusive for a different reason. Therefore, there's a galaxy of difference between the two kinds of visual style and visual pleasure on display on these two discs, but this is a visual history class that never fails to get a response from this viewer/listener. Personally, I prefer the early look and sounds (and humor & substance), but the later look and sound still draws me as well (perhaps because it is so decadent).Nostalgia:Bryan Ferry always had a thing for the look & feel & sound of the 1950's & Eno always had a thing for 1960's art & experimentation. This band was always nostalgic, the past was always part of its present, and this disc captures the postmodern aura of this band very well. If each Roxy record was a like new wave of Roxy Music, this two-disc collection allows you to stand back and enjoy the very pleasurable view from afar, and to feel the many sensations that each wave produced all in one sitting. This is really like a time capsule of the period, or the period seen through one of its most intriguing lenses. Many bands that started in the early seventies were finished before the seventies were over, and many other bands didn't get started until the late seventies. Roxy Music is one of the few bands that were around throughout the entire decade and one of the only bands that succeeded with every style of music that they attempted. The originality, especially of the early years, looks even more impressive in retrospect. Their stature, as music and fashion icons, only grows as new generations discover and emulate them. | 1positive
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A diamond in the rough!
Every now and then, a movie comes along and totally blows away your expectations. This is one of those movies. John C. Reilly is hilarious and Jenna Fischer is way, way cute. Truly a movie that'll put a smile on your face. And the music? Not since the "Lemmings" troop from years ago, has better music been performed in a comedy. The title song is top notch, "The Duet" is hysterical, but for me, "A Beautiful Ride" is by far the best song in the flick. Sends shivers up and down my back. If you wanna feel good, get this movie, it does not disappoint! | 1positive
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