One Christmas

"Reality Christmas"
"One Christmas" was a film I happened upon some years ago. I did not know that it had been a story or a play, etc. I viewed it because I was familiar with the talents of the late Kathrine Hepburn and the talented Henry Winkler.

The story is not typical Christmas fare, but it is more real than many of the idylic Christmas movies. It is a tribute to the truth that many people struggle 365 days a year--their imperfections not taking a holiday.

Anyone who enjoys the talents of Winkler/Hepburn will enjoy this film; it is not stellar, not is not neccesarily their best performance, but it is a nice piece of "reality Christmas", if you will.

Teacher
This is a well done version of the Truman Capote story by the same name. As always, the actual story is better, but Henry Winkler comes aross well as a gigolo trying to be dad for Christmas. You can view it with your kids, or use in in school to follow the reading of the story.

Way overrated!!
We love Christmas movies but this was probably our biggest disappointment thus far. Expectations were high with the quality of the stars (Hepburn, Winkler) and the writer, but the quality scenes were just too few and far between. I suspect that people who liked the movie loved the book where the characters were presumably better developed and more likeable. Not having read the book, I found that I just didn't like the people on the screen and by the time they finally get into the spirit of Christmas, I just didn't care! Take a pass on this one.

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Twister (Keepcase)

Stunning Dolby 5.1 sound and Visual Effects
This is the best sounding 5.1 channel DVD that I have heard so far! The thunderstorms sound like the real thing and the dialog is always crisp and clear. This disc includes both widescreen and full screen versions of the movie. Unfortunately, there aren't any good special features on this disc (thats why only 4 stars instead of 5). I would have liked to have seen some behind the scenes info. This film has stunning visual effects and it would be nice to watch the computer art gurus in action! Even without special features, this disc is worth the money. It will squeeze every drop of performance out of your home theater!

Twister
Probably the best disaster movie made about tornadoes/twisters. The special effects were really exciting if you can overlook the inaccurate scenes enhanced for dramatic effect. It was a good balance between the story and the action. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton were really good - actually the whole cast was wonderful.

Hang on!
If ever a film was made to perpetuate the stereotype of Oklahoma as a state mercilessly and relentlessly ravaged by tornadoes, TWISTER is it. As a resident of Oklahoma, I can assure the readers of this review of two things: 1) tornadoes do on occasion occur here; and 2) tornadoes do not come in endless waves, one after another, like some sort of demented assembly line.

Having said this, TWISTER is a remarkably entertaining film. It's a fasten-your-seatbelt, get-ready-to-duck, leave-both-hands-inside-the-car rollercoaster ride, complete with eye-popping, hair-raising special effects. This movie is a vivid feast for the eyes: menacing, swirling tornadoes of various shapes and sizes; flying cows; and an endless assortment of storm debris to block the path of our protagonists, from tractors to tanker trucks--even houses.

The plot plays second fiddle to the action and special effects. Thank goodness: if the plot had to carry this film, the movie would have collapsed into a...

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Nirvana: Live at Reading

Nirvana Live At Reading - Worth The Wait!
In a word - amazing! Live At Reading serves as a vibrant reminder as to why Nirvana belongs in the pantheon of great rock bands, and how they may likely be the last great and meaningful band to emerge in the past twenty years. Live At Reading captures the band at a crossroads - just a year before in 1991, the band played the very same festival, but was relegated to an afternoon performance somewhere in the middle of the multi-day, multi-band gathering. Just a year later, they would be arriving as conquering anti-heroes, having in the space of a year, accomplished the small feat of changing the face of music. Now the festivals headliners, Nirvana - and particularly Kurt Cobain, had become the subject of much public attention, and amidst a cloud of rumours and innuendo stirred up by the press, the appearance was as much anticipated for the spectacle as it was for the expected performance, a performance that would be the bands final in the U.K. What is captured on tape, hardly comes...

Amazing from a 3 Piece
One of the things that struck me eventually, was the fact that here were just three lone wolfs and the sound they managed to make was amazing! Most of the bands I can think of are at least 4, most are 5 person bands. And along came Nirvana with three....and played awesomely ! Not having had the opportunity to ever see the band live, this recording is absolutely fabulous to have. I TRULY HOPE THE NIRVANA CAMP PUTS OUT ONE OF THE IN UTERO CONCERTS at some point because I would surely buy it as well. I assume eventually they will & they should. Contrary to what some people know of Cobain's views, he was a paradox when it came to his success in that he wanted commercial validation, and the money from it, as much as the next guy, but certainly shunned the notoriety associated with it.

At the time of this concert he was at a particularly difficult time in his life concerning his family - his daughter was born just 2 weeks prior and the child was removed from their care because of...

Amazing...makes you wonder what else is out there?
this will be pretty short...I've been a Nirvana fan since I was a wee boy. I was lucky enough to see them on the In Utero tour in 1993 and its always been one of the best concerts I've ever seen. I love this concert and can't wait for more. The shot is professional...over the years I've been used to crappy bootlegs. The Nirvana machine keeps rolling. I'm sure Kurt is rolling in his grave.

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Gabriel Iglesias: I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy

One of the best Comedy Central-related DVD's that I have seen in 2009 thus far!
The comedian known as the "Fluffy Man". Gabriel Iglesias is one of the hottest comedians out there. Latino flair and hilarious delivery, from his voice impressions to jokes about his weight or personal issues, he knows how to get the audience laughing from beginning to end. There is no slow down in deliver, Iglesias is just hilarious!

Iglesias is known from being the finalist of the fourth season of "Last Comic Standing" in 2006 but in 2007, it was the success of his 2nd special Comedy Central 2007 DVD "Hot & Fluffy" (which sold over 300,000 copies) which would propel Gabriel Iglesias as a comedian that can sell out live performances and also comedy DVD's.

Earlier in the year, Iglesias released a double album CD titled "We Luf Fluffy" from performances from 2006 & 2008 and now he returns with a new DVD titles "I'm not Fat...I'm Fluffy" which was recorded in El Paso.

The tracklist on this DVD are as follows:

1. Return to El Paso...

Gabriel Iglesias never fails
I've seen both of his specials and he never, ever fails to provide laugh out loud jokes for me. His other special "Hot and Fluffy" was slightly funnier and there were a couple of repeat jokes, but he is definitely one of the best stand-up comics in my opinion. He stays far away from political humor (something I appreciate - I don't care for comics doing "preachy" commentary. I'm watching to laugh, if I want to be serious about the awful things in the world, I'd watch the news). Gabriel comes off as a very real person, one that I'd love to sit and have a beer with sometime and he always makes my sides hurt.

Hilarious
I recently saw him perform live and all of the material was different. He is a great comedian with all new jokes to keep his audience entertained

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Accountant

The Accountant Adds Up
There is a reason this movie won the Oscar: it is simply a great movie. It takes place on a farm in the South. And unlike nearly all other TV shows or movies set in the south, the accents and characters are authentic and multi-dimensional. You definitely have 30 minutes to see this movie. But I bet you spend a couple of hours, as you will want to watch it several times.

Amazing short film!
How can two struggling brothers save their family farm? By calling in an "accountant". Enter an almost cartoonish-looking Ray McKinnon (who also wrote and directed the film). What follows is a moving, hilarious and sometimes sad look at how drastically life has changed in the South and wonders whether we are better off for the change. Watch this movie. Seriously good short film.

Excellent, ahead of its time
What is almost an extended comedy skit is surprisingly prescient in it vision and analysis of the economic disaster being unleashed upon the American people. While the trappings presented are those of rural farmers and a backwoods accountant, the explores the core issues cancerous corporatism, self-determination, and the media created nightmare of the American Dream.

I saw this after the housing bubble burst in 2008 and the American economy started swirling down the toilet. It is at once both satiric and sobering, and should shame anyone with a credit card or a home mortgage with an unpaid balance. And yet for as much moral instruction as the movie provides, I can most heartily recommend it for its humor and compassion.

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Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box One

A blessing for those who held out on the cropped and "psuedo" remastered season sets
REVIEW

Having my hand at watching the Dragon Box and the extra material it offers, I can say this is easily a great quality release from FUNimation. It's a near perfect release. Now let's break down what it has to offer.

Picture: Taken from the original 16mm film preserved in cold storage, the picture was quite perfectly clean, but with most old animation, it will suffer from some damage over time. Pony Canyon, the company that went through the remastering process, had all the new digital technology available to them to clean the footage frame by frame while reducing jitter and removing most of the grain. With FUNimation's Dragon Box Masters, most of this is quite evident. The picture is clean and looks great in motion. As most say, screenshots really don't do it justice. There were times where I did notice some minor inconsistencies with flesh tones. Somewhat pinkish in one frame, not so much in another or another episode. It's a minor problem and I suspect it...

Dragon Ball Z as I remembered
Like many, I grew up watching Dragon Ball Z. Unlike most, I grew up watching it through nth generation fansubbed VHS. For years I wanted a box set of DBZ that was presented the way I remember (With a more vibrant picture and clearer sound of course.). Funimation's earlier efforts were foolish to say the least, but it was understandable when you consider and understand Toei gave them very little to work with.

The Orange bricked sets released a few years ago was not how I remembered DBZ. The widescreen presentation was a major turn off. I heard about the Japanese Dragon Box sets but considering it was over $500 to order and it was strictly in Japanese I passed on them. Then the Otakon announcement hit and my mind was blown. After a back and forth email session with a friend with connections to Funimation I quickly preordered it.

Three months later, I received it. THIS is the DBZ I remembered! The picture and audio quality is impeccable to say the least. The...

FUNimation redeems itself for Orange Brick nonsense.
When I first heard the Dragon Box was coming to America, I thought it was some kind of lame joke. But it turns out that it is actually true. For those who don't know. The Dragon Box was released in Japan years ago which featured a true frame by frame restoration of the Dragon Ball Z anime. The original 16mm film was used to create the DVDs that were sold in Japan, so the original colors and frame alignment are being displayed correctly.

One thing about the Japanese Dragon Box release was the price. It actually came in 2 seperate boxes, each containing one half of the series, which retailed for about 100,000 yen, or about $850 USD for each box. So for the Japanese release, you would spend over $1700 USD for the entire series. Also keep in mind there is no subtitles on the Japanese release as well, just Japanese language only. Instead of 2 boxes, FUNimation has decided to split the set in 7 seperate sets. This will make it easier to purchase the entire series at a much lower...

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Empire of the Sun (Keepcase)

An Unheralded Masterpiece
This epic film is the first of Spielberg's World War II trilogy that includes "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan." It was made at a time when Spielberg was financially successfully but artistic merit eluded him. That this remarkable piece of filmmaking has been overlooked is no reflection on him; it is the failure of the tastes of critics and the public alike. Spielberg tells a beautiful story of the horrors of war, how families are uprooted and separated, and how the human spirit overcomes adversity. Christian Bale is superb in the film. I cannot comprehend why his career did not soar after the film's release. It was good to see him in the role of Jesus in the recently televised movie on Mary. John Malkovich is his usual fantastic self as a fellow POW who becomes Bale's Long John Silver, a sly comparison to the classic "Treasure Island." The film is beautifully photographed and has a subtle and moving score from Spielberg...

A Forgotten Classic
The first time I ever saw this film was just last year when I was 15 years old. I had never even heard about it until I watched the Making of Saving Private Ryan. This documentary played a clip of some of Steven Spielberg's movies set during World War 2.

When I heard the beautiful John Williams' score play on my TV and a boy watching a lone fighter plane soar across the runway, I was immediately captivated and sat in awe as this boy cheered on the fighter plane. I immediately rewound the tape and read the title of this clip: Empire of the Sun.

I quickly ran to my local Blockbuster and rented the movie not even knowing what the film was about and was witnessed to the most amazing film I had ever seen!

The performances were top notch and the performance from the young Christian Bale, who plays the young boy, Jim, forced in a Japanese Intern Camp, is the greatest performance by a child I have ever seen, exceeding that of such names as Henry Thomas (E.T.) and young...

My Favorite Spielberg
EMPIRE OF THE SUN is my favorite Spielberg film. It's a close tie with CLOSE ENCOUNTERS ... but EMPIRE is really high on my list. What an outstanding (and underrated) film! I saw it in the theaters in 1987, owned an old video of it for a while, and bought this DVD as soon as it was released. The film, in all of its forms, has stayed with me all these years.

First, Spielberg has a top-notch script from Tom Stoppard (who is surprisingly restrained with the dialogue). The cinematography by Allen Daviau is exquisite (and the transfer to DVD looks outstanding on my widescreen HDTV). The acting -- especially Christian Bale as the main character, Jim -- is great as well. I get tears in my eyes if I just hear one of the EMPIRE OF THE SUN themes from John Williams' score.

THE COLOR PURPLE and EMPIRE OF THE SUN were Spielberg's "stretch" films where he attempted to do more adult work. EMPIRE OF THE SUN is deeply moving. On the surface, its story concerns young Jim and how...

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You're Under Arrest: Season 2 - Collection 1

Finally! The second season of "You're Under Arrest" is brought over stateside! Overall, a fun anime series!
I can easily remember watching the early "You're Under Arrest" (Taiho Shichauzo) OVA's when they were released on LaserDisc back in 1994. It was a special time as fans gravitated towards the animated series which was created by Kosuke Fujishima, know for creating the anime series "Ah! My Goddess". Because of the popularity of "Ah! My Goddess", people were excited for his latest series which is based on a manga that he released earlier in his career.

The series has always been a humorous take on two police officers: The action-driven, very strong and easy to anger Natsumi Tsujimoto (short hair) and the very polite and very smart Miyuki Kobayakawa (long black hair) and their adventures of wanting to take on criminals on the roads and not just being female officers issuing tickets.

Throughout the last decade, "You're Under Arrest" fans have been treated with several OVA's, specials, a movie and television series, and watch as these two complete opposites become...

Finally!
I agree whit the reviewer above. Finally, this series second season is out in the US. I can't really add anything more to the excellent review but to say I have seen the entire second series and the animation quality is 10 times better than the first series.

A note to the YUA fans, a third series has been completed and hopefully will make it to the US soon!

Good second season
The second season of Taiho Shichauzo (You're Under Arrest) doesn't match the high points of the first season's plots, but never sinks to the lows of the first seaon either, and is technically much better animation than the first season. The US release on two sets is quite compact without sacrificing anything that I've noticed.

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Edge of Darkness: The Complete BBC Series

Masterpiece........
Firstly let me point out that there is a DVD version of EOD, several actually. The best version is the latest released this year which is a wonderful transfer and includes a documentary on the film, Magnox and has clips of interviews and award ceremonies and discussions on the series. It is on region 2 DVD and is available from amazon uk. I too remember watching this masterpiece unfold when it was originally screened here in the uk. I was only 14 at the time and British television was still producing some wonderful stuff. Even so I knew this was something extra special. It must have planted a seed in my subconscious. Incredibly in 2003 it has lost none of its power and seems just as prescient now as ever. The callous disregard for the individual by corporations, the 'great game' played out between competing security agencies, the conspiracy of silence in the media. The ecology movement. The collusion of government with the malign constituents in our society. Ostensibly though this is...

Testamony of Bob Peck
If anybody is looking for an obituary of Bob Peck then this film surely sums up this man. With Joe Don Baker, Joanne Whalley and other distinguished actors, Peck doesn't just act, he gives this film a rare dimension, he puts his body and soul into it as if the plot was actually happening in his own personal life. Here's an actor at the top of his profession giving a vituoso performance. The characters in the film link superbly to him and where necessary he supports brilliantly. This film isn't solely about Bob Peck, it's about what can happen when plutonium gets into the wrong hands. It's about an organization showing that the laxity of security procedures can lead to fatal consequences. It's about a father investigating his daughter's death caused by the effects of nuclear radiation. I wouldn't say that this was one of the best films that I've seen. This IS the best film I have seen. Thanks Bob for the pleasure you brought to us all. Rest in peace Bob.

Time of the preacher.
Probably the finest television drama series ever, 'Edge of Darkness' was 1985 made flesh - nuclear paranoia in a world gone mad. Apart from the faces, not much has dated, and even if the threat of nuclear annihilation seems less newsworthy, it's still an excellent, taut thriller. Bleak and brilliant, it starts with a seemingly random murder, and ends with the world on the brink of apocalpyse.

Everything works, and works well - the clever, non-linear direction is never annoying, the writing is intelligent, everything progresses with brutal, cold logic, and it all seems so much more serious, more 'real' than other television dramas of the time (with the possible exception of the early 'Taggart'). The acting is superb - Joe Don Baker's character may be a stereotype, but he makes it work, and the late Bob Peck is almost disturbingly intense. It's a shame that, for most people, he will be remembered as the unfortunate trapper from 'Jurassic Park' (or the narrator of countless nature...

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Copycat (Keep Case Packaging)

Good story, great suspense...
If you like suspense, mystery, a good story, and for the most part, good acting, then this movie is a good choice. What I like about Copycat (besides Sigourney Weaver) is how it seems to come full circle. It feels complete to me. It starts at the beginning, doesn't backtrack with flashbacks or start in the middle and leave you wondering what's going on. You're able to follow along and not get distracted by unnecessary gore (sure there is some, but not much). It's a psychological thriller, and I like that much better than the slash and dash type of movies. It makes you think and allows you to try and figure out what the outcome will be.

Sure, you expect the star to live, but it's not always a given. The ending kind of hints at a sequel but as far as I know, there isn't one. If they can make one as good as the first, I think it would do well (at least those who enjoyed this one, might see the second). It's rather interesting to see the Harry Connick Jr. play a serial killer...

Remarkable display of talent...
Here you have two tough broads, a good cop and the nastiest of killers. How can you lose? Actually, the pairing of Sigourney & Holly is wonderful, in this age of films so lacking in strong women's roles. Sigourney, in particular, after years of kicking alien-butt, withdraws as the victim of an almost lethal attack and subsequent nervous breakdown. Her house-bound recluse still shows fire and rage, well-controlled and centered; a really great performance. Holly, too, in a slightly less showy role, shows drive and command of her role. These women are magnificent, in their own ways, and carry this film through plot-twists and strange turns that are always compelling. Also compelling is the very taut direction of John Amiel, never missing a chance to include the audience in everything, though you don't realize it at the time. A very handsome Dermot Mulroney makes an auspicious presence as an "almost" sex-object for the women, and William McNamara is greatly effective as the ultimate...

ONE FINE THRILLER
Amidst all the suspense, shocks, and chills of this superbly made thriller stands the awesome performances of Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. Ever since she pioneered the "female buttkicker" in the Alien movies, Sigourney has stretched her range to show the immense amount of talent she possesses. Her role as agoraphobic Helen Hudson is one of her finest; she lets us feel every nuance of her frustration, her terror, her anger, her intense ability to be strong even when she admits she's weak. Matching her performance is the understated portrayal of cop M. J. Monahan by Oscar-winner Holly Hunter. Hunter's bravura etching of this likeable cop is extremely effective in counterbalancing the tormented Weaver. Although the fate of Dermot Mulroney as Monahan's partner is questionably appropriate, it does serve as a motivating factor in Hunter's pursuit of the serial killer. William McNamara's performance as Peter Foley may seem underplayed, but it serves to heighten the...

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Law of Desire

Hysterical, hot, and naughty.
This film is an immersion into the topsy-turvy world of Pedro Almodovar and post-Franco Madrid, with plenty of explicit and subtle sexual ambiguity. Carmen Maura is first rate as a transexual actress/actor down on his/her luck, and Antonio Banderas is downright delicious as a young man obsessed with Maura's hedonistic and selfish brother (Eusebio Ponseca). There is great music here, and the movie is fun!

A Tragic Love Story and Foreign Film
Law of Desire [La Ley Del Deseo] is by far the most memorable foreign film I have ever seen. In part, because I was sitting in a bubble (a sterile room with filtered and purified air) with my partner of 4 1/2 years who was undergoing salvage chemotherapy for a high-grade level 5 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I was forced into watching this movie on a television and VCR I had taken to the hospital!

This Spanish movie, which stars among others Antonio Banderas, is truly a tragic love story of the character played by Antonio Banderas' obsession for another man who he loves deeply. The movie has bizarre twists in a love quadrangle that keeps the brow raised on many occasions, and at the end, where Antonio's love is holding him in his arms and sobbing that tear-jerking sob that comes from the soul, my partner called out to me and said "I will always love you, okay?" and had stopped breathing and passed away...

Needs to come on DVD...................
This by far has to be the best almodovar movie. unfourtanely i think it will be a long time before it comes out on dvd. This is one of my favorite foreign movies. It is touching and powerful and antonio banderas actually knew how to act then. If anyone out there works for any studio's and happens to read this please put this on dvd it will sell..............................

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Earth 2100

I'm Concerned That We May Run Out Of Water Before Long
This isn't a 'fun' movie to watch, but I decided to watch it again after having seen it on television, this time because on vacation I had seen an empty, dried-up pit where a lake used to be. Nothing grows without water. That got my attention.

Other weather changes here and there, huge ice storms and blizzards where they don't typically happen, make me believe we may be dealing with some sort of global 'change' if not global warming. I have no intentions of getting into the debate about the politics or other beliefs about global warming, but I think it would be very wise for us to consider what we can do to protect and maintain what we've been given. I'm not a scientist and know little or nothing about these things, but I do know that there are a few things I can do, and if we all do a few little things, we may have fewer disasters in the near future. There are some good ideas sprinkled throughout the drama.

This presentation gives me a great deal to think about...

Earth 2100: A Possible Future?
EARTH 2100 is perhaps one of the scariest films I have ever seen. Not because it is filled with blood and guts or monsters, but because it could be the future we make for ourselves. At this time, oil is spewing into the Gulf of Mexico that is the environmental nightmare of all of us, and climate change deniers seem to be gaining ground in the media and within the public at large. This film which depicts what our world will become based on scientific models and reasonable assumptions based on current conditions is a one of shortages, violence, and catastrophe on a monumental, global scale. It does, however, offer us hope.

The crux of the film, and all the political decisions that follow, is based on a summit that is suppose to occur in 2015, but is perhaps more like the one in Copenhagen in 2010. If consensus is reached on common, global goals, we get one future, but if not, we get a horror far beyond our imaginings. The ultimate decisions that global decision makers...

Excellent Video
The video has a lot of important topics discussed that we should all consider. They did an excellent job making this video. Those who care about our planet Earth, I encourage you to purchase a copy of this video.

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The Sean Connery Star Collection (Never Say Never Again / Cuba / A Bridge Too Far / Shalako)

Connery ... Sean Connery
A collection that includes NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, CUBA, A BRIDGE TOO FAR & SHALAKO. The first, Connery's swan song as 007 -- an independent remake of THUNDERBALL. CUBA is the best of the lot. Directed by Richard Lester it sets Connery as a British mercenary in Cuba as Castro closes in on Havana. A BRIDGE TOO FAR is a star-studded epic in the mold of THE LONGEST DAY (and also based on the book by Cornelius Ryan) about the ill-fated Operation Market Garden. Besides Connery you have Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, James Caan and a host of others (look closely as Reddford briefs his men prior to Nijmegen bridge assault and you see will John "Cliff Clavin" Ratzenberger. SHALAKO, based on a Louis L'amour novel, cast Connery in a western that also boasts Bridget Bardot, Stephen Boyd and Honor Blackman. Weakest of the lot.

Sean Connery Star Collection
Great to see this classic actor again in some of his best roles! I especially love Never Say Never Again and A Bridge to Far. Sean Connery never gets old and his movies get even better with age. This is a handy package collection at a good price!



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House of Wax (Keepcase)

Solid, 50s Gothic Horror Flick
Horror films in the 1950s were often set in earlier times - including "House of Wax" - a gothic-styled thriller. Vincent Price stars, and this movie was his first of many, many horror films. He's perfect in this role, and it's puzzling why no one had cast him as this type of character before. He plays Prof. Henry Jarrod, a wax figure sculptor who's far too obsessed with his work. He's the head of an unsuccessful wax museum and watches in disgust as other museums make money by showing horror style wax figures, such as mass murderers. When his museum is burned to the ground, he re-emerges and seeks vengeance on persons responsible.

The film received a great deal of buzz as the second 3-D film released by a major studio ("Bwana Devil" was the first); not surprisingly, it was a major hit, becoming the 7th biggest money-maker of 1953. "House of Wax" was actually a remake of a 1933 film, "Mystery of the Wax Museum." In addition, a remake of this film is currently in the...

one of Price's best films
This movie has wit, excellent pacing and a strong supporting cast (including a blonde Carolyn Jones "Morticia" from the Addams Family) and a small role for Charles Bronson (playing Igor and billed as Charles Buchinsky). Prince gets to be both understated and hammy in the brilliant film, that he is likely best know for.

It catches the atmosphere of the Gaslight period, and is lighting speed, as Price goes from a brilliant artist of life-like wax figures, to a scarred man, nearly killed by his partner wanting the insurance. He is forced to watch his two crowning glories, his Joan of Arc and his Marie Antoinette destroyed in the fire. With scared hands, he is forced to use bodies to fill his new house of wax, while Price also manages to meet out a little revenge to his former partner.

At first bodies are vanishing from the morgue, but when Price sees Jones - the living image of Joan of Arc - and Phyllis Kirk, his Marie Antoinette come to life in his mind - he...

Completely Awesome!
This is a movie I wanted to see in 3D all my life and Warner Home Video really delivered the goods with this Blu-ray 3D release.

The picture is sharp and detailed, the Warnercolor is beautiful, and the 3D effects are outstanding. The surround stereo is thrilling to hear, and really enhances the entire experience.

This is a much better presentation than Warner's "Dial M for Murder," which was released on 3D Blu-ray last year. Although I enjoyed watching that one, it suffered with heavy ghosting issues at times on my 3D Epson LCD projector. Such is not the case with "House of Wax," which is absolutely spectacular, one of those movies you're gonna want to show family and friends when they stop by.

If you were on the fence about buying this one, it's time to hop down and pay the piper. Congratulations to Warner Bros. for doing an outstanding restoration job on this classic, important piece of cinema history.

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The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series, Vol. 2

Standard episodes from a standard-setting series
This is a good -- but not great -- single-disc compilation for Star Trek newbies and cheapskates (such as myself) but not nearly as essential as its companion volume, The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series. That first volume contained four of the Original Series' most vital entries, including the Vulcan adventure, "Amok Time," the amusing "The Trouble With Tribbles" and the immortal "The City on the Edge of Forever." This time around we're given two bona fide classics, a jolly adventure story (on a mob-run planet, no less) and the second pilot episode commissioned by NBC which, while historically important, is a bit of a snoozer in the adventure-and-suspense department. Regrettably, the space (no pun intended... well, maybe just a little) taken up by these two latter episodes could've been occupied by other, better examples (the two-parter, "The Menagerie," comes immediately to mind).

Should you...

Still not all of the best...
Like many reviewers, when Best of Star Trek TOS came out this past summer, I was confused why SPACE SEED didn't make the cut, but TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES, AMOK TIME, CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER, and BALANCE OF TERROR definately rank as top episodes. So when it was announced a second Best of volume was being released, I crossed my fingers yet again and this time, it worked.

Volume 2 does include SPACE SEED, the first appearance of Khan, as well as WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE, A PIECE OF THE ACTION, and BABEL. This is where I disagree with the selections. I'd have gone for MIRROR, MIRROR and ARENA instead of BABEL and A PIECE OF THE ACTION, but then again, who knows - maybe there'll be a Volume 3. Then they could include the two part MENAGIRE or THE GALILEO SEVEN.

From the back of the case:

WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE - Warp speed goes wild when a Starfleet propulsion expert and his alien assistant come aboard the Enterprise to increase...

Not a bad value if you want to see remastered shows
I bought this and the other volume for a gift at Christmas. The receiver has the complete TOS collection that was released several years ago (before the "remastering" and new special effects). So, I thought these two collection discs would be a nice taste of the updated episodes. They were. I could see a significant improvement in picture quality (makes me wonder why the older set was even offered). The new special effects (mostly exterior shots of the Enterprise and the planets it visits) are convincing, tastefully done (not extravagant), and consistent with the originals (e.g., the phaser shots in the "Balance of Terror" episode---a very early show---were improved but left as a sort of torpedo effect rather than a beam effect, thus preserving the original intent/experience).

I'd have chosen a few other episodes as the "Best", but hey, for the cost how can I complain?

I will say that seeing these much-improved DVD copies of 8 episodes almost (but not quite) make...

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Drawn Together - The Complete Series

It's really unseemly how much we love this heinous show
Got this for Christmas "for my husband." Yeah, right. Fact is, it was as much for me as for him. We save it to watch just before bed on only the worst, most stressful days, because it's so incredibly hilarious and utterly vicious. This show gleefully shatters taboos you hadn't even realized existed.

Let me say right here that I don't think offensiveness is funny just because it's offensive. That's lazy humor, and it's boring. This humor is funny because it's brilliantly well written, it offers a joke about every 15 seconds, it's character-driven, and the comedy springs from its premise: A parody of the kinds of "reality show" that put dysfunctional people together in the same living quarters and watch them fight, act out, and drive each other crazy. I hate those kinds of shows, but I love Drawn Together. Unlike those reality shows, it somehow retains its humanity and even some sense of compassion for the insane characters.

Go figure. It wallows in the worst and,...

BEST INVESTMENT EVER!
This DVD set is the best EVER! I bought all 3 seasons about a year ago and I loved them so much that they all got ruined in my constant viewing. I had some reservations about buying this set because i wasnt sure if it was EVERY episode or if it had all the original dvd extras, BUT IT DOES!. This set is not only all 3 COMPLETE seasons, but it includes a board game, multiple drinking games and all the extra commentary and extras that my original dvds had! it is the best if you love Drawn Together, but also a great set if you have only seen a few episodes and liked it! it is SUPER cheap for the amount of activities and episodes you get! If you cant tell, I have utilized one the drinking games right now (one of many) from the discs, and it rocks! This set plus the two movies completes everything you will ever need from Drawn Together. BUY THIS DVD SET! IT IS THE BEST!

Makes South Park look like a Merchant Ivory film
The show is about a "Cartoon Reality Show". Various character archetypes from reality shows e.g. Captain Hero (the Superman character), the Princess (the Disney Princess character) and misc cartoons live together in a house. Outlandish hijinks ensue that often poke fun at real-life stereotypes (e.g. Ling-Ling, the "pikachu" character speaks "Engrish") and cartoon cliches (i.e. Captain Hero reads his own origin story). And of course, as mentioned raunchy hijinks necessarily ensue.

This is a low-brow (no political or social commentary like South Park), but funny show with lots of scatological humor, pop culture references, and a ridiculously over-the top nature. If you like over the top slapstick and scatological humor, you'll like this show.

If you're in college, the board game set included is also pretty nice, and the special features include a "milk" drinking game. If I was 10 years younger, I'd probably think it was amazing.

Recommended if you like...

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Fight Club (10th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

The most underrated film of the last year
When I'm looking at the Top Ten list's of America's critics and the nominations of the DGA,WGA and all the other guilds and press associations, I terribly miss David Fincher's outstanding film "Fight Club", which is possibly the best film of 1999.

Not only is the film visualy stunning, it is also very thought-provoking, wickedly funny and, above all, extremely entertaining. Only few films managed to be so many things at once. David Fincher, in my opinion one of the most exciting directors of the decade, fills his movie with so many ideas that it would be sufficient for three more movies, and they are not just gimmicks for their own sake, they all mean something. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are brilliant in the leads and the soundtrack by the Dust Brothers fits perfectly to the images.

Many reviewers thought the film was fascist. I think you can only call this ridiculous, since that assumes Fincher sympathizes with Tyler Durden's project mayhem. In fact, he...

The year's best satire
FIGHT CLUB arrived in the US with a blaze of publicity stressing its violence and nihilism; some critics (and those close to the production) countered this with the suggestion that it was an anti-materialist jeremiad. On a second viewing, it seems like neither -- it's easier to see it as a smart, committed and complex piece of filmmaking. David Fincher once again dazzles with his direction, which is as intelligently energetic as the acting of Brad Pitt and, especially, Edward Norton. What's really impressive, however, is the way that the film manages to flirt with an anti-materialist, hyper-masculine primitivism even as it suggests that we're all a little too sophisticated to buy it (as it were).

FIGHT CLUB may hold that we're not the clothes we wear, or the credit cards in our wallet, but it's savvy enough to realise that our paths of thought and modes of organisation are almost entirely contaminated by the world we've created. Is the solution to destroy that world...

This Movie is Why "Professional" Critics Must Go
I didn't see this movie in the theaters because it had gotten very mixed reviews from the so-called professional movie reviewers. But, when it hit the local vidoe store, I thought I would give it a try. WOW, what a kick in the teeth, interesting, and fast moving journey into one man's mind. The path this movie takes is fantastic.

Norton and Pitt are perfectly cast, and supported by a crew of fight club members that make for a well-acted show. Meatloaf, Ed Gil, Jared Leto, et. al. are great in support as the members/followers of the leads. Helena Bonham Carter has the only real female role in this film and is perfectly cast. But as much as the acting, this movie is made by the story. Unconventional, with a great twist at the end, the whole movie kept me on the edge of my seat. As with many great movies, it is hard to classify the genre (action, comedy, drama), as there is a sampling of all in this film. In the end, I would just classify this as a great...

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The Jean-Jacques Beineix Collection: Betty Blue

Two haunting performances say it all.
Betty Blue is touted as an "erotic drama" by the distributor, a tag which sells the film grossly short. It certainly has frank depictions of sexuality and much nudity -- after all, this is a film that opens on a real-time extended sequence shot of two people having sex -- but to call this erotica is to miss the complete picture.

Betty Blue is an organic look at a troubled relationship in all its glory and ugliness, tenderness and violence, joys and sorrows, made possible by the director's sympathetic and unembarrassed eye, and the sheer dedication of lead actors Jean-Hugues Anglade and Beatrice Dalle. Seldom has a cinematic couple been better paired, and seldom with so much chemistry. Dalle conveys a world of psychological complexity in her face, her eyes seeming to shift with her inner beats. Dalle received the bulk of the attention for this, her breakthrough role, so it might be easy to overlook Jean-Hugues Anglade, a fantastic actor who's every bit as good as Gerard...

'L' amour in All it's Tragedy and Beauty
'Betty Blue', the movie that, as one reviewer put it,' sent shock waves rippling through arthouse cinemas everywhere' and introduced unforgettable 'Beatrice Dalle', a sort of modern day (though far wilder) 'Bardot', with an even more generous mouth. Who else but the French could pull off a film like this with such depth and style. An exploration of L'amour in all its beautiful and tragic complexities. Certainly to the faint hearted it may have seemed a little shocking. There is plenty of of full frontal nudity, both male and female (unlike the double standard in American cinema), and a very realistic sex scene to confront audiences in the very opening scene. But the erotica in this movie is really very natural with nothing perverse or kinky about it. It has an uninhibited earthiness about it that we have come to expect from French Movies. To others what may have seemed more shocking was the rather dark and depressing nature of the story, (if you haven't seen this movie don't go...

A heartbreakingly tragic film.
This is a heartbreakingly tragic film centred around Betty, (Beatrice Dalle) a beautiful but unstable young woman, whose instability - or madness - becomes progressively worse throughout the film. In the beginning we think she is just an admirablely rebellious and fiery person who is over-sensitive to slight and imagined insult. Later she is engulfed by these irrational and self-destructive bouts of hysteria for no perceptible reason. But this happens only occasionally; between times she behaves like a perfectly normal and happy person, as she has every reason to be. It is easy to become impatient with her. She keeps saying she has nothing to live for, that nothing she has ever done has worked out right, but how can this be when she is so much better off than so many millions of others, with beauty, two good friends and a good man who loves her to distraction despite everything? And she loves him in return.

Zorg (Jean-Hughes Anglalde) is an aspiring novelist with a novel in...

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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas

Hilarious, but I admit may be expensive
I am a huge fan of Always Sunny and would definitely reckomend(Charlie spelling) this DVD. Yes, it is expensive. I was lucky enough to get it discounted with Seasons 1-4 on the deal of the day(Thanks Amazon!) so it didn't really effect me. The added violence and cursing definitely made me wish every episode could have it! They use the cursing efficiently and always to great effect. If you like Always Sunny you can't really go wrong with this DVD. I was excited to see Mac and Charlie paired together again(Lately the dynamic has been Frank/Charlie and Mac/Dennis) for some great, hilarious moments. Loved it and think you will love it too!

Spectacular
There seems to be two main groups of people giving this reviews - people who haven't seen it, but love the show, so they give it a 5, and people who hate the price, so they give it a 1. Ignore them both.

I just got this in the mail today, watched it, it's hilarious, as good as any episode. It's 40 minutes, the length of two episodes. The ending is a little weak, the rest is spectacular. That's really all there is to it. If you're willing to pay a standard DVD price for two episodes, go for it, I promise you won't be disappointed. If you don't think it's worth it, no one's twisting your arm, you have no right to complain.

I think I know what happened here...
I am a fan of Always Sunny and own all the seasons on DVD. I am NOT a hater. This DVD is basically a double episode of Always Sunny with a Christmas theme. There are some funny bits, but it is not an outstanding episode. DVD Extras are weak and not worth the time.

What I think happened is this: The Always Sunny gang wanted to make a Christmas episode for broadcast, but when the suits saw this episode they balked and said "no way" to airing it. I mean, this thing pushes more boundaries than ever! So the gang added some minimal dvd extras (very minimal) and packaged it for a DVD release. (Possibly this was prompted by the suits at the network to recoup production costs, but maybe not.) Anyway it is an attempted cash grab and not worth the $20.

The clay-mation scene near the end was a GREAT idea, but I feel, a missed opportunity. It started well, but they went for gross and violent instead of just being Always Sunny. It was the one part I was really hoping to see,...

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My Sister's Keeper

bring along some tissues
My Sister's Keeper really hit home for me as an adult child from a family in which someone had serious ongoing health problems, a former social worker and as a cancer survivor who beat an advanced form of the disease against some mighty big odds. The casting was very well done; the cinematography and the choreography enhance the quality of the picture. The acting was very convincing, too. The plot moves along at a good pace for the first half-hour or so but after that things do slow down; they could have cut a few minutes once or twice to truly make this a taut drama. That is a disappointment.

When the action starts, we meet the members of the Fitzgerald family who endure endless emotional angst and suffering because tragically one of the Fitzgerald children, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) is very ill with cancer--yet again. Now that Kate's kidneys have failed her; Kate's life is in immediate jeopardy. We also meet Kate's sister Anna (Abigail Breslin) who was a tube baby created...

I Was Born to Be a Donor
I came in expecting a sappy melodrama and came out clutching a tear-stained movie theater napkin. "My Sister's Keeper" is a beautiful, heartfelt story that's ambitious enough to be about more than a teenager sick with cancer; it presents us with a series of moral issues that have no easy solutions. We do expect to laugh and cry (mostly the latter), but we don't expect to think--at least, not as deeply as this. Of all the issues presented in this film, the main one is an eleven-year-old girl who was engineered rather than conceived. She's a perfect genetic match to her older sister, who suffers from a rare form of leukemia and often needs spare quantities of blood, marrow, and organs to keep her alive. The younger sister believes she has rights to her own body and subsequently sues her parents. In legal terms, she files a suit to be medically emancipated.

Her name is Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin), who by all accounts would be a normal girl were it not for the fact that...

Heart Wrenching
Like the stubborn curmudgeon I am, I keep thinking that with each viewing of MY SISTER'S KEEPER I will finally be able to keep the emotions this film releases at arm's length and watch the movie strictly on its merits. What an idiot I am. Having viewed this film numerous times, I am just as emotionally moved--and drained--as I was when I first saw it in the cinema--when I sat a few rows back from a distraught teen girl who sobbed hysterically during the last half hour.

Sure, there are countless movies about disease, suffering, familial conflict, and death; so why does MY SISTER'S KEEPER strike such a resolute emotional chord? For me, it has to do with the five members of the Fitzgerald family; not only are they totally believable--in their actions and interactions--but they connect with the audience, and the film respects each character enough to allow him or her to be fully vetted and explored. The plot is, quite simply, titanic: Anna (Abigail Breslin), an 11-year-old...

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Elvis Costello: Spectacle - Season One

A Masters on Music
This series as broadcast on Sundance Channel is an outstanding Master class on music itself. The broad range of the discussions, histories and looks at the real personalities of the artists being interviewed are truly amazing and highly entertaining as well as informative. We've watched every episode and throughly enjoyed them. What "In the Actor's Studio" does for that craft, this series does for music. Along with the promise of additional footage that was cut to make the show fit into the broadcast timeframe, we are looking forward to receiving this into our collection.

One star deduction for the lack of some key extras
I love this series. I love the simplicity of the concept. One of my musical heroes interviewing many other music giants with the sole purpose of providing the audience a deeper insight than one would normally get from spot interviewers.

I won't go into the details of the show, that has been reviewed before. I just wanted to clarify something regarding the extras. When I read there were bonus interviews included, I was extremely excited. Last year when Elvis discussed the making of the show and some of the unfortunate edits that went into the process of cutting a show down to an hour long, he specifically referenced having to snip FOUR OR FIVE MINUTES from Smokey Robinson's response to the writing process for "Just My Soul Responding". I thought for sure this release would take advantage of not having this time restraint and add that footage (as well as for other artists) back in. And when I read there were bonus interviews, I figured that was what was going on...

A must have for the pop music fan without a blu-ray player
Ordered both the DVD and blu-ray versions of this after downloading a couple episodes from i-tunes. If you are interested in popular music, songwriting, and musicians--this is a good choice. If you just want videotaped performances, look elsewhere. Elvis Costello, who I never really listened to in his prime, is very knowledgeable and a pretty good interviewer. Episodes usually start out with Elvis and some musicians doing one of the artists songs. There may be a song or two mixed in with the interview and it usually wraps with Elvis doing a song or two with the guest (though not always one of the guests songs). Some of the performances end up being rather interesting--Elvis and The Police doing Purple Haze. The blu-ray was supposed to arrive first and the DVD was to be a gift, but the DVD came first so it became a gently-used gift. Both versions have 5.1 sound, but the DTS version on the blu-ray sounds slightly better--more depth in the mid-ranges. I do wish that they had...

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Ben 10: Alien Force, Vol. 5

Good volume.
Well done volume but would have really liked to have each season separately. Whatever, I wanted the series and this was just a minor glitch.

The Force is Strong in This One.
Volume 5 of "Ben 10 Alien Force" is now available. If you think that Ben Tennyson has problems before, then get this. Four new to DVD episodes involve a tiny Upgrade-like creature named Ship and Ben gets busted by his parents when they discover him as Swampfire ! Also, Ben teams up with Grandpa Max as they enter the Null Void to defeat an old enemy.

A cool special feature is a sneak peek of the new "Ben 10 Alien Swarm" movie as seen on Cartoon Network. The movie is also out on DVD presently. But don't forget to look for more new episodes on TV as well as on DVD.

DVD Review
I definitely love watching Ben 10 Alien Force! The entire concept of the ability to transform into aliens is just awesome! The show is great and action-packed too!

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BLUE, JOSH - 7 MORE DAYS IN THE TANK

non stop fun
Josh Blue is hilarious and i would love to see more. i can't seem to find enough of his acts. When watching "7 more days in the tank" you will laugh the entire time. It is great that he can take a negative(his condition) and turn it into something positive. If you enjoy comedy I definitely recommend Josh Blue.

Last Comic Standing
This is a lot of the same material that Josh won Last Comic Standing with. Hilarious stuff and his delivery is perfect.

Gotta Love This Guy
I saw Josh on Last Comic Standing and was fascinated at his ability to poke fun at his handycap, making the best of a bad situation. It was refreshing to see a handycapped person overcome his disability in a fashion that makes the rest of us look at them as another person. I hope we see more from this new commedian, he is truly worth watching.

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Wild Child

LIGHTHEARTED TEEN FLICK THAT WORKS
This film is full of cheesy goodness. If you are looking for a young chick flick with with a dash of romance, this one is a great choice.

This movie has been done before... A LOT. What sets this film apart is the stellar cast. It is the last movie made by Natasha Richardson and casting Alex Pettyfer as the love interest doesn't hurt. The lead is played by Emma Roberts (the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and Julia Robert's niece), who obviously has taken some pointers from family members. She shines in this role as a snotty rich kid who transforms into the young woman she was meant to be. She got caught up in the fast lane of California living after her mother passed and when her dad has had enough, she gets carted off to her mom's old boarding school - in England! There is an obvious clash of cultures as she has to find her way in a foreign school with it's own caste system. Enter the mean girls and a handsome son of a headmistress and there's your plot. You know...

Hilarious Fun
I first rented this movie to see what it was all about and right after I watched it I knew that I had to own it. It is entertaining from the very first scene!

Great Movie!
I saw this movie when I was in Britain last summer. Emma's character wasn't as wild as the title may suggest but there were a lot unexpected twists in this movie that made it more than your regular romcom. I highly recommend this movie and I will definitely buy this.

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7th Heaven: The Ninth Season

Good family entertainment
Unfortunately, I didn't watch much TV when 7th Heaven was originally airing so I am discovering it in reruns and am now trying to collect all the DVDs. Every season is great family entertainment and there is almost none of that on now with all the stupid reality shows on TV. It really makes me long for the good old days of early TV (50s and 60s and anything through the 90s is better than what is on today). I highly recommend this for any family looking for something they can watch together.

AMAZING
I've been watching 7th Heaven since the first episode of the first season. Let me tell you it ends on top! It just gets better and better and this season in particular is amazing! 5 stars!

Love the series....unfortunately, poorly made DVDs
Love 7th Heaven-it's nice to have the collection on DVD. However, this is possibly the cheapest, poorly produced set of DVDs I own. I own many tv series and they are done very well-full episode, no cuts, original music, extras included.
7th Heaven has none of the above. With DVDs produced so cheaply, the price ought to be much less also, IMO.
Glad to have the collection, just wish QUALITY had gone into making these. Two more seasons left-10, 11. Wish they would at least do something special (i.e. extras) on the last season released.

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Keeping Up with the Kardashians: The Complete Second Season

Doing it with class, cause I got a big ass.
So I'll be the first to admit that season 1 is more entertaining than season 2...but I'll be completely honest here, this show could become the worst show on television and I'd still watch it. Luckily though, it's not the worst show on television. Season 2 is still great. The dvd however is lacking. Just as the first season on dvd, it is censored and lacking in extras. But for the price, I'd say it's worth the purchase.

A guilty pleasure season 2 but lacking DVD package
A guilty pleasure show to watch on E!. Aired spring of 2008.
Season 2.
Well, we get more episodes in the 2cd season. The 1 that will tug at the heart strings is the last episode when they go to New Orleans & help a family out who lost their home in the 2005 Katrina storm.

No special extras. A few deleted scenes & a video segment with Rob.

Now, here are the problems with it 1. EPISODES ARE NOT UNCUT. Come on. The Girls Next Door DVD's are uncut they have nudity & language. Why is this show NOT shown uncut? I am very disappointed in that. 2. This HORRIBLE & CHEAP DVD case/holder. It has intentional HOLES IN IT ON BOTH FRONT & BACK Cheap, stupid & THOUGHTLESS 3. No commentary as well on the episodes

At lease it does have a chapter/episode list. BUT, the 1st season DVD said the original air dates for the episodes Season 2 does NOT

Let us hope the DVD for season 3 is better than this

KUWTK: Season 2
Great DVD season I bought to watch since I didn't have E! When the 1st & 2nd seasons were showing on TV. Glad that I could catch up by watching the complete season DVD.

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Only the Brave

Low budget, yes, but still powerful, moving, historical
"Only the Brave" isn't the best war movie around, nor does it have the shine or polish seen in big-budget, Hollywood movies, but it's very moving, knowing that what happened to the soldiers in the movie is based on historical fact.

"Only the Brave" is about the efforts of the 442/100 military regiment to rescue a Texas battalion that got stuck behind enemy lines during WWII. In doing so, they lost more soldiers than they ended up rescuing.

What makes this movie quite the rarity in American entertainment is that the soldiers at the center of the movie are Japanese-American. Perhaps with a bigger budget, it could have had more screen time to fully flesh out the main characters (played by Lane Nishikawa, Jason Scott Lee, Tamlyn Tomita, Mark Dacascos, Yuji Okumoto and Greg Watanabe), but it does well enough to pass on this rather underreported part of American/WWII history. While they and their families were in American internment camps, they volunteered to join the...

A good popcorn B movie
This movie is not easy to find. It never made it into the theaters in our region, darn it.

My brother happened to see it in California and said it was worth finding the DVD. Checked ebay (ripoff prices galore) and Amazon, and again, Amazon won hands down.

It's a good B movie action flick. Have watched it twice now and am glad I bought it. It will go into the my collection.

Only the Brave
The movie's value is it captures a story that actually happened, that needs to be shared with schoolchildren that might never have known the truth. The film itself comes across without enough action to hold the audience's attention, which is too bad, because it is worthwhile information that people should know about.

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The Untouchables: Season 3 Volume 2

The Untouchables Season 3 Volume 2
As is the case with the other DVDs in this series this next installment is of excellent quality both in audio and video. Robert Stack shines as the great Eliot Ness, crime fighter of the 1930's. I am hoping that the final Season 4 will also be released to complete this series. The packaging of the videos is top notch and you will not be disappointed in these videos.

look out mobsters...cause...here they come again!
How can I find fault with Ness and his crew? Answer is...I can't.
I now have all the Untouchables that have been released by Paramount.
Lets hurry up and release some more so I can buy em up!
Amazons excellent and speedy service only adds to the joy of owning the Untouchables!

The Untouchables TV Series of the 1960's
The television programs produced in the 60's were better than the "crap" produced today where sitcom actors sit on a couch, crack jokes, and go nowhere. The Untouchables is an action series filmed in black and white which enabled using old 1930's film footage and mixing with the 1960's production. This puts the viewer back in the 1930's time frame. This series was "well done".

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In Love And War

Commander James Stockdale, P.O.W.
IN LOVE AND WAR is the true story of the highest ranking American Vietnam War prisoner, and his 8-year ordeal of torment and interrogation.

In 1965, Navy Commander Jim Stockdale's fighter plane is shot down. He's captured by the North Vietnamese and sent to Hoa Lo prison (aka the "Hanoi Hilton") where Stockdale (Woods) is subjected to almost daily torture. During nearly a decade of internment, he develops a clandestine communications system with other prisoners and organizes a resistance group against their inhumane captors.

Stockdale's wife Sybil (Alexandra) has been urged by the military to keep quiet about her husband. She instead contacts other POW wives and they pressure the American government to disclose what's known about their spouses. The wives' coalition also demands a public admission that our men are being physically abused in Hanoi. These efforts make Sybil an international celebrity.

Also recommended:
THE HANOI HILTON (1987) reveals...





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Disney's Wild About Safety with Timon and Pumbaa Safety Smart About Fire! Classroom Edition [Interactive DVD]

fire safety teacher
i teach kids about fires safty and the video i used was dated and needed to be changed this one covers the same material and is more modern and engaging

Safety DVD
I purchased this DVD for the fire department I was with for use in the local schools that the firefighters visit regularly to teach fire, water and home safety. It is a great DVD for teaching young kids about safety. The kids enjoyed it and they retained a lot of the lessons.

This is an excellent educational film about fire safety for home or classroom use ... "Get down, get out, stay out!"
Timon and Pumbaa team up in this fun, but highly educational film to tell children "You gotta get safety smart!" The smoke alarm starst to beep and Pumbaa rushes to get Timon up. We are quickly told that the sound the alarm is making means the batteries are low and "that is what is making that sound." We are told we should change the batteries every two years. The "fire triangle," consisting of three elements, oxygen, fuel, and heat are clearly diagramed and explained.

Children hear phrases such "know your fire safety and you won't get burned" and learn a catchy sing along song called "Safety Smart." This song is also shown separately, complete with words and the bouncing ball. Among the many things children can learn in this film is the danger of smoke, they will learn about sprinklers, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, where they should go in the event of a fire, what to do when an alarm goes off, what to tell an adult, they learn about an escape plan, the necessity...

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Margaret Cho: Beautiful

Great Jokes, but a Desperate Show
The excellent part of this live stand-up show is that Margaret Cho begins at full throttle, with the powerful political and sexual material she usually saves for the end. The sad part is that this leaves her nowhere to go. When she starts out full-bore, that makes her push to maintain that energy, and leaves her nothing to finish with. Which probably explains her final show-stopper, a raunchy song that should earn a standing ovation, but just leaves me thinking: "Wow, this goes on a bit, doesn't it?"

Recorded in the run-up to the 2008 election, this show is half comedy and half call to action. Of course, that's par for Margaret Cho's course. If you've seen her before, little here will surprise you. Cho's humor is based on seeing the world from a skewed angle, letting her point out truths that most of us miss. And she doesn't let us down: every joke is up to her standards. Every line will either make you laugh or offend you, and for the same reason, because she's...

Not up to her usual razor's edge
I own and enjoy all of Margaret Cho's stand-up comedy DVD's. In my opinion, each one of them has gotten progressively less funny. There is a lack of new material, a lack of real enthusiasm on her part for her humor and her fans ... she seems more like a political activitist that tells a few jokes now. Just not what I'd hoped for, but pretty much what I expected.

Too Bad
I used to be a huge fan of Margaret Cho, but I wonder if her best work is behind her. This show was vular and lazy. I am certainly not a prude but I don't think you have to be gross to be funny, and Cho certainly doesn't. She's done great work in the past,and I know she has the wit and heart to create hilarious comedy. But I think she's confused about who she needs to be right now. She's decided that the gay and lesbian community is her only audience. That's fine, but I still don't see why that means being completely crass and sophmoric. It's not like my gay and lesbian friends go around talking about thier "parts" all the time. They're not sex-obsessed and immature, so why does Margaret think she needs to write her jokes that way?

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Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut

Additional changes for Director's Cut
The director's cut runs about 25 minutes longer, and incorporates more elements from the comics, adds more violence, as well as more shots of Dr. Manhatten's schlong. Some of the previous scenes are reworked with additional dialogue. Information has been supported by sites such as AICN etc.

Overall, the storyline and conversations are better fleshed out, and this version is truer to the comics. The largest additional addition is that of Hollis Mason's death, which is spectacularly directed to the score of the Intermezzo from the opera Cavalleria Rusticana (think Godfather III).

(1) Rorschach gets additional dialogue, some straight from the comics.

(2) When Rorschach searches the Comedian's apartment shortly after the opening scene, he encounters two cops still stationed there. He fights briefly with them before jumping back out the window.

(3) Conversation between Dan and Rorschach (beans scene) is extended.

(4) All flashbacks...

The End is Nigh.. But at Least it's the Ultimate Cut
Finally, Zac Synder's vision as it was meant to be. I can't believe they milked the DVD release for literally ever last penny they could. Nevertheless, I am incredibly pleased to own 'Watchmen: the Ultimate Cut'.

The Set Includes:

Disc 1
- Watchmen, the Ultimate Cut (1080p/VC-1 Transfer, 215min)
- Commentary from Zac Snyder and Dave Gibbons (Explains everything from prop inspirations to plot alterations)
- BD Live

Disc 2
- The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics (HD 25min)
- Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes (HD 26min)
- Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World (HD 17min)
- Watchmen: Video Journals (HD 36mmin)
- Under the Hood (HD 38min)
- Story Within a Story: The Books of Watchmen (HD 36min)
- My Chemical Romance, 'Desolation Row' Music Video (HD, 3min)

Disc 3
- Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comics (1080p/VC-1 Transfer, 325).
- Watchmen Video Journal, Dave Gibbons (HD...

Better than theatrical release, but more to come in December
This edition is an improvement over the theatrical release and is closer to the book. My only disappointment related to this edition was that I opened the package to find a coupon for the ULTIMATE edition, which is to be released Decemberish. The next (and I hope final) version will have the Black Freighter story woven into the main story as it is in the book. If you don't want multiple versions of this film, hold off buying until the end of the year.

I agree with the other reviewers who note the film's ending is an improvement over the book's. It just makes more sense in the context of the story. This is not a knock on Mr. Moore, of whom I am a big fan.

I don't understand the folks who are so down on this film, unless it is that they just had the wrong expectations and/or didn't do their homework before watching it. It was never meant to be another Spiderman, Superman or Hulk story.

Kudos to Mr. Moore. Kudos for the team who produced this film.

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Xavier: Renegade Angel - Seasons 1 & 2

Simply, the best show in the history of television
You're likely to hear a lot of criticism for this show, and with good reason: People often become frustrated when faced with things they don't understand -- and it certainly doesn't help that the show is purposely abrasive, with unlikeable characters, a million sight gags/puns/lines hitting you a second, and the worst "art style" imaginable.

However, the abrasiveness is part of the humor, and that's PFFR's whole thing (look at Wonder Showzen or some of their music): Alienate people as quickly as possible so you can leave the people truly for looking beyond the surface to find brilliant, unique art. And with Xavier, what you have is a show not for the masses at all -- and certainly not for the typical Adult Swim set. This is a total work of GENIUS, and I don't throw that word around very often.

Surreal, bizarre, seemingly-100% nonsensical at times... but so, SO unbelievably consistently hilarious, intelligent, and clever. Have you seen a television show lately...

Best Comedy for Years
This show is nothing short of amazing. The people who created this are clever writers, appealing to an intelligent viewer by delivering what those who don't quite understand it think is absurd and unfunny. The truth is, it's anything but.

This is an intentionally poorly animated, comedically fast-paced glimpse into the twisted, surreal world of Xavier, an aesthetically (not to mention morally) objectionable wanderer (and wonderer), with delusions of philosophical grandeur. As Xavier lands himself in situations born almost completely out of his twisted incompetence and inability to reason, he attempts to further understand himself and nearly always fails.

Comedically, this is a real gem. The attention to detail elevates this from a 'weird cartoon' to something that has very obviously had a lot of thought and care invested in it. The show has many layers, from odd almost dream-like logic to the beyond-impressive word play, to the conveyance of some very intelligent...

Oh yeah? you only have one penii?!
Watch this show if you want to be completely mind f***ed. It sometimes makes little sense but that's kind of the point. Not really for people that aren't open minded. As much as it doesn't make sense, it is really clever. It's trippy as hell to say the least. It's not for all, though, because it's confusing and one of the most obscene shows i've seen. Also, a lot of people will be turned off by its psychedelic dialogue. But in my opinion, amongst all the "ramblin' on", it can be quite philosophical. You'll probably either love it or hate it, but give it a few views before you decide; you never know.

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Shadow Government

A MUST SEE for ALL WHO CHERISH LIBERTY
this dvd is one that everyone needs to see-- the information in it is compelling..even horrifying, yet knowledge is the first step to making adequate preparation for the future. Exhaustively researched and verified, Grant Jeffrey and numerous other credentialed scholars show our government's involvement in all the details of our lives-- with the ultimate goal of global governance and total control...

Shadow Government
Informational, accurate, & up todate! I highly recommend purchasing this DVD and sharing with family & friends.

Shadow Government
This is a very informative dvd. It opened my eyes to alot of things that are happening and what it means in the realm of the end times. This is a must see for everyone.

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Shorts (2009)

Awesome Family Fun!!!
I thought this was a really good and very funny movie that the whole family will love! It has an awesome plot, funny situations, and lovable characters. The movie is told out of order in a series of 'short' episodes! In the town of Black Falls, all the adults work for Black Box Unlimited Worldwide Industries Incorporated. Toby Thompson is a lonely kid who gets picked on gets picked on by Mr. Black's kids, until Toby finds a Rainbow colored wishing rock that will grant his every wish. Toby is just one of the many kids who have found the rock, like Nose Noseworthy, Loogie, Cole, and Helvetica Black. When Mr. Black gets ahold of the rock, he uses it for world domination. Can the kids of Black Falls stop him before he becomes mad with power? I highly recommend SHORTS!!!

Shorts......
A cute family movie geared towards the younger generation! It was fun to watch with the children though.Mostly clean with a little crudeness.

Really funny stuff!
This movie really made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and would see it again.

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Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny Volume 1: Romance of the Three High Schools

Dragon Destiny
This begins the second "season" of this story. While it builds somewhat on the original storyline,it adds new plots but only a few new cast. It is less complicated than the first series and the fan service is somewhat subdued which alows more attention to be paid for the evolving story line."Mou-chan",long one of my favorites, begins to emerge as a more central character that grows further as this series continues into the third season. The lance-armed girl on the cover also begins to rise in plot status that continues throughout the entire series while Hukufu's starring role is retained. This volume is a neccessary step in a continuing storyline that the devotees will not soon tire of.

dragon destiny
I feel this continuation of the original series left a lot to be desired, the new characters were ok, but the story line was sort of drawn out & bland.



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On His Majesty's Secret Service

James Bond Hong Kong style
A madcap period piece that plays it's fight scenes for laughs and doesn't try to be anything more than a very tongue in cheek version of the James Bond franchise. Kung Fu lunacy at it's best.





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Beverly Hills, 90210: The Eighth Season

Another Solid Season of a 90's Favourite
Maybe it's the nostalgia... or maybe it's the beauty of the boxset where you can become really engrossed in a t.v. show, watching episode after episode like reading chapter after chapter of a really good book you can't put down...
But I had quite low expectations of season 8 of 90210 on dvd and it turned out to be much better than I remembered.

I remembered this as the season that the show started to wane but actually this season was another fine run of the show.

It starts off a little rocky with the silly daytime- soap- type amnesia storyline for Kelly. But once the show got going, it was another solid year of ups and downs for the gang of friends we've grown to know and love over the years.

This year actually starts off a lot quicker then previous school/ college based seasons. The gang are thrown into the real world at last...

So this season sees Kelly and Brandon slowly tire of each other , Brandon's infidelity, the show continues...

Wear and tear.
Beverly Hills, 90210: Season Eight is when this groundbreaking drama started losing steam. The storylines became bizarre and lifeless and Hilary Swank was suddenly cut from the show without warning. I believe this was Jason Priestley's last year with the show and Season 9 and 10 were not the same without him - he was the heart and soul of this '90s hit. Jennie Garth is one of my favorites but even her character, Kelly Taylor started getting annoying especially with that whole amnesia storyline, blah! Donna (Tori Spelling) and David (Brian Austin Green) finally seal the deal and the gang graduates from College. Pretty much a safe, bland season but not as horrible when other shows jump the shark.

More Season Sets, Please!
Beverly Hills 90210 is one of the BEST drama series, I have ever watched! So far, CBS/Paramount has released the first 7 seasons, which I have collected.

CBS/Paramount should keep up the good work releasing Beverly Hills 90210 in season sets.

Season 8 is where Brandon, Kelly, Steve, David, Donna, and Valerie enter the real world. They also meet Carly Reynolds, Noah Hunter, and Steve's future wife Janet Sosna, in season Eight.

Beverly Hills 90210 The 8th Season should be released in 7-disc set containing all 30 episodes.

Please keep releasing Bevely Hills 90210 in Seasons sets!

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Funny People

The Marketing was Wrong, but the Film is so RIGHT
This film was really a drama, so, if you go in with the mindset that you are watching a drama, this film will blow you away.

However, if you go into this film thinking it will be like 40-yr old Virgin or Hangover, then you will be disappointed (which is where all the low rated reviews come from).

This film does a great job of showing us the life of a Comedian/Actor who is dying from an illness.

The film has a whole lot of levels going on which is over the head of most of the people who rated the film low.

It is a comedic form of the movie Inception. You have actors playing comedians who have dual lives where they alternate from being "on" and "off"....

The problem is most people have a misconception of how comedians live their real lives.

Anyways, great movie. Go in with the mindset that you are watching a drama and this movie will blow you away.

enjoy

amnightus

Flawed and Meandering Yet Still a Worthwhile Look Inside a Stand-Up Comic's Mind
The psyche of the stand-up comedian is the subject of Judd Apatow's third and most ambitious directorial effort, but the elliptical, rather skewed characters that inhabit this serious-minded 2009 comedy obscure the personal revelations that he ironically attempts to mine. In certain ways, it's a dramatically audacious film, yet in others, Apatow comes back to the comfortably off-kilter humor of his previous ensemble efforts, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Sometimes the balance feels very off here, primarily because the protagonist is so hard to read from the outside. It was inevitable that the director cast his former roommate Adam Sandler as George Simmons, a comic who has become a major movie star based on the type of juvenilia he constantly ridicules. Sandler accurately captures both the demented comedy mind and the innate cruelty...

Jake LaMotta would've made a hell of a comedian
Judd Apatow's Funny People is going to divide audiences (it certainly has divided critics). Those going in expecting a comedy along the lines of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up or any other of the films in the Apatow-verse will enjoy it but not love it. But that reaction may be more a product of the misdirection in the marketing of the film than anything else. Funny People is going for something more emotionally complex, and it succeeds on that count.

Without dwelling on plot, the film focuses, by and large, on the professional and personal lives of a group of comics and comic actors at various rungs of the show business ladder, from Adam Sandler's George Simmons, a hugely successful film comedy star who came out of the stand-up comedy world, to Seth Rogan's Ira Wright, a novice comic who is drawn into George's world, to Ira's friends, who are his roommates, who are his competitors.

The common thread running through these characters is anger and aggression,...

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