The Sum of All Fears [Blu-ray]

It's a *movie* folks...
I've read Clancy (but not this one) and I've seen all the "Clancy" movies many times. My wife drives me nuts by saying, "that wouldn't happen..." so I understand all you who try to analyze the plot for theoretical accuracy. But.... this is a work of entertainment based on fictional accounts of political conflict. Did it entertain? Absolutely. Did Affleck portray Jack Ryan the way Clancy wrote him? Of course. Are the plot points of the movie plausible? Well, maybe, but - that's the point of Clancy. In case you didn't notice, Tom Clancy was executive producer of this film so he certainly had considerable input. Yeah, they changed the chronology of Jack Ryan. Whooppee! That makes Debt of Honor and Executive Orders completely future potential for Ben Affleck as Ryan considering they can now do Cardinal of the Kremlin which they couldn't have done with Harrison Ford. Hmmmm, do we want to see more Clancy movies? Yes!

Fun and suspenseful
I'm a hard-core Tom Clancy fan and was surprised to see how much this latest film adaptation wandered from the book, but it was still very entertaining. The latest incarnation of Jack Ryan is very young and inexperienced. The film seems to pretend the other Jack Ryan adventures haven't happened. Jack is new with the CIA and doesn't know the ropes the way he does in the book. He isn't even married yet. Morgan Freeman is wonderful as his boss (no surprise there) and the relationship between them is the best part of the film.

I'm no expert, but there seemed to be some technical flaws which required that the viewer suspend their skepticism. (Would cell phones continue to work when your local area has been hit by a nuke?) Still a worthy addition to the series. Clancy's readers will have to be especially open-minded though.

A great boxed set for great movies.
Movies-
The Hunt for Red October- A brand new hi-Tec Russian sub under the command of Captain Marko Ramius, at the height of the cold war is found to be heading towards the U.S Coast. The Russian and American government believes he is going to attack, only C.I.A analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) believes the truth: he is going to defect... I believe that this is the best and most well made of the four Jack Ryan films. Baldwin far surpasses Ford as Jack Ryan, who in the words of a wise friend is typecast waaaay too much. A must see along with the three other movies. -5 out of 5 stars
-Patriot Games- Jack Ryan and his family are just beginning their vacation in London, when a group of terrorists cease a member of the Royal family, almost kill him in cold blood, but Jack is able to same the Lord, and even takes out one of the terrorists. For his courageous act the kill terrorist?s brother will stop at nothing to kill him and his family.
Patriot Games is not the...

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Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel

Frothy ninja tale
The vast majority of movies adapted from TV anime -- especially for anime that are still running -- are basically like long episodes of the TV series.

That pretty much sums up the second "Naruto" movie, straightforwardly called "Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel." It's a puff pastry of a movie, but it has pretty much everything you'd expect of a Naruto story -- lots of slam-bang fight scenes, a big dramatic threat and a megamalomaniac villain. But it also feels like the writers and designers were making a cultural potlock for maximum effect.

As the story opens, the Sand Ninja -- including Gaara and Kankuro -- are battling a band of strange armored foreigners, who also have a very impressive warship.

Elsewhere, Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru are handling their easiest assignment -- returning a ferret to its owner. But a clash with an armored warrior named Temujin brings Naruto into contact first with a caravan of wanderers, and then with...

Good Naruto movie
When I watched this movie a year or so ago I thought it was a pretty decent addition to the Naruto movies. Now, its finally available in America to buy. Its great that still keep the original Japanese audio for fans (like me) who prefer to listen to it in its intended language. The only thing that bothers me (which I'm sure hasn't been fixed for this release) is when you play the English subtitles for the Japanese audio. the names are still written "Naruto Uzumaki" or "Sasuke Uchiha" yet your ears just cleary heard "Uzumaki Naruto" and "Uchiha Sasuke". It gets extremely confusing, and I wish the subs had the names written in there original format.

one of the best naruto movie
The fights are really cool and if you are a fans of naruto its something that you need to have in your collection.

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Hip Hop Handbook Vol. 1: Breakdance For Beginners

Breakin' Good
This DVD is a great way to learn some moves and start breakin'. Got it for my 11 year old nephew for Christmas - he needed a good influence, his parents dance like old folks at a wedding.
He's loving it, getting pretty good already.
The warm up is good and it's explained well. Make sure there's no pains or sprains.
The moves are broken down really clearly, so you can see what to do, start slow and build it up. Stumbling through the moves at first is proper funny, but you can see yourself getting better soon enough. The whole thing is fun and seeing what you can move on to is a great incentive.
All he needs now is a Kangol cap and a roll of lino.

Excellent content, poor teaching
I got this dvd just to learn some casual dance moves. There is no question that Jeromeskee can move, but the instructional aspect of the video is minimal. By the time the narrator has verbally explained what to do and you begin to do it, Jeromeskee has already gone onto the next step. I'm no pro dancer, but I'm also not uncoordinated either and it was frustrating to not be able to keep up at all. I'm going to break the rewind button on my dvd player pretty soon. More time could have been spent explaining in detail where to place your weight, when to shift feet, etc. rather than just showing it and not giving enough time to figure it out before already moving to the next step. Slow down! I purchased this "beginner" video thinking I would get detailed instruction, but it was moreso just a voice-over and some guy that can move way faster than I can.



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Maluala

Great African Diaspora DVD-Cuban
I love this movie. It is on the same level as Quilombo in showing the resistance and self sufficiency of Africans who were forcibly brought to the Western Hemisphere by slave traders. It is refreshing to see the Afro-Cubans history highlighted from a historical viewpoint that shows how they fought to maintain their own freedom.





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Thomas & Friends: Henry and the Elephant

Featuring six fun-filled stories about Thomas the tank engine and his friends
Featuring George Carlin as narrator, Thomas & Friends: Henry and the Elephant is a childrens' DVD featuring six fun-filled stories about Thomas the tank engine and his friends on the Island of Sodor. From Bulstrode the Barge, who learns to be useful to others despite his bad temper, to the mischievous Stuart who plays a trick on Duke, to the gigantic gray elephant that throws Henry for a loop, Thomas' friends are sure to entertain and delight young people with their lively adventures. The episodes are "Henry and the Elephant", "You Can't Win", "Special" Attraction", "Passengers and Polish", "Gallant Old Engine", and "Fish"; DVD bonus features include a sing-along song, an activity sheet, and a character gallery. A wonderfully entertaining program. 35 minutes, color.

DVD Release of VHS with Different Title
The video is fine, but this is a DVD release of a VHS titled "Gallant Old Engine". If you already have the VHS tape, save your money.

Not as pictured
The product image pictured is not what you will receive, no train included this is the special edition and only has some push buttons on the front of the DVD that make some sounds.

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Two Fat Ladies

Wonderful Show!
What a wonderful release -- I received an advance copy, and can report that this DVD set is a real treat!

Here's a disc-by-disc breakdown (all episodes are about 29 minutes long):

Disc 1 (173 min.): Fish & Shellfish, Meat, Fruits & Vegetables, Cakes, Game, Food in the Wild

Disc 2 (202 min.): Lunch, Cocktail Party, Afternoon Tea, Picnic, Breakfast, Dinner, Christmas Dinner

Disc 3 (202 min.): Benedictine Nuns, The Pony Club, The Cambridge Eight, Barristers, The Air Race, Lock Keepers, A Caribbean Christmas

Disc 4 (154 min.): Potatoes Galore, On Safari, Timber!, A Day at the Races + the Bonus Program "A Tribute to Jennnifer Paterson"

This set includes all 24 full-length episodes of Two Fat Ladies (didn't Food Network cut out several minutes to fit this show into a 30-minute slot?) plus a wonderful 38-minute special about the life of Jennifer Paterson and an 8-page booklet with eight recipes featured in the series. Five...

Full-throttle DVD Release Ahead, Ladies!!
It's time to "bubble and squeak" with joy!

In the history of cooking shows, this one remains a true Iconic TV Classic. It is utterly unique and richly deserves this complete DVD series release - just as richly as the flavors that run through the dishes featured!

Part cooking show, part comedy, part travelogue, part buddy-show but ALL entertainment, fun and very, very British, Two Fat Ladies featured Clarissa Dickson-Wright and the late Jennifer Paterson, both middle-aged and overweight.

It originally ran for three seasons, from 1996 to 1998 on BBC Two. Repeats of the show also appeared on the Food Network in the US, and on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia. In total, only 16 episodes were produced, but it was more than enough to propel the women into unlikely, beloved, worldwide celebrities.

The show featured the pair traveling throughout the United Kingdom on Paterson's signature Triumph Thunderbird. Wright rode in the...

better than the series
The videos include edited-out sections in which the ladies visit various local food purveyors. These bits are charming and informative, and for me they greatly improved the series. From the television I assumed the ladies were just dilitantes, hardly in the same leagues as Julia or perhaps Jacques. But these restored sections show them to be quite serious and knowledgeable about sourcing produce, fish and local delicacies.

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Shine a Light

Smashing!!!!!!! Scorcese & Stones: A Perfect Match
Set List:

1) Jumpin' Jack Flash
2) Shattered
3) She Was Hot
4) All Down the Line
5) Loving Cup (w/ Jack White)
6) As Tears Go By
7) Some Girls
8) Just My Imagination
9) Faraway Eyes
10) Champagne and Reefer (w/ Buddy Guy)
11) Tumbling Dice
12) You Got the Silver
13) Connection
14) Sympathy for the Devil
15) Live With Me (w/ Christina Aguilera)
16) Start Me Up
17) Brown Sugar
18) Satisfaction

Though the actual track 'Shine a Light' from Exile on Main Street is not played during the (film version of this) set, it is an excellent title for this rock documentary as Martin Scorcese is shining a light so to speak on the Stones themselves, and this light shines mighty bright and mighty close. But Scorcese is not as invasive as you might expect. And this documentary/concert film does not feel like an expose as much as a celebration of a band that still has some kick left in it...

Nothing wrong with nostalgia
If you are a Stones fan, then just buy it and enjoy; the negative reviewers miss the point. Towards the end of a long and fantastic career it's all about the band having fun; for the viewer its all about watching them experience that joy. And if you feel the need to quibble about the price or production values, then you shouldn't be buying such a DVD in the first place. The BluRay looks wonderful and the concert is nice and 'up close'. One of the most interesting aspects is watching how MJ tries to control the band with a raised eyebrow or nod here and there, or moving to gently push KR back to center when he goes 'off the plot'. It beats me why anyone would quibble on little details that aren't relevant to the central theme - its a celebration of one of the world's true entertainment super-groups. Relax.

Mick and Martin
Going to see a concert nowadays takes all one's resources. Ticket prices often go up to three digits, and most likely the best view is watching the band perform on a video screen. Sometimes people (myself included) are willing to travel long distances to see one's favorite acts perform onstage. Getting to see the biggest bands, like Paul McCartney, U2, and The Dave Matthews Band is difficult at best. Ironically, the cost of a ticket to see The Rolling Stones play in Martin Scorsese's documentary/concert film 'Shine a Light' is about the same as it would cost to see a live concert when many of their featured songs were popular. It ain't like it used to be.

However, the sheer power and able musicianship haven't gone stale nor retro, so the film is a real treat for those of us who have all but given up on seeing them in person.

It is a testament to Scorsese's directing abilities that the prologue, the intermittent vintage vignettes, and the conclusion are...

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The Lost Boys [Blu-ray]

THE BEST VAMPIRE MOVIE EVER
When this movie came out in the eighties, I dont think many people realized that it would become a classic film from that decade. Its not just a good vampire movie, its a good movie...period.

Jason patric and Corey Haim are brothers whos mother has moved them to be with their grandfather. Their new home is Santa Clara, otherwise known as the murder capital of the world. While there the older brother Michael (Patrick) meets a gang of teenagers who just happen to be vampires responsible for most of the murders. The younger brother Sam (Corey Haim) runs into a couple of self professed vampire killers. The fact that they are twelve doesnt douse their intensity. Michael appears to be on his way to becoming a vampire and the only way to stop it from happening is to kill the head vampire (The identity of which is revealed at the climax of the movie)

The movie flows nicely with a good script. The acting is good, the effects are good, the music is great. The humor throughout...

Thou Shall Not Kill
When a single mother (Dianne Wiest) and her two kids (Jason Patric, Corey Haim) pack up and move from Phoenix to southern California, more specifically, Santa Carla, "the murder capital of the world," they have more than a little bit of adjusting to do. The two teens and their mother move in with their quirky but loveable grandfather (Barnard Hughes), who has an inkling that there is more to this town than meets the eye. At first, things seem different but manageable, until Sam meets the "Frog brothers" at the local comic book shop. They hand him a horror comic about vampires and tell him to think of it as a survival manual. Are these two merely kids with an over-active imagination, or is there some supernatural cause for this odd little coastal town's nickname?

When the older brother, Michael, goes into town for a live concert, he runs into a rather attractive woman named Star (Jami Gertz). Star introduces Michael to her friends, who just happen to be vampires, and they decide...

Not Just Ordinary Vampires
As one of two teenage vampire movies released in 1987, (the other was the miserable "Near Dark")"The Lost Boys," is a hip, modern retelling of the vampire myth set in a Southern California setting. Brothers Michael (Patric) and Sam (Haim) are the newcomers to the small seaside town of Santa Clara, which is known as the murder capital of the world due to the mysterious disappearances of many town residents.

At the town's amusement park, Michael gets himself involved with a gang of vampires, who appear as normal street punks. Meanwhile Sam, meets the Frog Brothers, who run a comic book store at night, but are vampire hunters by day. After Michael himself becomes a vampire due to drinking the blood of a vampire, he is determined to find a way to save himself, the girl he loves, and his family from the impending danger that lurks them.

Directed by Joel Schumacher ("Batman Forever," "Batman & Robin," "Flatliners," etc.),...

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Girlfriends - The Fourth Season

My favorite season.
I am so exicted that the fourth season of Girlfriends will be released this summer! Tracee Ellis Ross is one hell of an actress, she's a hoot as Jill Clayton. Every episode is funny, heartwarming, and surprisely real. I agree with the reviewer above mine, this show was unfairly cancelled in the middle of the 8th season, I hope the network gives these talented ladies a proper ending to this funny show. I highly recommend purchasing this fabulous show, you'll love it!

I soooooo love this show :-0
I cannot wait for this release. I might hang the expense and get fast shipping for it. I think each and every season gets better and better.
The first episode in season 4 is one of my absolute favourites in the entire series. It's called Some Enchanted Evening and Joan is trying to get out of the rain and shares a doorway with a stranger. Later she finds out that he is her boyfriends agent, Brock. One thing leads to another and they kiss and end up at Brocks place. He won't sleep with her while she is still dating Ellis so she agrees to break up with Ellis. However, she has always wanted Ellis to declare his love for her and what do you know; he does. Toni and Todd are having trouble in their new marriage and she finds out that he is deep in debt and leaves him.
I cannot say enough good things about Girlfriends. It's always funny yet it has it's 'dramatic' moments too. It's very relatable to many women out there trying to find themselves and trying to meet Mr Right...

I Can't WAIT !!!!!
I've been a fan of Girlfriends since day one and was so disappointed when they canceled the show. Those were my girls. I have Seasons 1,2 and 3 from here and Seasons 7 and 8 from itunes. All i need are 4, 5 and 6 and my collection will be complete.

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Salvage [Blu-ray]

Solid and cerebral thriller
Kudos to Jeff and Josh Crook, who wrote and directed this taught little (80-minute) thriller and to the cast, especially Lauren Currie Lewis as the frequent victim and Chris Ferry as the killer.

The plot of "Salvage" is fairly simple, largely because the film can be described as Groundhog Day in hell. The film begins when Claire (Lewis), a clerk at a gas station, ends her shift at the station. Her boyfriend is supposed to pick her up to take her to her college classes, but a man named Duke (Ferry) shows up instead, claiming that Claire's boyfriend asked him to pick her up. She accepts the ride and is soon murdered. Almost immediately, she is back at the gas station, ending her shift once again. The gas station here plays essentially the same role "I Got You Babe" played in "Groundhog Day." In other words, the cycle is fairly simple: end shift at the gas station, get murdered, repeat.

While...

A Puxatany Nightmare
Imagine re-living the worst day of your life,
The day you were brutally murdered, over & over again.
Imagine the comedy "Groundhogs Day" was a horror movie.
A Puxatany Nightmare!
Well that's just what we have here.
A rock-bottom budget flick that had some genuinely creepy scenes,
tension as thick as my Uncle Rudy's skull,
as well as a liberal helping of gore.
It also features some great characters as well,
one of which my wife kept comparing to me, saying:
"that's soooo you....now do you know what you sound like??".
to which I responded:
"Yeah I know what I sound like, but he's the best character in the movie ...no?"
This movie also featured some great one-liners:
"It's all about how you feel,
It's all bout how you feel,................when I cut your head off"
The whole time I was watching it I kept thinking;
"Somebody!! Anybody!!, needs to give these guys more money to do an even better film."...

INTERESTING LOW BUDGET HORROR
I held off watching this movie because it had a "B" grade cover plus it didn't sound good reading it on the box. I was ready to write my typical bad review, but the movie never turned bad. The twist at the end made the movie a worth while view and to be honest, I didn't see it coming. There is only a slight amount of gore, and no nudity. There is an intense scene where Claire is being brutally beaten which made me feel a bit uneasy. It looks like they did the Penthouse trick of putting Vaseline along the edge of the camera lens to give the viewer that blurred artsy look, or in this case a surreal atmosphere. It is really low budget, but it worked in this film. A horror/slasher that makes you think.

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Doomsday (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Great after-the-crash flick
You've seen all the pieces before. The country has fallen into lawlessness, where warlords with bad haircuts rule their fiefdoms (as in Mad Max, to name just one of many). There are the government officials trying desperately to save his bu... I mean, career (My Fellow Americans). There's the insanely contagious and deadly virus (28 Days Later). And there's the way-cool babe with a gun and an attitude (Resident Evil) leading her small but brave band through it all. Oh, and a little comedic banter (any Bond film), but not enough to change the tone of the film. If you want novelty, or even plausibility, you probably ended up in the...

Leave your brain at the door and ENJOY
What a gloriously stupidly great film. Yes it stitches up bits from Escape From New York, The Mad Max trilogy, a number of Zombie flicks and throws in a bit of medieval nonsense, but it's entertaining, silly, bloody, ridiculous FUN. It's one of those movies that if you `'get it'' and are willing to forgive it a multitude of sins, not least some woeful acting from Bob Hoskins and Darren Morfitt you'll have a whole lot of old fashioned exploitation fun.

I mean in what other movie do you have a gleaming black Bently Coupe being chased by a rag tag band of evil punks in the cars from The Road Warrior all set to Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Two Tribes. Great.

Americans have not taken to Doomsday for some reason, maybe the audiences where expecting something serious and in the vein of Marshall's last film, The Descent, but Europeans who appreciate that Neil Marshall's tongue is firmly planted in his cheek are lapping it up. Enjoy

Is this what happens when you give Neil Marshall a big budget....
Yes, this writer/director has been responsible for two of the best low budget horror movies of recent years. In Dog Soldiers, he melded the combat film with the werewolf movie and came out with something startlingly good. In The Descent, he crafted what was quite simply one of the scariest films of all time. So what then are we to make of Doomsday? This futuristic shocker features an amalgam of scenes lifted wholesale from other (frankly better) films -to be specific, 28 Days Later, Aliens, Escape From New York, Army of Darkness and Mad Max 2;The Road Warrior. They're all here and all of them are instantly recognizable, so much so that you cannot pass it off as coincidence. Some viewers will utter the word 'homage,' but the less charitable among us will prefer to say 'rip-off.'

As you watch Doomsday unfold, you can't stop asking yourself what Marshall hoped to accomplish here. The film must have had a decent budget and it looks great. Furthermore, he has an undeniable flair...

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Corduroy...and More Stories About Caring

not storybook illustration version?
I'm surprised no one mentioned that the Corduroy story is the only one that is not a cartoon. I thought it was very well cast and well presented with real actors in a real department store, but would have preferred the story cartoon version. The story was also changed a bit, thought the plot stayed the same. Otherwise all the other stories are excellent. As a teacher, I love that these storybooks were made into videos!

Grandchildren's favorite
My grandchildren love Corduroy on an old video. They like it better than to read the story, it is so alive for them. It is truly a favorite of theirs along with Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel. We appreciate the scholastic dvd's to watch together after we have read the books over and over.

70's story depictions - charming
Most of these videos are just old 70's book follow-a-longs. If you were around back then you know the kind of slide-style presentations and very simple animation styles we had back then. Very nostalgic. The kids of today may not like it, but I did not purchase this for kids. I wanted a copy of the "Happy Owls" story that is in this DVD, which is a charming story about appreciating life for all the beauty it offers rather than squabbling over the petty daily activities.

It's simple, and dirt cheap. I got far more than I paid for as far as I am concerned, however I have realistic expectations about 70's video because I was around at the time. If you have never seen the animations of the 70's, you may want to research before buying.

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Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School

Not enough episodes...
I got this for my teenage sister. Wizards of Waverly Place is her favorite show and Selena Gomez is her idol. The thing I don't like is that you only get four episodes. It'd be better if Disney released full seasons of their shows rather than banking on $15 for just four episodes. They finally released Hannah Montana full seasons after releasing many 4 episode discs over the past couple years.

A better way to own Wizards of Waverly Place....
I find Wizards deeply entertaining. The whole cast clicks very well and Selena Gomez is just awesome. However, you can get the full seasons of 1 and 2 through iTunes. You can get for $41.79 for season 1 and season 2 each. Then you can watch it on your computer, your iPod Classic, your iPod Touch, your iPhone, or connect your iPod up to your tv and watch it there. However, this product is a great alternative for those who don't have and iPod or iTunes.

Damon Medic's review.
Wizards of Waverly Place is a wonderfully entertaining show on the Disney Channel. Selena Gomez and her brother played by David Henrie share a love/hate relationship, and they do it so well! Selena Gomez is both a great actress and singer, who is going to go far in her acting career. She delivers her lines with believable authority. She is so cute! This is something well worth purchasing, albeit it is only four episodes.
-Damon Medic

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Tai Chi Master

to me, an excellent movie, note the dubbing
To me, this is one of the best Jet Li movies. Or, may as well call it one of the best movies. It has a lot of humor and wisdom in it. However, as someone jokes that dubbing is the eighth sin, the dubbing in this movie, possibly to match the lip movement, has the script modified. The humor was lost, as well as the wisdom. I compared an Asian release with the US release: the script as well as the English subtitle are modified in the US release. I highly recommend this movie to you, except that it may be best to find the Asian release. I also checked that my Asian release has the English subtitle which is very close to what the actors and actresses say in Chinese. Also one thing about the US release is that the song is taken out from the movie. We usually accept a French song or Italian song in a foreign movie. How come we don't accept a Chinese song in a Chinese movie? The original Chinese song is very suited to the events of the movie. My advice remains: the Asian release of this movie...

5 Stars for Tai Chi Master; 4 for Twin Warriors
If at all possible, get the original Chinese/subtitled version of this film under the name, Tai Chi Master. The U.S. edit version, Twin Warriors, cuts out some short but apt scenes that lend extra continuity and humor to an already fine story. The dubbed dialogue also dulls the storyline, foregoes some subtle humor and stunts some of the character development. O.K., so the English subtitles often lay waste proper (English) grammar, spelling and word useage, but that's part of the charm of this type of movie. (Why don't Chinese producers hire proficient, English-as-a-first-language editors to do a final review of the subtitles? I would be willing to do it part-time, for a modest stipend and free copies of the DVDs. :)

This film plays the classic elements of revenge, loyalty, betrayal, and the clearly emerging delineation, and struggle, between Good and Evil, quite well. Admittedly, some of the wire-work is fantastic, but it adds to, not detracts from, the epic scale of...

I am sick of this!!
This movie is good. The fights and unrealistic and stylish, and the story is good. But there is no excuse for what happened to this movie. We live in America. We are one of the most diverse nations in the world. The localizers of this movie seem to think that Americans don't know anything about, and don't care about, Chinese language and culture. As a result all the original language and music has been cut, and there is only a spoken English version. This is inexcusable, especially for a DVD release. I have no problem with a dub, but on a DVD you MUST include both. It is a good movie, but on principle I will not give it a passing grade on this element alone. I bought a DVD player so I would not have any problems getting the subtitled version of a movie, and then they pull this crap! Please do not support dub only releases. Please go to ... the auctions amazon and find a DVD of Tai Chi Master. This is the Chinese version of this film. It will have English subtitles. The...

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The Hills: The Complete Third Season

Guilty pleasure ;-P
I don't know why I can't stop watching The Hills, but it's strangely addictive. I feel like I just have to know what's going on with them all and the 'drama' and typical fights between friends makes my life seem normal.
I love how this is the biggest season so far. There's at least double the episodes in this season than in season 1 (I know reality shows did really well when the writers strike was on). In the first episode, we see that there is still tension and drama between Lauren and Heidi. Now they are complete enemies. Audrina becomes Laurens roommate. Later down the track we see Heidi and Spencer get closer to their wedding, boyfriends come and go, the introduction of Spencers sister Stephanie, Lauren and Whitney going to Paris, lots of nightclubbing, new roommates and on and on.
While The Hills may not be everyones cup of tea, it's better than any soap on TV. It kind of hypnotises you and hooks you in. I really enjoy watching it and recommend it to all reality...

The Hills is a Win!
The third season of the mtv reality drama the hills is here and it is the best one yet!!!! The shows third season is the most dramatic, fun, and oh so full of drama and gossip. Mtv's The Hills is the most addicting show out there right now in a rich club land world of 2o something girls whose every move is followed by the mtv crew. Its a dazzling and gorseously shot LA world in which nothing ever really happens, but yet you cannot look away. This season finds Lauren having to prover herself to her Teen Vogue boss and preparing for other work opprotunities. Her friend Whitney deals with her first real job and the aftermath of wanting something more than what she has. Audrina relationship with the ever grungy and sleazy Justin Bobby slowly unravels, while her deep bond with Lauren is sorely tested when a new friend moves in. The most talked about feud in recent history is also here between former best friends Lauren and Heidi. How can you not love the Hills? This season is 28...

the hills best reailty show
THE hills is the best reailty tv series icant wait till it comes out! and the season finale was great lots of drama but wont spill since some people havent watched it so let me just say this, every1 should buy the hills any1 who likes reailty. 5 stars the hills team heidi and lauren u girls rock! and the whole cast does.

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The Bad Pack

Ralph Moeller brings action to an average movie
The Bad Pack is not bad. On the other hand, it is nothing special. Roddy Piper and Ralph Moeller are the most entertaining actors in this movie.
Robert Davi is convincing in his leading role as a tough yet mysterious hero.
Unfortunately, my man Ralph Moeller is not used the way way he should have been. With his height and muscular build, he should have been the lead character. The director placed Robert Davi in the lead. I will admit, Robert Davi is a good actor.

My concern is that Ralph Moeller is not able to show his acting or athletic skills on film because of poor scripts that he is given. Moeller and Piper are very charasmatic and athletic yet they both played minimal, submissive, and under-developed roles which I found dissapointing in this film. Piper and Moeller were not shown enough and neither had good character development or involvement in the main plot of this movie.

Despite this issue, the film is worth watching for Ralph Moeller's fight...





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Voltron Beast King Golion Vol 2

Did you see vol. 1? It's more of the same.
What's on the discs?
Episodes 19-36. Subtitled only. Three trailers on the last disk. No special features.

If you've seen volume 1, then you know what it's about. Five space travelers from Earth escape the clutches of the Galra empire. They land on the planet Altea, and fight the Galra empire with five robot lions that combine to form GoLion!

In the middle of this volume, Prince Sincle and the witch Horneva stop making giant beasts and start making 1960s looking giant robots. The first robot actually injures GoLion. But then GoLion learns a new move and everything goes back to the way it was. Sometimes The Simpsons seem less episodic than this.

This volume also has the episode where the princess loses her top in the lake :) Don't fret. They don't show any girl parts, so the kids can still watch it... as long as the kids don't mind frogs with fangs biting men's throats, images of children engulfed in flames, and a spa with a running stream of...

Not your daddy's Voltron....(Part II)
World Events Productions, Ltd., along with Anime Works and Media Blasters, presents Collection 2 of Hundred Beast King Golion. The Golion team serves up more action and adventures with episodes 19-36. This has proven to be the most lackluster bunch of episodes of the entire series.

The only few highlight episodes were:

-Goodbye, Earth
-The Prince Imperial's Dark Love
-Phantom Space Flowers

A lot of plot holes are explained a lot better in Golion, especially when it comes to the strong, emotional tension between Prince Sincline of the Galra Empire and Princess Fala of Altea. I don't want to spill the beans to anyone reading this review.

When it came to the story, World Events story editor Marc Handler explained it better when he said:
"We tried to stick with 90% of the story if we can."

....meaning, if the story was too graphic to explain, it was explained to lessen the impact of any unfortunate event (i.e...

The second volume of Beast King GoLion episodes
Beast King GoLion Volume 2 is a three-disc set that contains eighteen episodes of the series; this series is the original source material for what ended up becoming Lion Force Voltron in the United States. All of the episodes only have Japanese audio, and you choose whether or not to have subtitles. All three discs of the set include six episodes. Unfortunately, the audio level on the discs so soft that you have to turn up the volume quite a bit in order to hear the audio.

Just like with Volume 1, I could see where changes had been made between Beast King GoLion and Voltron. For example, shots of blood and people obviously being maimed or killed appeared in these versions of the episodes. Some of the most major changes occurred in the episode, "The Prince Imperial's Dark Love" ("The Sleeping Princess" in the American version). In GoLion, Prince Sincline is dreaming of his mother being attacked by Emperor Daibazaal, and seeing Princess Fala's face appearing over his...

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How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer

Powerful insights overcome occasionally tedious pacing
***1/2

The Garcia girls consist of women from three successive generations: Dona Genoveva (Lucy Gallardo), the septuagenarian matriarch of the clan; Lolita (Elizabeth Pena), her stressed-out single-mother daughter; and Blanca (America Ferrera), her just-beginning-to-learn-about-life teenaged granddaughter. As the middle person in the hierarchy, Lolita has her hands full dealing with not only her own issues of a middle-aged divorcee struggling to make something of her own life, but those of an aging mother who's suddenly decided she wants to learn how to drive and to become romantically involved with the family gardener, and of a daughter who`s just beginning to learn about boys and the strange impulses and yearnings that are suddenly pouring forth from her rapidly changing body.

At its core, "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer" shows how the problems of sex, love and relationships cut across all generational lines. Genoveva, for instance, is every bit as...

Time and Love
How The Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (2005) Elizabeth Peña, America Ferrera
Rated R.
Another basically unknown movie.
This Indy film by a new woman director, is a slice of life taking place in a parched and dust bound piss-ant of a border town in Arizona.
This town can be best described as a derelict vehicle set on blocks in the desert and waiting to rust away as the years roll on by, without anyone ever noticing.
No where to go.
Nothin' to do.
A dirt road to nowhere in particular so why is there even a road?
Towns like this offer a corner video store as it's only breath of life to all its residents. That and the local laundromat hangout.
Three generations of Hispanic women: mom, daughter and grandma, begin to collide when old and new cultures cross swords as they all decide to break out of their monotony.
Their trials lead them to many experiences and revelations.
The characters and their lives are oddly...

Good Ideas Don't Always Make Great Entertainment
Three generations of Hispanic women (Grandmother, mother and daughter) struggle through their relationships with men and sexual encounters in a small town. The grandmother, having lost her husband a long time ago craves the attention of her gardener who helps her learn to drive. The mother, divorced, struggles with her feelings toward men and how intimate and involved she dares to get (and with whom). The daughter is just starting out with her sexual feelings and has her first sexual union. The ideas presented here seem to transcend race or culture and could apply fully to any women; not just Hispanic women. The movie is bold and explores territory that makes one think about how men and women relate to each other sexually in a way that not many movies do. Sex is so casual in many movies; here it is taken seriously and not lightly. I would say it was thoughtful and thought-provoking movie. A couple of the scenes seemed unnecessarily long and a little uncomfortable to watch (the...

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Dark City (Director's Cut)

Blu review only...
I noticed the 440+ reviews here are for the film - not the Blu so I at least wanted to answer some common questions about this cut.

The director's cut is 111 minutes with the already mentioned changes listed here and everywhere - including the removal of the beginning narration, more character development scenes, etc. The transfer looks phenomenal (compared to how I saw it prior - even upscaled). I played the title on both a Panasonic plasma and a Bravia via a 80 GB PS3 and Sony BDP301. I paused the film in over 34 spots of action, dark contrasts, bright colorings and various hue changes. Virtually every frame looked excellent, especially the scenes with Jennifer Connelly singing; the majority of the colorings were in her scenes until those last beach sequences.

The special features are the same between the DVD and Blu with the exception of one of the commentaries. The 7.1 DTS HD sound was enjoyable, even though two of the channels were primarily used in the...

Science Fiction Noir
'Dark City' is pure science fiction noir and a visual feast: a gloomy metropolis encrusted with bristling Gothic ornament, redesigned and reinvented in impressive FX sequences night after night. Making up original stories in the noirish setting is one difficult task, as you can tell by watching the movie. It is complicated and mysteriously complex, all to the point where, if you take your eyes of the film for one second, you can get lost. Every moment of your attention must be paid to the movie as it unfolds, otherwise you may perhaps not appreciate the quality and effort that movie brings on. Films like "Dark City" are the pinnacles of imagination and visual style--you look at them and wonder, how any human being could possibly create such breathtaking scenarios and stories. The movie is not for one second dull and dreary, and never for one moment a let down.

The premise of the movie, outlined by Kiefer Sutherland's "mad doctor" character as we...

Excellent Dark Sci-Fi Question-Reality Film
The trailers for Dark City suggested a film so complex and impeneterable to leave the viewer rather confused at its conclusion, yet in execution the film makes far more sense than the intriguing montage in the trailer.

Set in a dark world--literally dark, as no one seems to remember being out during the day--the film focuses on John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), a man who awakens amnesiac to find a murdered woman nearby. Soon thereafter pursued by the police (led by William Hurt), he must solve the mystery of his missing memories and eerie pursuers.

Helped along the way by a woman claiming to be his wife (Jennifer Connelley) and a pendactic psychiatrist (Kiefer Sutherland), Murdoch learns that his pursuers are a race of aliens with the power to warp reality with their minds who continually change the city and the memories and even lives of the people inhabiting it in an experiment designed to save their lives. Murdoch has developed their same power to "tune" and save...

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Foyle's War: Set Five

All Good Things Must Come to an End
"Foyle's War, Set 5" is now being released to coincide with its Public Broadcasting Service television debut. It is the last of a British historical drama/police procedural series, created and largely authored by Anthony Horowitz (Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Definitive Collection; Midsomer Murders Set 12, for which he deserves our unstinting praise and thanks. It's been just superb, as each episode has combined a mystery, most of them reasonably strong; and solid history, insights into the little-known problems and domestic scandals of the British homeland during the years of World War II. This set of three all new feature-length episodes brings the story to 1945, as the war finally winds down, and Foyle and his team do their best to prepare for uncertain futures. And, thank goodness, the set has been closed captioned.

Michael...

As the war winds down, the mysteries continue
British television has certainly never been at a loss for quality entertainment. With a little care and sensitivity, the average American television viewer can assemble a superb DVD collection by concentrating on some of the splendid British programs exported to America over the years. Shows like Pride and Prejudice, Upstairs Downstairs, Brideshead Revisited and Civilization are just some of exemplary British programs that transcend the notion of mere entertainment. Occasionally, however, there are lesser-known television shows, as splendid as any of the more famous ones, that merit inclusion on that more exalted list but are excluded simply because they haven't had the proper exposure or because they are nominally considered representative of a genre, such as a mystery program. Foyle's War is illustrative of the latter reason for being excluded from the list of the finest British television.

Foyle's War is set in the English coastal town of Hastings, with its historical...

Michael Kitchen - Awesome
There aren't enough words in the English language to describe the excellence of this series. I haven't seen this set yet, can't wait to, but if it's half as good as the other Foyles War, it'll be over the top. Michael Kitchen is fascinating to watch, the stories are interesting and intertwining, and the other characters add dimension.

While it's set during WWII, the stories are personal ones and frequently have little to do with the war itself. If you haven't seen Foyles War yet, do yourself a favor and get started. It's nice to have seen all the episodes from the beginning, but it's not necessary, so don't feel you've missed too much to start it now.

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Some Kind of Wonderful

The movie with the ending Pretty In Pink should have had!
This 80's John Hughes gem wasn't as popular as some of his other movies (Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty In Pink), which is a shame because it's every bit as good as those flicks, if not better. The plot of Pretty In Pink is sort of rehashed here: a teen from the poor side of town (Eric Stoltz subbing for Molly Ringwald), has got eyes for a popular teen (Lea Thompson subbing for Andrew McCarthy), and has a free-thinkin', seemingly gay best friend of the opposite gender (Mary Stuart Masterson subbing for Jon Cryer) that winds up being the person they should end up with. There's even the token jerk that causes problems for everyone (Craig Sheffer subbing for James Spader.)

The original ending of Pretty In Pink was changed after test audiences said they would rather Molly Ringwald's character end up with Andrew McCarthy's, instead of Jon Cryer's. (Wrong! At least in my opinion.) They got it right in "Some Kind Of Wonderful." What a great 80's...

Break His Heart and I'll Break Your Face ... Memorable Line!
This was the most memorable line in the whole movie... when the tom girl in love with her best guy friend tells the popular girl to watch out! Hmmm... this should have been a signal that she was a keeper. The 80's was really captured in this movie and it signals the genres theme of teenage turmoil in a greedy decade. I'm glad the best friends ended up together. Sometimes it's true that our feelings run deep and we have no idea until a rival comes along.

Wonderful 80's Film
1987's Some Kind Of Wonderful is a gender-revised version of 1986's Pretty In Pink. Eric Stoltz takes the place of Molly Ringwald and Lea Thompson & Mary Stuart Masterson do the same for Andrew McCarthy & Jon Cryer. Mr. Stoltz plays Keith a loner, artistic type who works at a garage and whose best friend is a tom girl, drummer Watts played by Ms. Masterson. Keith pines after Amanda Jones (Ms. Thompson), one of the most popular girls in school. Amanda dates the spoiled rich boy Hardy Jenns (Craig Sheffer) and after they fight, Keith swoops in and asks Amanda for a date, to which she agrees. Keith finds out that the whole date is just a setup to get him to Jenns' house so he can beat him up, he still continues with the date. He sets an elaborate evening, dinner at a fancy restaurant, art museum after hours and a set of diamond earrings. It turns out that Amanda isn't some spoiled rich girl, but a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who sold herself out for popularity...

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Wild China

Breathtaking scenes and new revelations about China's environmental efforts
This is one of the best documentaries about China today. It shows the diverse topography, flora, and fauna of the most geographically and ethnically diverse countries in the world. It also focuses on the little known and long-standing efforts by China to preserve it's environment, delicate ecological systems and unique animal life. The photography is breathtaking and the extra effort to show rarely seen areas of China are amazing. I have traveled all over China and this documentary shows the land as it truly is. For people who would like a glimpse into this remarkable land and it's people, this documentary is an excellent choice.

Good Narration
I have to agree with the previous reviewer that said: "It also focuses on the little known and long-standing efforts by China to preserve it's environment, delicate ecological systems and unique animal life." There's an example, in almost every episode, of conservation by the Chinese people, and this is not new. One of my favorites is the scene of Chinese people riding some distances on their bicycles with their birdcages strapped behind them, so they could hang all the little cages on trees so the birds could all talk to each other and not be lonely. Just recently, in the big earthquake (not this morning's, the one before) one of China's famous Giant Pandas 'Mau Mau' died when a wall collapsed on her. The keepers cried at her grave and she had a real funeral. While there is nothing quite so dramatic in this series, it is nice to see this side of the Chinese people at least alluded to.

Not mentioned in the last few reviews is the wonderful narration provided by Bernard Hill...

Wild China - Only to see is to believe.
This is truly an incredible documentary. I knew that there were both marvelous animals and picturesque natural beauty in China, but never like this. Each episode [8 in total, viewing time of 377 minutes]makes you gape in awe at both the vastly diverse environments, animals and human tribes that make China their home.

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10 Minute Solution: Dance off Fat Fast

Another good 10 Minute Solution workout :-0
As you know, each of the 10 Minute Solution workouts, are 5 segments that are each 10 minutes and are able to be played in any order (I actually like this feature to mix things up a bit and make it a little more interesting). This is all aerobic and Leah is a friendly instructor and she makes this easy to follow.
All of the moves are taught at half tempo and get faster as you learn them and add on moves. There really isn't anything drastically new here; it's a lot of grapevines and hip rolls, disco and swing moves. My two favourite segments are the Simple Slim Down and the Dance Sculpt.
While I find this workout good (because you can do as little as 10 minutes or as much as 50 minutes), this workout is really designed for a beginner exerciser or intermediate at most. If you are already fit and want a challenge, you won't find it here. The reason I bought this is for a change of pace and to do light workouts on days where I can't be bothered doing much. I wouldn't...

I love this workout!!!
I love this workout!! I found the steps really easy to follow unlike many other dance videos I have gotten. My heart rate was steady and I broke a nice sweat. The best part is that I had fun. The bonus is my little girl likes to do it with me. So we get fit together. I appreciate being able to do this video in the privacy of my home because I am not a dancer. I can let loose and I find myself smiling-- and at times laughing (at the thought of what I might look like doing this in front of others!!!)... This is a definite keeper! Plus the instructor is great (not annoying at all which is a plus to me) and has a body that keeps me motivated!!!

Fun workout with style!
Let me first say that this is the first dance dvd I have done and I have two left feet. That being said, I had a blast with this dvd! I found the moves to be easy to catch on to and I loved the different themes, my favorite being the swing cardio. I liked the instructor, too. This is a fun workout that didn't wear me out. I really like this one and will be implementing it a lot.

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Wire in the Blood: Prayer of the Bone

what a great introduction
As a Wire in the Blood fan for eons, I can tell you first hand that if you are not already hooked on the series, "Prayer of the Bone" is a super way to introduce yourself. But beware... watch this one-off and you'll likely be buying full seasons going forward.

Orianos52
I own the complete set of Wire in the Blood and it is one of the best psychological crime dramas I've ever watched. Robson Green is magnificent as Tony Hill the Criminal Psychologist who profiles criminals and murders. I'm also a big fan of Criminal Minds, but Wire in the Blood is more explicit and raw at times and it keeps you rivited to your seat. For people who are into crime series and especially the psychological aspect of the criminal mind you don't get any better than Tony Hill.

"Wire in the Blood ... Prayer of the Bone (2008) ... Koch Vision"
Koch Vision presents "WIRE IN THE BLOOD: PRAYER OF THE BONE" (7 January 2008) (90 mins/Color) (Dolby Digital) --- Only the first two episodes of the first series, "Mermaids Singing" and "Shadows Rising", are based on McDermid's books, the rest having been written by others. However, the second episode of series four, "Torment", is an adaptation of McDermid's novel "The Torment of Others" --- The series has appeared in America on the cable channel BBC America, in Australia on the public channel ABC, in France on NT1, in Germany on ZDF, in Brazil on HBO and in South-East Asia on the cable channel the Hallmark Channel

Wire In The Blood is an ITV television series, based on characters created by Val McDermid, which teams a university clinical psychologist, Dr. Anthony "Tony" Valentine Hill (Robson Green), with a tough female Detective Inspector, originally Carol Jordan (Hermione Norris) but replaced by Detective Inspector Alex Fielding (Simone Lahbib) from series four onwards...

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Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Vol. 2

Great series
It's a great series and I would recommend it to everyone. Great plot,great story and great characters. I would give it a 9 out of 10





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The Price Of A Broken Heart

Excellent movie!!
Totally excellent movie! The actors were right on and the story line can't get any better! Husband cheats on wife with low class husband stealing mistress. Wife knows it was also the mistresses fault in destroying her marrage and sets out to show the world that mistresses/homewreakers should be held accountable for their action too!!!! LOVED IT!!

The Alienation Of Affection Law Versus Homewreckers
This movie was about a law called "Alienation Of Affection" which shows how to get even with mistresses and philanderers who deliberately break up other peoples marriages. In this case, it was about a secretary named [Lynne Cox], and an insurance salesman named [Joe Hutelmyer], who ended up having an alleged affair for three years. At the insurance company where they worked, all their co-workers found out, and Joe's wife, Dot found out through info of a [P.I.] (suggested by a friend of Dot's), and also from the co-workers. So, as a result, [Joe and Lynne] were thrown out of the company. Dot then sued Joe for divorce. She still wanted to get even with Lynne, so she heard about a law called "Alienation Of Affection", and sued Lynne for that, and prevailed. She became an instant celebrity receiving phone calls for interveiws on talk and news shows. Eventually in the end, she and Joe agreed to share custody of their two boys, and she also worked with her lawyer on helping other people...

Alienation of affection lawsuits should be a law in all 52 states
I purchased this movie and glad I did. It was in great shape.
I learned something from it too.
My husband of 29 years had been sleeping with his female law partner from the last 12 years of our marriage. He was living two lives.
I would love to have held her accountable for her actions too. She has no moral or honor, same as my worthless husband, but she did have lots of money. Now both of them have lots of money to spend on a ticket to hell.
It was a good purchase from Amazon, thank you.

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Hotel Babylon: Season 2

We Get Upgraded To A Different Room --> Are We Satisfied?
HOTEL BABYLON: SEASON TWO is an interesting 8 episodes to tackle. Rather than continue existing storylines --- which there weren't many to begin with --- "Series Two", as they call it in UK, ups the ante in almost every way. If you were unsure about whether HOTEL BABYLON was a comedy or a drama, you'll find out very quickly.

To me, the 1st Season was a fairly realistic portrayal of the insanity of luxury hotel work. Believe me, I work in a hotel, and there is no glamour in it whatsoever. But in true TV fashion, HOTEL BABYLON just exaggerated the details a bit, so that we could enjoy ourselves. Well, actually the show's VERY exaggerated, but there's a degree of truth and conviction underneath the silliness. The Second Season pretty much drops most of the dramatic arcs, and sort of becomes a parody of itself. If you can imagine this, think it like a British live-action SIMPSONS --- nothing is off limits, the comedy is both broad & subtle, and the attention to detail is...

love it
love it, happy with the show, disappointed it end early, this show is one of a kind and America should not do a remake

great characters
Great series. Has good characters well portrade by good actors. Hope there will be more seasons made would definately buy them.

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Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Part 1 (Limited Edition)

Special Edition Review
This is one of the better Anime's to come out in the states and get air time on TV. The show appears on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim due to it's graphic violence. I am sure though that if you are looking at getting this set you probably are already watching it. This is probably the best buy for getting the episodes. This set includes volumes 1 and 2 or episodes 1-9. The set also includes volume one of the Manga, OST 1, and what is best described as a radio show containing the characters on a cd. It also includes 3 booklets over the shows main characters with interviews from the creators. The case itself is sturdy with artwork on all sides and on the interior. If you live in a major city I would suggest picking this up from Best Buy as it is a little bit cheaper, not much though. If you are going to have it shipped than amazon would be the best bet.

EXCELLENT!
Excellent! "CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion" is just excellent!

It's been awhile since I watched an anime series and just enjoyed it from animation, art, mecha designs, music, character designs, storyline, etc. I may be a late bloomer when it comes to the fandom of "CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion" but now I can see how this series has captured the attention of fans worldwide.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"CODE OF GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion" is featured 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. The animation and video quality is colorful and digitally modern since it is a newer anime television release. What I love about the video quality is the sheer amount of people involved. Everyone with detail, buildings, mecha and the destruction has detail. The character designs based from CLAMP's character design concepts are just fresh and cool to look at. One of the coolest looking character designs in an anime mecha series without being a full-on mecha series...

Great Anime! Excellent box and extras! Faulty DVDs!
This is a wonderful and amazing anime. Lots of excitement and drama and characters that live in all kinds of shades of grey. I truly enjoy this anime. The box set is excellently done with a very pretty box and loads of wonderful extras. I especially appreciated the manga.

So why the 3 star review? well this first pressing of discs appears to be defective. Bandai is experimenting with new copy protection and it causes serious problems for many DVD players. In particular seizures at episode 3 in disc 1 and episode 9 in disc2. That is provided that it works at all. People using blu-ray and in particular PS3 players appear to have much better success rates though.

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Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Volume 1

The revolution begins
Imagine a world where the Romans never conquered Britain, and Britain's natives created a vast world-spanning empire of their own. Their latest subjugation: Japan, now called Sector 11.

It's an interesting albeit unlikely idea for alternate-world scifi, and it serves as the basis for "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion." And the first few episodes of this intricate anime series take us right into the action, with only a prologue of the Britannian Empire's history as a buildup. And it doesn't take long for the capable anti-hero to get stuff moving.

Schoolboy Lelouch Lamperouge tries to help out when a convoy crashes near his motorcycle -- but then HE gets hijacked instead. As the callous Britannian military and the lethal Knightmares (hello, big mecha!) close in, Lelouch learns that he has inadvertently fallen in with a faction of Japanese freedom fighters. And he also finds that the convoy's cargo is not poison gas as the rebels thought -- but a strange...





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The Counterfeiters

Survival of the Shrewdest
Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters) deserves its Oscar as the Best Foreign Film of 2007. Based on a true story and singed with horrifying details of the Nazi treatment of 'detainees' (primarily Jews) during WW II, the inner story of this film is one of resilience and survival against near impossible odds and how one man turned his criminal gifts into a system so impressive that he served as a 'provider' of funds to the financially depleted Third Reich war effort. The story is in itself fascinating enough to hold our interest for the duration of the film, but it is the incredibly ingenious and wily character of Salomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch that burns a space in our minds of how one man survived the concentration camps and in his own way helped fellow Jews to likewise survive the Holocaust.

Salomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) is a brilliant counterfeiter, a Russian Jew so gifted in his ability to forge documents such as passports that he is able to live the 'good...

Pound for Pound
The New Germany and Austria by extension have been in the process, these past several years, of divesting themselves of National Guilt in regards to the atrocities of World War 2: "Sophie Scholl," "Downfall" and also the superb "Lives of Others" (though set in post WWII East Berlin, it reeks of submission and totalitarianism) speak to the redemptive qualities of confession and penance.
And now we have "The Counterfeiters," the story of Solomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics), a Russian-born Jew who spends his life forging documents thereby attaining the reputation of a master counterfeiter. Ultimately he is arrested and sent to a Camp at which he is given the assignment of forging the British Pound note for The Third Reich. This is 1945 and the disastrous German War effort is in dire need of cash to carry on its war effort.
"Counterfeiters" is all about survival and to what means we, as human beings will do to comply in order to live: anything pretty much sums it up and anything...

The World's Largest Counterfeiting Scheme: Compelling WWII Thriller and Drama
Oscar-winning (Best Foreign Language Film) "The Counterfeiters" is inspired by true events during World War II. Some of the main characters of the Austrian/German film are based on real persons and one of them Adolf Burger, a Slovak typographer, wrote a memoir "The Devil's Workshop" which became the basis of the film. Burger's book is about "Operation Bernhard," Nazi's secret plans of forging English and American currency. Against the background of one of the largest counterfeiting schemes in history, Director Stefan Ruzowitzky (best known for his medical suspense "Anatomy" starring Franka Potente) has successfully created a tense thriller with powerful moments.

The film centers on Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics), forger of documents. After being arrested in pre-war Berlin, a Russian Jew Solomon Sorowitsch is sent to a concentration camp. We discover though Salomon is not a heroic figure, he is clever. He learns to survive the horrible conditions of life there by...

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Camp Rock (Extended Rock Star Edition)

Camp Rock Is Pure Disney Magic
After the huge Success of the High School Musical series, it appeared that musicals were "hip" again with the tween audience. With that idea in mind, Disney launched a new musical movie series in the summer of 2008 called "Camp Rock", starring Demi Lovato, The Jonas Brothers, Alyson Stoner, and Meaghan Jette Martin.

Did Camp Rock work? Absolutely! Although a bit more mean spirited and adult themed than the High School Musical series, Disney still pulled off a charming movie that while entertains, it also teaches valuables lessons to its target audience. The Disney Company has found another success with a new cast of actors and actresses. Demi Lovato is a great asset to Disney's already amazing cast of tween stars, and supporting cast members. Alyson Stoner and Meaghan Jette Martin held their own which proves they could carry any upcoming Disney Channel movies on their own.

The Camp Rock extended edition DVD contains the full screen version (1.33:1) of the film...

Good movie for the kids
My children and I were lucky enough to see this movie a little early due to the fact that it was on Disney On Demand. Good entertaining movie for the family. I gave it 4 stars, because I thought it was a little short and could have used a little more substance to the story. It seemed to have just raced through to the end. I don't want to ruin the story for everyone, but the music was good and there were some cute parts. Flour in the face, slipping on the floor and the poor brother with his birdhouse obsession. I was disappointed that the other Jonas brothers weren't part of the main story, but rather made cameo appearances. Mitchie and Shane were really cute together and I am glad she put him in his place, because he started out as a real jerk. I loved their duet together at the end where they put their two different songs together and made it flow as one. The end was surpising to my children because the person who won the contest was not who they thought it would be. All in...

Usual Disney song and dance
This is a Disney Channel Original Movie, so don't go into it expecting anything too much in the way of a plot. The sitcom-type story is supported (and padded) by a full soundtrack of tween pop music and dancing, and touches on many of the issues facing the target age group, namely fitting in, peer pressure, un-cool and too-cool parents, jealousy, and last but not least, loving the Jonas Brothers.

Tween idol Joe Jonas plays the leading man, a young pop star who's been behaving badly, and gets sentenced to teaching dance classes at an upscale summer camp for musicians. The other Jonas brothers also play supporting roles, and perform a couple of songs at the camp.

Demi Lovato plays the female lead, a promising singer/songwriter whose mother takes a catering job at the camp so that she can afford the fees. There's also the rich girl, played by Meaghan Jette Martin, and her obligatory two henchgirls; the usual outcast who befriends the new girl (well played by...

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GaoGaiGar King of Braves Premium Box 2

Fun to watch
I have been a big fan of Japanese animation for a long time, but this was always one fo my favorites. I'm glad I got a chance to get the series before it was gone. I have missed a few in the past thinking "ill wait for it to go down in price" Bad idea, my advice, if you like it, buy it before it gets away.
The voice acting is good in this series, the only thing I wish they did was subtitle the names of locations when they are splashed on the screen, other than that it was great.
And one last thing

FINAL FUSION Complete!!!

GaoGaiGar box set 2
If you're a mecha fan, or know one who's into Japanese anime, GaoGaiGar box sets volume 1 & 2 are a great series to watch.

Just as a note: many sites are wrong about box set two being dubbed. Media Blasters did dub the first box set, but they did not do the second due to cost concerns and lower than expected sales for the GaoGaiGar series (which, in my opinion they did very little advertising for compared to the media blitz for Voltron).

So if you love it subtitled both sets are perfect! If you prefer a good dub (which MB did on the first set-it's one of the best dubs ever) box one will tickle you, but box two isn't dubbed so take that into consideration.

Awesome
No English unfortunately, but still just as awesome. The yellow is very bright and certainly draws attention to it sitting on the shelf.

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The Buccaneers

Let's Go A Rovin' And Join The Buccaneers!
The mid to late 1950s and early 1960s saw numerous costume adventure series produced in England and exported to the United States, series like "The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel," "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot," "Ivanhoe," "William Tell" and "Sir Francis Drake." In the wake of the successful series "The Adventures of Robin Hood," the same production company, Sapphire Films, made "The Buccaneers" for the 1956-57 season on CBS. "The Buccaneers" focuses on the exploits of reformed pirate Dan Tempest and his crew as they aid Lt. Beamish, the acting governor of New Providence, a small British colony in the Caribbean. Robert Shaw, perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of "Quint," the doomed shark hunter in "Jaws," portrays Captain Tempest. Like "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "The Buccaneers" was produced for a juvenile audience but thanks to some good writing and acting, adults can enjoy this fun adventure series. Look for guest stars like...

Thigh High Leather Boots!
Nearly 50 years before Jack Sparrow there was The Buccaneers.

I loved this series when I was 10. Allowing for the technology of the time, it's still a fun show, with good dialogue and good acting. Camera work is generally tight and the sets don't shake.

I am still in love with Lt. Beamish, and the wary relationship he and Tempest develop. But after watching and rewatching 50 years later, I find Hammond's Beamish is the best character in the show. Certainly the most developed one. (And this close to drop-dead gorgeous). Shaw was pretty much playing himself. But Hammond fleshed out what was essentially a comedy relief role of a naive bumbler with authority figure issues into someone with real grit underneath, added the touchstone orf "King and Country", honor and friendship, and went toe to toe with Shaw's ego and came out dead even or sometimes ahead.

The ad-libs and one-upmanship in this old series are just a tickle. I have no idea of what the...

Robert Shaw The Pirate
This is a great set and what a price. The quality is excellent and where can you get so many shows at this price. The shows are very well done, I've watched all of them and loved all. I remember watching this show as a kid so this made it even better.

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The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 3: 1940-1942

Volume 3 makes it to market quickly
This release may be a good sign of things to come with seven months between volumes 1 (Oct 2007) and 2 (May 2008), and only three months between the upcoming volume 3 and volume 2.

The shorts included should be:

1940
You Nazty Spy!
Rockin' Thru the Rockies
A Plumbing We Will Go
Nutty But Nice
How High is Up?
From Nurse to Worse
No Census, No Feeling
Cookoo Cavaliers
Boobs in Arms

1941
So Long Mr. Chumps
Dutiful But Dumb
All the World's a Stooge
I'll Never Heil Again
An Ache in Every Stake
In the Sweet Pie and Pie
Some More of Samoa

1942
Loco Boy Makes Good
Cactus Makes Perfect
What's the Matador?
Matri-Phony
Three Smart Saps
Even as IOU
Sock-a-Bye Baby

"A Plumbing We Will Go" is possibly the best comedy ever made by the Stooges and alone is worth the price of admission. Here the Stooges attempt to repair the plumbing...

Volume 3
As a long time Stooge fan, its nice Sony is releasing the complete Stooge shorts. My only question is will it stop after Curly? I hope they release Shemp's shorts, even though alot of them are remakes in the later years. I give props for not changing the format of the discs (thus far) and Amazon preorder price is always $17. Like I said in the last review, Stooges have been around for almost 80 years and have a ton of footage on various dvds that could be used as great extras. Id like to see extra features instead of trailers to movies. All in all, great product and keep up the good work!

The Stooges shuffle into the Forties
I am pleased that Sony Pictures have narrowed the gap between release time for their collection. Not only do we have the nutty trio poking fun at Hitler and the Japanese during WWII, but Vol. 3 contains "A-Plumbing We Will Go", considered by the fans to be their finest short. APWWG is a prime example of putting the Stooges where they don't belong...which is pretty much everywhere!
Like the previous volumes, I'll anxiously await its release.

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The Office: Season Four

A truncated, but great season
It's that time of year again - a magical time when television studios release their most successful shows from the previous season in deluxe and frequently expensive DVD sets. But this last seasons was, of course, different. The writers strike cut the season down to 16 episodes and, as expected, many are starting to complain that the price hasn't been discounted. Paying the same price for less product does seem unfair. That is, to everyone but the media industry. As for me, I'm not surprised in the slightest. I expect to be exploited by the media - it's nothing new. The real question is, with all Office season four episodes already available on NBC's website, will people feel cheated enough to forgo this collection altogether?

Season four seemed like something of a departure from the usual style. Earlier seasons featured many episodes with a more-or-less self-contained story that came to some sort of resolution within 21 minutes. Season four seemed to be mainly episodes...

Target version with 5th disc Q&A
Disappointing season compared to 1,3, and especially 2? Probably. Overpriced box set considering the shortened season due to the writer's strike? Definitely. Still one of the best shows on tv and still worth owning? Ye-esh. So should you buy it now or discounted later?

Well, i'm a fan of The Office and have all 4 seasons on dvd(recently addicted so i had to play catch-up). This was a day-1 purchase for me only because i love the show; and because i had a gift card and some discounts coming to me. I bought the special edition at Target with the bonus 5th disc being The Office Q&A convention in Scranton, PA with the supporting cast. If you don't know what to expect(i didn't), above all else don't expect professionalism or anything fancy. The convention looked huge and was packed with Office fans! The camera-work had a very "we coulda done this with a camcorder"-look to it. It has the standard host/audience's questions format. It lasts about an hour and is fun if...

Great Show! Terrible service!
First off, let me say I am completely in love with The Office, and it is one of my favorite TV shows in recent history. The plot is engaging, the story entertaining and the characters very memorable. Even people who have not seen the first few seasons would not miss much if they start with the fourth season.

However, my review is more of the Unbox Amazon player and service than the TV show itself.

I write episode recaps and review of the office for a small fan website and even though I watch the show on TV when it first airs, I like to have a copy of it to rewatch again while I am writing. Last season I used the iTunes season pass to accomplish this, but since the Office is not available on iTunes this year, I decided to download the video from Amazon instead.

My first impressions were very good! It was very easy to plug in my current account information into their one-click shopping and buy the episode. However, I then had to download their...

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48 Hours

The tradition of shabby home video releases continues for "48 HRS"... this time on Blu-Ray
"48 HRS." is a terrific action-comedy that gets everything right for its genre. The action is tough, but not overdone; the comedy is funny, but not over-the-top; the direction by filmmaker Walter Hill is skillful, edgy and playful; the San Francisco location shooting makes for a wonderfully dark, atmospheric and gritty backdrop; the dated-but-effective soundtrack is awesome in its own "1980s" sort of way; and the script is tight and witty, with sharp characterizations and crackling dialogue that is sometimes vulgar, yet always smart. Best of all, the two leads are at the apex of their star power, making the film a joy to watch.

Indeed, this is the film that made Eddie Murphy a superstar, and it's easy to see why. Raw, dynamic and totally charismatic, it is not hyperbole to state that Mr. Murphy's first film performance easily ranks as one of the greatest film debuts in cinematic history. Young, lean and hungry, Murphy plays a semi-tough street hustler/convict with just the...

Eddie Murphy's Best!!!
This is absolutely Eddie Murphy's best movie! Certainly better than most other stuff he's done this century, and the past decade! I saw this movie for the first time in the theater, and also have it on VHS. I have watched this movie easily 50 times. I'm sure it might be more though.

It is a true classic, highlighting the true natural talent of Eddie Murphy. He and Nick Nolte play off each other well, and Nolte isn't too bad himself in the comedy department. Though his type of humor is much more subtle. He does get his digs in, on Mr. Murphy's expense, mind you.

To the best of my knowledge, this was one of the first movies that combined excellent humor scenes with extreme violence and emotion. And while many tried to duplicate it, in later years, including other Eddie Murphy vehicles, such as Beverly Hills Cop, nothing can compare to the original!

A true classic. I will probably buy this on DVD soon, but I'm kind of holding out for an "extras...

A modest Blu Ray upgrade for a great film!
First of all, I truly LOVE this movie! I was 27 years old when it was released and have seen it a good 30 times since then, first on VHS rentals, then repeated HBO showings , the DVD release and finally on HD Net Movies. I know it has never fared very well on ANY of those formats and I was hoping for even a modest amount of improvement with the Blu Ray. I knew going in that this was NOT a remaster of the original film elements and I knew not to set my expectations too high. The disc has no artwork printed on it and looks like a cheap rental with the title etched into the flat gray paint. The case is an el cheapo "Eco" which consists of more air than plastic.

Was it worth the upgrade? In a word, YES! Here are my reasons:

Better overall color, sharpness and depth than any other released version. This is not to say it is a nice rendering. For the most part , it is NOT. Colors are faded all over the place. Contrast levels come and go, sharpness shows in some...

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Max and Ruby: Max & Ruby's Perfect Pumpkin

Love it!
My 3,5 years old son and I love this show and this DVD. Thanks Rosemary Wells!
This DVD includes:
- Max and Ruby's Perfect Pumpkin
-Max's Jack O'Lantern
-Max's Big Boo!
-Max's Rocket Racer
-Max and Morris Blast Off!
-Max's Candy Apple
-Ruby Delivers
-Getting Crabby at the Beach
-Max Baby Sits
-Max Cleans up
-Max's Cuckoo Clock
-Ruby's Jewelry Box

Isn't there some repeats here?
It seems like some of the Max and Ruby shorts on this DVD were already on another set but could be wrong... my kids have just watched so much Max and Ruby, it starts to run together after awhile.

The best of the set deal with fall and Halloween, and the others are not theme related. It's a shame, because there is enough material between this and the previous releases to have filled one with just Halloween/fall shows... my kids loved the first three episodes but the others they were not as crazy about, and this DVD title didn't hold their interest like some of the others.

Their favorites have been Springtime with Max and Ruby, Afternoons with Max and Ruby, Max and Ruby Christmas, and Party Time with Max and Ruby. Those they have watched over and over again. I don't see this destined to getting the same kind of repeat airplay.

This DVD COMPLETES the Max & Ruby series!!!
We have been collecting the Max & Ruby DVD's as they have been released. I love the show as much as our little ones! As more and more of these 4 episode DVDs were released, I started to doubt we'd ever get complete season sets like Spongebob. This meant the entire series would never be available. I started to look up on the Internet how many episodes have been released and watching Nick Jr. and Noggin daily I kept abreast of any new episodes.

When this DVD was announced, I knew there was one episode from the 1st Season that still hadn't been released. I was so excited to find it included with the remaining 3 newer episodes. So, I am happy to announce that if you love the show as much as we do - and you want to own EVERY episode, it is NOW possible. Who would've thought the entire series would be released this way? They must be great selling DVDs for them to keep producing new ones until they ran out of episodes!

Here are the other 9 Max & Ruby Nick Jr...

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