Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!

frothy and delightful fun
This romantic comedy may be predictable, but it's also utterly charming, cleverly written, and wonderfully acted. All the young actors in the cast are terrific, and helped by the good script, are always believable; there are no lame lapses of dialogue that come off as insincere.
Kate Bosworth (seen recently as Sandra Dee in "Beyond the Sea"), is beautiful and sweet as Rosalee, a cashier at the Piggly Wiggly supermarket, who wins a date with movie star Tad Hamilton; Tad's hilarious management team (Nathan Lane as Richard Levy the Driven, and Sean Hayes as Richard Levy the Shameless), in order to rehabilitate their client's shoddy image invent a "charity date" scheme, never thinking that Tad will actually fall for the girl, which he does, creating a love triangle with Piggly Wiggly's store manager, who is madly but secretly in love with Rosalee.

Topher Grace shines as Pete the supermarket manager, as he tries to compete with the smile and abs of movie hunk Tad (perfectly...

Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice....
That's what Kate Bosworth is made of. Though I rarely go for flicks like this, every once in awhile one of them comes along and pulls at that little lovestring in my cold, cold heart. Kate Bosworth was born to play Frasier's Bottom, WV native Rosalee Futch. She has that all-American, good girl look. Topher Grace was perfect in the role of her idiot/best friend/secret love interest Pete. Josh Duhamel plays teenage girl heart-throb Tad Hamilton with flair. The rest of the cast, especially Gary Cole, who comes very close to Eugene Levy-esque father-figure status, is superb. Sean Hayes and Nathan Lane play Hamilton's agent and manager, Richard Levy. Yeah, that's right, they have the same name but play separate characters. Kathryn Hahn turns in a great performance as the local wild bartender with the hots for Pete.

The story is typical of puppy love flicks. The girl is in love with an untouchable man who, by amazing circumstances, falls into her world and quickly falls...

Light Romantic Comedy
Rosalee, a grocery clerk in West Virginia, enters an Internet contest and wins a date with handsome movie star, Tad Hamilton. Tad falls hard for Rosalee and shows up in West Virginia in pursuit of her. This doesn't sit well with her friend, Pete, who's been secretly in love with Rosalee for years. When Tad wins a part in a new movie and wants Rosalee to be with him during filming, Pete needs to reveal his feelings or lose her forever.

This is a good, but at times weak, movie. The romance is the weak part, there's no real chemistry between Rosalee and Tad on their date, so it's hard to believe he'd follow her to West Virginia. And it's also hard to believe that Pete hasn't acted on his feelings for Rosalee in all the years he's known her. The comedy parts of the movie work much better, with some of the funniest scenes taking place at a farm Tad buys.

The actors are really what make this film work. Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, and Josh Duhamel shine in the lead...

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A League Of Their Own

Good-Looking 2-Disc Special Edition!
The 2-Disc DVD Special Edition of 1992's "A League Of Their Own" (released on April 20, 2004) scores a grand-slam on my DVD Scorecard. Sporting a fun array of bonus features, a beautiful anamorphically-enhanced widescreen picture, and very clever menu screens, this DVD version of this timeless motion picture is a winner all the way around.

Although the film has a relatively-lengthy run time of 2 hours & 8 minutes, it never wears out its welcome or gets tiresome. The first-rate cast sees to that -- a cast that features the likes of Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, Lori Petty, and Jon Lovitz.

Lovitz is fall-down hilarious as the scout who plucks Geena and Lori off of their Oregon farm to join the first professional girls' baseball league. He offers up one zinger after another during his short stint in this movie, such as his explanation to the other girls as to why he can't sign up second baseman Marla Hooch (who isn't likely to win the Miss America...

A Classic for everyone's collection.
Why is Geena Davis an Oscar-winner? Watch this flick; you won't need to ask that again. Her sensitive portrayal of Dottie Hinson highlights the many facets of Davis' talents as an actress. I loved watching a piece of history (however dramatized) which took place during my early childhood. Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell were surprisingly good as the loudmouth-but-secretly-caring-and-feeling Mae and Doris. You'll fall in love with Ann Cusack's "Shirley Baker", and poor, homely but super-star batter Marla Hooch is someone you just gotta root for. Tom Hanks gives us his usual fine performance as the arrogant, boozy and cynical (but in for some surprises) coach Jimmy Dugan. The chauvinistic/sexist way the female players were treated (professional baseball in a cocktail waitress costume!?) by management, the public and the press ("...after all, they're only girls.") will incense many viewers, but it's the way things actually were then. For the movie to be made...

One of the best movies I've ever seen
A League of their Own was one of the best movies I've ever had the pleasure to see. I had seen it years ago and recently bought my own copy of it. This movie is one of the best that Penny Marshall has ever directed. The casting was superb. Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell were perfect as street-wise, but loveable May and Doris! Geena Davis did a wonderful job playing Dottie Henson, who had a genuine love for the game, yet had responsibilities and priorities that were more important to her. Lori Petty was great as Kit, Dottie's little sister who fought so hard to get out from under her sister's shadow. Marla Hooch, what a great character!! Evelyn and her little boy Stillwell "Angel" will keep you in smiling all the time you want to bean him with a baseball bat. Ellen Sue, Helen, Betty Spaghetti, I feel like I know them all!! And Tom Hanks plays one of his best roles ever, as Jimmy Duggan, an ex-ball player turned coach. Not too thrilled with the job of coaching...

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Best Barefoot Grilling

Awesome!
This was my favorite episode of the season! Totally not what I expected, the food was great and seeing Giada with Ina was awesome. It was nice to see Giada not so made up and over the top and even more relaxed. How couldn't you be relaxed with Ina.





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Chasing Mavericks [HD]

I just saw Chasing Mavericks, and all I can say is that it was AWESOME
IMO SLEEPER MOVIE OF THE YEAR - PG and awesome!

DISCLAIMER: I lived in Santa Cruz 1987-1992. I do not pretend to be a surfer, because I am not one. I have, however, done a lot of body surfing and body boarding (boogie boarding) in Hawaii and Santa Cruz. Plus as a marine biologist I have spent considerable amounts of time near, in, and on the ocean. With that being said...

"Chasing Mavericks" is probably the best surfing movie I have ever seen. This biopic of young Jay Moriarity and his mentor Frosty Hesson delves into the psyche and spiritual basis of surfing better than any other surfing movie.

Gerard Butler turns in a stellar performance as the sage surfer who reluctantly agrees to train a teenager to surf one of the most dangerous waves in the world - Mavericks.

To "get" this movie you have to understand this wave.

Mavericks is surf break just north of Half Moon Bay, CA. It breaks only when the surge is big enough and...

Inspirational!
I've found that many of the "sleeper" type movies turn out to be awesome films. I'm far from being a professional movie critic, but I enjoy films that are exciting and inspirational. Chasing Mavericks was no exception. Great movie and I am looking forward to the Blu Ray release.

Loved it!
Well done! Can't wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray! I am so glad that I got to see this movie on the big screen. It didn't stay in the theaters very long. Too bad for that since it was a beautiful, inspiring, humorous, emotional (a few tears) and well done movie about surfing and relationships. If you only like coastal northern California's beautiful scenery and wave action that would be enough to enjoy this movie. Add the real life story line of a father-son mentorship of Frosty Hesson and Jay Moriarity and this become so much more. My friends and family loved this movie. Gerard Butler did a fantastic job in portraying Frosty and braved huge waves to show audiences the powerful, dangerous side of surfing.....he almost drowned during the filming. This movie deserves multiple viewings and will make a great gift. Hope the DVD has a lot of extras attached!

March 4, 2013........Well it is a few months later and I finally received the Bluray! Absolute blown away with the...

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Martha Marcy May Marlene [HD]

A Trauma that Bridges Past and Present
Martha Marcy May Marlene marks the debut of two talents, the director, Sean Durkin, and the actress, Elizabeth Olsen. Both actor and director show a kind of assured performance that seems relegated to those who are either new to a scene, when talent has been building up for some time and only now has had a chance to unveil itself, or to older creative types, who have enough success behind them that they no longer fear failure (the in-between is usually the tricky part). Elizabeth Olsen (and here I'm required to tell you that she is the younger sister to the famed Full House Olsen twins) plays Martha, a girl who has spent an indeterminate amount of time in a cult hidden away in upstate New York. She eventually flees the confines of the commune and is taken in by her sister and brother-in-law who own a spacious lake house in Connecticut.

From here the film is divided into two narratives, one chronicling Martha's ordeal in the Manson-like collective and the other detailing her...

Deeply Unsettling, With a Star-Making Performance from Elizabeth Olsen
A young woman called Marcy May (played by newcomer Elizabeth Olsen, remember her name) flees from an abusive cult and calls her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) to pick her up. Her sister, who calls her Martha, hasn't seen her in over a year and finds Martha deliberately vague about where she has been. Lucy brings her to the large home she shares with her husband Ted (Hugh Dancy) and Martha's time in the cult is revealed through intercut flashbacks. Branded Marcy May by Patrick (John Hawkes), the charismatic leader, the commune consists of few men and many women, most from troubled backgrounds. The women are assigned individual duties, but the one they all share is to sleep with Patrick. The film wisely avoids giving too many details about the cult itself and what its basis is, but fills in all the necessary details otherwise.

This 2011 indie thriller marks the debut of writer/director Sean Durkin who has fashioned a quiet, powerful psychological drama that introduces the world...

Elizabeth Olsen can't quite save this unsatisfying psychological thriller
Put newcomer Elizabeth Olsen on the list of brilliant young actresses filling the movie screen these days. In this psychological thriller, twentyish Martha Marlene (Olsen) leaves home after her mother dies. We don't know why, but she severs contact with her older sister, Lucy (excellent Sarah Paulson) who is married to Ted (Hugh Dancy). Somehow she ends up at a commune of sorts, headed by one of those Charles Manson types, but without the visible menace. Patrick (good as usual John Hawkes) clearly runs the show for his collective of young women and young men. What happens to them when they get older? We do know that occasionally children are born, but against all odds they are always boys. Hmmm.

After Martha (now renamed Marcy May by Patrick) is sexually abused, she decides to slip away into the woods. She finds her way into town and calls her sister on a pay phone. It's been 2 years but Martha doesn't know where she is. She thinks it's in upstate New York. Huh...

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Inara, The Jungle Girl [HD]

save your money and just watch the trailer
Movie had nice scenery and great-looking women, but a plot skimpier than the jungle clothes the women wore. The plot was poorly developed and the plot half-baked. Save yourself the $15 and just watch the trailer, which shows all that you will to see and is barely expanded upon in the 70 min+ film.

Love this film!
From the beginning to the end this movie was a treat. The site of all of those girls dancing around the fire was a treat within itself. But that aside, there was a young lady that could steal anyone's heart! Her character did just that to this film, gave it heart. There is some butt-kickin' to be appreciate in this movie as well. This director has a tasteful eyes and the proper skills that could possible take him to Hollywood in the very near future!

Welcome To The Land Of Savage Beauties!!!
Inara, The Jungle Girl is a direct-to-DVD film that sets the bar for fans of classic Grindhouse/B-movie favourites. Inara(Internet model Cali Danger)is a brooding, self-hating Army sergeant who is forced to join a group of mercenaries who hates her to an island in South America to steal precious resources. After being attacked by her comrades, Inara had found herself in the jungle and being caught by a race of strong, beautiful, but vindictive warrior-women, all led by their lovely, but strong-willed Queen(Pin-up beauty Empress Sayuri). Convinced that she is not a threat to the women-warriors, Inara becomes a member of their tribe. When youngest member of the Tribe, a orphaned little amazon girl, is murdered by the evil mercenaries, Inara is enraged by the girl's death and leads her newfound sisters into a violent bloodletting against the ruthless soldiers. The only special features in this DVD is a synopsis of the film and the website for the studio who made this film. Most of the...

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Thomas and Friends: Thomas and His Friends Get Along and Other Thomas Adventures

Thomas takes some getting used to
I read a review of a first-time Thomas viewer with a 20 month old who said she was shocked by the behavior of the trains--I can identify with that: My wife and I bought about six of them at once because they were on sale, only to be dissappointed by how mean some of the characters are. We've since come to love the videos, tho, since our little boy got interested in them, and sibling rivalry has erupted between he and his slightly older sister. Thomas and his friends act like children. Sometimes children aren't very kind either, but the engines respond to the gentle-but-firm redirection of the "parent" (Sir Topham Hatt). I think my kids love these (and I do, too) because they can identify with the simple sorts of conflicts the engines have with each other and the other characters, they appreciate the boundaries and safety of the parental character, and it allows them to explore conflict and authority in a way that is meaningful to them--the fact that Sir Topham Hatt has to step in and...

Narrated by George Carlin
We have been watching Thomas videos from the library for some time now and wanted to make a purchase.

I found that Thomas & His Friends Get Along is the ONLY DVD narrated entirely by George Carlin. All the other Thomas DVD's are Alec Baldwin (he's just plain annoying and lifeless). I know we're not the only ones who think so based on the many other reviews. We don't mind Ringo or George's narration but there are no Ringo DVD's available. All the older titles on DVD have been re-dubbed with Alec Baldwin's voice over.(DEAL BREAKER)

I know the narrator is never mentioned on Amazon so, for those of you who are interested...I hope this helped.

This is a great video for kids around 5 years old.
My 5 year old son loves this video. Its great for learning good moral values at a young age. He also loves to play with his Thomas wooden train set. They are a great combination. I would highly recommend the video and the trains to anyone looking for a QUALITY line of products for children around the age of 5 and up.

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Class of 1999

Almost Time For The Ten Year Reunion
If you were to take Mad Max, The Terminator, The Warriors and Lean On Me, and mix them in a blender, you'd get Class of 1999. It was directed by Mark Lester who made the excellent Class of 1984. This movie is sometimes considered a sequel to that film, but it isn't. Both movies have high schools and violent gangs, but that's where all comparisons end.
In the near future of 1999, violent street gangs have taken over, so bad that the police don't even bother with certain areas of the city(sounds like Death Wish 3!). The damn kids are still required to go to school though! A mullet and contact lens sporting Stacy Keach has taken military battle androids and given them new programs to act as teachers. Three of these androids are given a test run at the worst school in the city where Malcolm McDowell is principal. Meanwhile, ex-gangbanger, Cody, is released from prison and he's off to school. Renouncing his old gang ways, he quickly becomes the target for former gang members...

Into science fiction? Try this one!
Ah, this is one of my favorite old movies. I caught this way back in 1990 or 1991. At that time the year 1999 (in the eyes of a fifteen-year-old) seemed to be a very distant future.

OK, so the year is 1999, and America's highschools have a tendency of turning into warzones. A possible solution to this problem is presented by highschool principal Langford, the Department of Educational Defense and a developer of killer-cyborgs, Megatech.

In Seattle, three new teachers are introduced in what little still remains of Kennedy High. Unknown to the students, their new teachers aren't even human. But when more and more students wind up dead it becomes clear that Megatech's cyborgs have grown out of control.

I love this movie! I have always enjoyed science fiction, and this movie delivers. It's got a bit of excellent action, provides some laughs and a spectacular final with some surprisingly good special effects! It's all got this sort of campy feel to it that I really enjoy in movies...

"Inside this school are three inhuman teaching monsters."
Hell yea, CLASS OF 1999! In the future there's a high school were the students openly carry machine guns and shoot them off all the time. Girls raped, nerds knifed, cars armor plated its like "Saved by the Bell" meets THE ROAD WARRIOR.

The Department of Education Defense decides to use this school as an experiment so they send in three "reprogrammed" battle droids as teachers. You can already see where this is going. Now it's like "Saved by the Bell" meets THE TERMINATOR in ROAD WARRIOR world!

Bad hair, futuristic gang clothes, lots of drugs, non stop gunfire, psychotic amounts of screaming and yelling, a drill to the skull, explosions, over the knee spanking, flame thrower violence, car chase, motorcycle chase, an albino mullet, forklift death the only thing missing is mutants and rampant female nudity.

Truly a masterpiece of the low budget action genre, but what else would you expect from the director of COMMANDO! "Let off some steam, Bennett."

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Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness [HD]

The Power Of Tradition: An Impressive Documentary About The Man Who Brought Us Teyve
Although I am not Jewish, I have a healthy respect and appreciation for the world of theater that is all-encompassing. I grew up with "Fiddler on the Roof" being one of my favorite musicals, and I can't tell you how many interpretations of it that I have seen through the years. Truthfully, though, the writer whose stories inspired Teyve and his cohorts, Sholem Aleichem, was not a household name for me until recently. Last year, the Archive of American Television released two classic Yiddish dramas from David Susskind's Play of the Week anthology with one of them being "The World of Sholom Aleichem." This DVD featured three shorts (one of them not even by Alacheim) that started my fascination with the man and his invaluable cultural and artistic contributions. So when I saw the documentary feature by Jake Dorman, "Sholem Aleichem: Laughing In The Darkness," it helped to round out a more fully developed picture of his place in theater history.

With a wealth of archival...

Who we are and Where we came from.
An important document for those of us with Eastern European heritage---and even more important for our children and grandchildren. Much of this was withheld by our parents and grandparents who came from Russia, Poland and Lithuania in their disdain of the "greenhorn" they felt they were, and their commitment to make a new life in the new land.

A treasure of a film
Excellent use of vintage film clips and photographs. The documentary clearly shows the life and times of Sholem Aleichem in well-edited detail.

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Extracted

Almost great...
The premise of this film is good, being in the same neighborhood of ideas as Inception. Unfortunately, the writing isn't up to par and it all adds up to a so so ending. If you are a fan of the genre, you'll probably enjoy it but wishing there was more to it.

Yawn
This is one boring movie with a twisted, not well thought out plot involving some guy getting stuck in another guys head. Actually, this movie is so boring, you are going to need an energy drink to stay awake!

Philp K Dick would be proud
Extracted is a rare gem that only comes around every few years that signals the coming of a great director. Like any movie buff knows Robert Rodriguez is best know to make big movies for little monies and Nir seems to want to take that crown away from him. Extracted couldn't have being made for more then a few hundred grand and what Mister Paniry does with that money rivals any big budget movie. Extracted stars Sasha Roiz ( Warehouse 13, Grimm , Caprica , It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as Tom , a scientist that develops a machine that allows a person to watch other peoples memories from within them. As we all know nobody ever wants to fund a project for what it was created for and Tom soon learns that. A potential financier ask to see a test of the machine before its ready and Tom has to put his money were his mouth is. Thing's go bad and now Tom is stuck inside the guinea pig. Anthony , a heroin addict accused of murdering his girlfriend. Extracted works cause it follows the...

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Sudden Death [Blu-ray]

[4.5] a creative and exciting, highly underrated van damme film
I am not sure why I hear a lot of bad comments about this Van Damme film. Sudden Death is one of many "Die Hard" remakes, but this is the most exciting one I have seen, all taking place in the Pittsburgh hockey arena during game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. The action and suspense are teriffic, and Van Damme does a fine all-around performance (for Van Damme). The movie is quickly paced and something is always happening. Though acting and visual effects may be poor at times, this is not a film to be watching for a wonderful hollywood drama. This is pure Van Damme excitment for some no-brain kick-butt action. I give 4.5 stars, not because this is one of the best movies ever made, but it is one of the most exciting Van Damme movies that is must see fun.

Van Damme is "Darren", a sort-of fire rescue man who brings his daughter and son to the hockey game. Before the game begins, preparations are already unfolding for a new terror plot. The Vice President is on his way to...

Sudden Something
When I heard that Peter Hyams had signed on to direct his second Van Damme film (the first being "Timecop"), I breathed a sigh of relief. It actually couldn't be that bad. Truthfully, I came out of the theatres pleasantly surprised.

The real star of this movie is the action, in which Van Damme stays away from his signature spinning kicks, and adopts Bruce Willis's 'John McClane' as his persona. After "Die Hard", no one can claim to be original, so Hyams doesn't bother trying.

Instead, he gives us great character actors (Powers Boothe, one of the best Van Damme villains yet), a fast-paced actioner, a bit of humour, and a totally prepostorous (at that time, anyway) Stanley Cup matchup between Pittsburgh (minus Mario) and Chicago.

One of the best of the Van Damme fare on the market.

The kids were great...
Sudden Death

I got this movie because I was a Powers Boothe fan, and came to like the film for itself. It's gotten a lot of poor reviews, but I disagree and I think the film has a lot of value mainly because of the chemistry between the actors. My favorite parts of the film are those with interaction between Emily and Joshua Foss (Powers Boothe's character, never mentioned by name except in ending credits.) The duel of wits between these two is priceless and this is the best character (Emily) Powers Boothe ever plays against in my opinion.

I believe it bears much more resemblance to the two `Under Siege' films than `Die Hard' as its critics claim. The children make this film so unique, they are a big part of why the characters are where they are, when they are; and why the plot unfolds the way it does. There is violence, and probably young children shouldn't watch it, but older mature teens might like it because of Emily and Tyler. This film deals, at least on a...

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Blancanieves [HD]

A Beguiling Contemporary Fairy Tale From Spain: A Silent Movie For Film Lovers
Despite its warm critical reception in its native country of Spain, I still wasn't overly excited to check out Pablo Berger's "Blancanieves." I'm not sure why exactly. An updating of Snow White done as a silent film set in the world of bullfighting: perhaps it seemed a bit too high concept, a little too precious for its own good. But knowing that the movie had won the 2013 Goya Award for Best Film (Spain's equivalent of the Academy Award) and was selected as their official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, I felt compelled to check it out. Boy, am I glad that I didn't listen to myself! From the opening scenes, I was captivated by this dark and lovely tale. Somehow it manages to be true to the essence of the Grimm fairy tale on which it was based while serving as an eloquent homage to a movie era gone by. In equal measures, the experience is lush and romantic, dark and scary, and fantastical and whimsical. With minimal dialogue (on classic silent movie screen cards),...

Clever retelling of classic tale
There is an implicit understanding between author/auteur and his audience. For example, Edgar Allen Poe will give you all sorts of dreadful things, but he does it in an imaginative manner and makes you think. Fairy tales present us with terrible images (kids being baked in ovens, women being swallowed) but promise us happy endings after all is said and done. So when you have a re-telling of the Snow White story, we expect there to be some savage images, but in the end our long suffering princess will eventually triumph, get the prince, and live, as they say, happily ever after.

If you're one of those people who thirst for the happy ending, stop here. This original and imaginative version of the Snow White tale gives us many things, but it doesn't provide that happy ending we've come to expect, and that may turn off many viewers.

OK. If you can put aside the breach of the covenant between author/audience, then this film is certainly worth watching. Its finest...

A Beguiling Contemporary Fairy Tale From Spain: A Silent Movie For Film Lovers
Despite its warm critical reception in its native country of Spain, I still wasn't overly excited to check out Pablo Berger's "Blancanieves." I'm not sure why exactly. An updating of Snow White done as a silent film set in the world of bullfighting: perhaps it seemed a bit too high concept, a little too precious for its own good. But knowing that the movie had won the 2013 Goya Award for Best Film (Spain's equivalent of the Academy Award) and was selected as their official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, I felt compelled to check it out. Boy, am I glad that I didn't listen to myself! From the opening scenes, I was captivated by this dark and lovely tale. Somehow it manages to be true to the essence of the Grimm fairy tale on which it was based while serving as an eloquent homage to a movie era gone by. In equal measures, the experience is lush and romantic, dark and scary, and fantastical and whimsical. With minimal dialogue (on classic silent movie screen cards), Berger...

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Allman, Duane - Song Of The South: Duane Allman And The Rise Of The Allman Brothers

Song From A Favorite Son
If you're a fan of Duane Allman and the Allman Brothers, "Song Of The South"is a revelation for several reasons-for years we've been listening to Duane's recordings, and we get to hear from the people who actually recorded him. We're also treated to plenty of never before seen photos and parts of a 1970 interview from the man himself.

This film covers Duane's career from he and his brother Gregg's band the Escorts, and particular attention is paid to his studio work before and during his time with the Allman Brothers Band. Muscle Shoals guitarist Jimmy Johnson is given ample face time, recalling Duane's lead guitar work on Wilson Pickett's version of "Hey, Jude". This was the recording that caught the attention of so many industry heavyweights, securing his stock early in his career. Musicians Paul Hornsby and Pete Carr, respected musicians themselves discuss Duane's growth during this time, and they're still in awe over forty years later.

Narrator Thomas Arnold...

A superb documentary worthy of its subject
In `Song of the South' we at last have a documentary worthy of its subject, telling in some detail the tragically short story of the life of Duane Allman. The film gives a blow by blow account of Duane's entire career, starting at High School playing in local covers bands, where we are introduced to some of his earliest friends and band mates. Over the next two hours we follow him through the numerous line ups of The Allman Joys, The Hour Glass, and eventually of course The Allman Brothers and his sessions with Eric Clapton. We meet the key musicians and producers who worked alongside him at every stage and each of them speaks at length about Duane's extraordinary talent. For my money the most insightful and touching comments come from Willie Perkins, the ABB tour manager who lived and worked alongside the band from 70-76.

At every stage of the film the viewer is presented with recordings of Duane's music and rare footage of his performances. The narrative of the film is...

Movie on the life of Duane Allman
I just got my copy through the Hittin the Note website. Great movie on Duane Allman. Finally his life story is told in a movie format. Interesting and new feedback from people who knew him. This is a keeper.

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The Eagle

Senatus populesque Romanus!
Back in the early second century, the Ninth Legion disappeared from history. The current going theory is that they were wiped out in combat in the Eastern Provinces, but there's also a theory that they were destroyed fighting the Picts in what is now called Scotland. That's the jumping-off point for The Eagle, a rather lightweight sword and sandals film staring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell.

Tatum plays Marcus Flavius Aquila, son of the commander of the Ninth Legion. He's gone into the army himself and worked hard to get sent to Britannia, where he hopes to not only recover his father's honor, but also that of the Legion and to recover it's beloved standard; a gold eagle. The Roman legions fetishized their eagles (or "aquila", a word suspiciously similiar to the last name of our hero), to an impressive degree. Better in many ways to lose every man in your legion than to lose your standard.

Anyhow, young Marcus gets to Britannia, takes command of a legion,...

For honor and the eagle
Around the year 100, the Roman Legio IX Hispana supposedly went missing somewhere in Britain. Nobody really knows what happened to them.

But that hasn't stopped writers and moviemakers from speculating about what did happen. "The Eagle" is a solid adaptation of Rosemary Sutcliff's novel "The Eagle of the Ninth" -- a gritty, mud-slicked quest movie set in a time when Rome still ruled the world. Channing Tatum is a little wooden, but he's more than made up for by Jamie Bell's subtle performance.

Centurion Marcus Flavius Aquila (Tatum) is the son of the Ninth Legion's commander, and is determined to regain his family honor. But after he's horribly wounded in battle, he finds himself honorably discharged and facing a life of boredom... until he hears rumors that the Ninth Legion's golden eagle has been seen north of Hadrian's Wall. If he can get the eagle, his family's honor will be restored.

The problem is, no Roman has gone past the wall and lived to...

The Eagle- For the Fangirls
Loosely based on Rosemary Sutcliff's novel The Eagle of the Ninth (The Roman Britain Trilogy), with its sweeping cinematography and the hauntingly atmospheric score by Atli Orvarsson, this movie set in Britain 140 AD starts as a slice-of-life military drama and quickly twists off into epic adventure. Though billed as some sort of soldier/daddy-worship epic, with nary a woman in sight, this movie unravels into an amazing bromance that seems more like a love story between two young men from different walks of life than anything else.

Marcus(Channing Tatum) is forced out of his career as a soldier by battle wounds received while defending his first command post in distant Britain. The son of an infamous Roman commander who marched 5000 men into northern Britain and subsequently vanished, Marcus's dream of winning back his family's honor through soldierly deeds is summarily crushed by his discharge from...

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Iron Man 3 (plus bonus features) [HD]

A Rousing Movie; Different from What I Expected
Let me start by saying that I can understand why there are a lot of split opinions about IRON MAN 3. It's a film full of misdirection and deceptions, and I was a little distressed by a couple of them - which would give away too much to detail here. Suffice it to say that there were a couple of moments I felt somewhat cheated; and though I'll be vague about it I can say it involved Mandarin. Still, read on; while I gave the movie four stars, I believe down the road I might very well revise this to a five. I'll explain...

First of all, rest assured there is A LOT of action. And there are a lot of the Iron Suits, too...it's just that Tony Stark isn't often the one IN the suit. I found myself often frustrated by that fact: Iron Man interruptus, if you will. Either the suits were off on their own, or they were on other people, or they weren't working properly...something that seemed to occur almost constantly.

I saw it in Imax 3D, and it was well worth the extra...

Awesome
I dont care about comics. As far as a movie? This was great. It makes me forget that stinker Iron Man 2. Good action, great camera angles, great characters. I enjoyed the madarin twist even though it was against the grain. Guy did a great job of being a villian. It was like getting part comic book, part video game, and part Lethal Weapon. The level of action and the pace of the movie was right on target. The pepper ending could have been a silly disaster but i think they did it right, and gwen played that scene perfect. I left the theatre very happy. Like spider man 2, avengers, x men 2, this is a great marvel action movie. Not a comic book. Shane Black did a great job with this movie. It was like being in the theatre as a kid watching the Hoth battle unfold. Thats how i feel about this movie. Can you tell i just watched it? Im going to watch it again right now.

Robert Downey Jr gives best performance ever, Gwyneth Paltrow is SMOKING hot, but it is Ben Kingsley who steals the show...)))
I think this is the best "Iron Man" until now! I loved it and, even more important (and quite incredible in fact), my wife liked it even MORE! Below you will find more of my impressions. This review in principle is FREE OF SPOILERS.

"Iron Man 3" is a merry, cheerful adventure, very fast paced, with excellent fighting scenes, but mostly relying on humor and excellent dialogs, full of typicall Tony Stark's jokes, half acid, half bitter but always pretty funny. The story is mostly about Tony's past coming back to kick him in the butt with the maximum speed and strength, forcing him to visit places even more exotic than the wormhole in "Avengers", like deep ocean and rural Tennessee - and no more will be said. There are some darker moments, but general mood of this film is light - this is an amusement ride, not the voyage to the heart of the darkness.

Robert Downey Jr offers here to his public a spotless, brilliant performance, even better than in previous parts and...

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Scoop [HD]

I was surprised by how charming I found this story to be
Frankly, for me Woody Allen had become as pleasure long past his sell by date. However, I happened to catch this movie when flipping around and watched the rest of it and then caught the whole film at a later viewing. I liked it! No, it isn't a great film, but it is a delightful light entertainment.

Scarlett Johansson plays Sondra Pransky, a young, somewhat ditzy but earnest reporter for her college newspaper. She is in London visiting a wealth upper crust friend and staying with her family. We also learn that she has (as Woody Allen's character notes later) a problem with promiscuity. For example, when trying to get an interview with a big time movie producer who has no intention of telling her anything, all she comes away with is a hangover and an embarrassing story of being outwitted.

We also get to see a barge load of souls headed to the land of the departed engaging in the kind of idle conversation you might expect from the newly dead. A secretary...

One of the best comedies of the year.
Sondra Prensky (Scarlett Johansson), a college journalist, encounters big-time journalist Joe Strombel's (Ian McShane) spirit. He proceeds to giving her information that could mean the biggest scoop of his life, pertaining to aristocrat Peter Lyman(Hugh Jackman) and the Tarot Card murders. With his advice, and the help of magician Sid Waterman (Woody Allen), she starts the investigation against Peter, but (predictably) falls in love with him. Is he the Tarot-card killer? Is she in any mortal danger?

I've always been a huge fan of Woody Allen, even though he's been in a little bit of a slump lately which he seems to have gotten out of since Match Point, so this might be biased.
This does resemble some of his earlier work, such as Manhattan Murder Mystery, so it might not seem very original. But they were done so long ago that putting a modern spin to his genre works.

With that in mind, I absolutely LOVED Scoop. I'd say it was one of the best adult, smart,...

A very entertaining, very funny, and very fun film
Woody Allen seemed to be losing it at the start of the twenty-first century. The films he released around that time (THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, SMALL TIME CROOKS, etc.) failed to make a lasting (or for that matter positive) impression on audiences. In 2004 he enjoyed something of a comeback with MELINDA AND MELINDA before bursting back on the scene with his thrilling masterwork MATCH POINT. Now he's back to whip up another slice of cinema greatness, and this is a slice considerably sweeter than (though not as classy as) MATCH POINT. This is SCOOP, one of the most delightful romantic comedies of the year.

SCOOP revolves around Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson), an American college student eyeing a career in journalism. While vacationing in England with a friend, she visits a magic show run by the timid Sid Waterman (Woody Allen). Sid decides to use Sondra in a magic trick involving a box from which Sondra will supposedly disappear. Instead of disappearing,...

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The Best of The Dick Van Dyke Show

Expertly Blending Workplace Satire With Domestic Comedy: Forty Episodes Of One Of History's Most Enduring Sitcoms
Note: As of this date, the other review is for a previously released Best of Dick Van Dyke collection with considerably fewer episodes. It has been combined with this 40 episode set due to a programming error.

I'm not a great fan of people who just drop an episode list and consider it a review. But it is particularly frustrating when a DVD company releases a compilation of TV episodes without any indication of what is included in a set. "The Dick Van Dyke" show has been released in about a million different variations. So if you've ever bought a season or even another "best of" compilation, you probably have many of these episodes. This would be suited to a newbie to the show looking for a bargain priced introduction. However, this is a show that merits a complete collection if you have the resources. I'm not going to review the show. Suffice it to say that, in my estimation, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was well ahead of its time and still holds up well. A terrific...

Four classic episodes from the second season of "The Dick Van Dyke Show"
This DVD offers a quartet of episodes from the second season of the classic television situation comedy "The Dick Van Dyke Show." If there is a common denominator to them, it would be that they all focusing on the domestic bliss of the Petries in New Rochelle rather than on writing for "The Alan Brady Show." Usually by this point in a collection of "best" episodes things start to get thin, but that is hardly the case here. Also of interest, see if you can figure out which episode was written by the grandfather of the guy who created "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Taken collectively, these classic episodes will explain why it might have been "The Beverly Hillbillies" that was finishing #1 in the Nielsens, but this was the sitcom that was picking up the Emmys for Best Comedy during that period:

Episode 53, "Give Me Your Walls!" (Written by Carl Reiner, February 27, 1963) has Laura hiring a flamboyant artist Vito Giotto (Vito Scotti) to paint the living room walls after Rob...



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Blancanieves [Blu-ray]

A Beguiling Contemporary Fairy Tale From Spain: A Silent Movie For Film Lovers
Despite its warm critical reception in its native country of Spain, I still wasn't overly excited to check out Pablo Berger's "Blancanieves." I'm not sure why exactly. An updating of Snow White done as a silent film set in the world of bullfighting: perhaps it seemed a bit too high concept, a little too precious for its own good. But knowing that the movie had won the 2013 Goya Award for Best Film (Spain's equivalent of the Academy Award) and was selected as their official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, I felt compelled to check it out. Boy, am I glad that I didn't listen to myself! From the opening scenes, I was captivated by this dark and lovely tale. Somehow it manages to be true to the essence of the Grimm fairy tale on which it was based while serving as an eloquent homage to a movie era gone by. In equal measures, the experience is lush and romantic, dark and scary, and fantastical and whimsical. With minimal dialogue (on classic silent movie screen cards),...

Clever retelling of classic tale
There is an implicit understanding between author/auteur and his audience. For example, Edgar Allen Poe will give you all sorts of dreadful things, but he does it in an imaginative manner and makes you think. Fairy tales present us with terrible images (kids being baked in ovens, women being swallowed) but promise us happy endings after all is said and done. So when you have a re-telling of the Snow White story, we expect there to be some savage images, but in the end our long suffering princess will eventually triumph, get the prince, and live, as they say, happily ever after.

If you're one of those people who thirst for the happy ending, stop here. This original and imaginative version of the Snow White tale gives us many things, but it doesn't provide that happy ending we've come to expect, and that may turn off many viewers.

OK. If you can put aside the breach of the covenant between author/audience, then this film is certainly worth watching. Its finest...

A Beguiling Contemporary Fairy Tale From Spain: A Silent Movie For Film Lovers
Despite its warm critical reception in its native country of Spain, I still wasn't overly excited to check out Pablo Berger's "Blancanieves." I'm not sure why exactly. An updating of Snow White done as a silent film set in the world of bullfighting: perhaps it seemed a bit too high concept, a little too precious for its own good. But knowing that the movie had won the 2013 Goya Award for Best Film (Spain's equivalent of the Academy Award) and was selected as their official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, I felt compelled to check it out. Boy, am I glad that I didn't listen to myself! From the opening scenes, I was captivated by this dark and lovely tale. Somehow it manages to be true to the essence of the Grimm fairy tale on which it was based while serving as an eloquent homage to a movie era gone by. In equal measures, the experience is lush and romantic, dark and scary, and fantastical and whimsical. With minimal dialogue (on classic silent movie screen cards), Berger...

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Stranger Within

A little generic but still worth checking out. Has some creepy elements but still feels made-for-TV. I say B-
"I'm just glad that your here and you're willing to help me." After living through a nightmare, Hollywood star Emily Moore (Warren) and her husband Robert (Baldwin) decide to take a trip to clear her mind and recharge. On their first night a woman in hysterics shows up talking about a terrible accident and the two decide to help her. Little by little she begins to wonder what the girl really wants from them. My expectations for this were not that high mainly because of the cast. I will admit that the movie isn't bad but it is basically a made-for-TV movie with nudity. This is a perfect example of why I try not to watch trailers for movies before I watch the movie. If I went off the trailer I would expect an exciting tense thriller. While this was tense in some parts it was a little slow. The "twist" is something that you can see coming but it was still a good idea for the movie. A lot of times the ending can make or break a movie. This is the rare time where the ending left me...

I KNOW ABOUT SOPHIE
Emily (Estella Warren) is an actress who is married to Robert (William Baldwin), a psychologist. Emily has issues, especially having to deal with the fact her friend Sophie (Katia Winter) killed herself. Emily is later kidnapped and tortured by an unknown assailant. Her husband takes her away to an island as a get away, only to have Sarah (Sarah Butler) show up, a woman who just lost her boyfriend at a nearby cliff accident.

This is a film where you suspect the twist is coming. The actors were less than convincing in their roles in an improbable plot that felt phoney. The film is fairly boring, even during the 'exciting" parts.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, rape, nudity (Sarah Butler)

Waste
This movie is the worst ever made bad acting bad script bad
Bad everything.....AVOID at all cost bad bad bad...

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Person of Interest: Season Two

You'll never find us, but victim or perpetrator, if your number's up... we'll find you".
Many new concept shows capture the public's interest and develop quite a fan base their Freshman Year. But, if you have ANY decent experience with Sci-Fi or Dystopian series, you know that the vast majority of them fall flat on their Sophomore Faces! From Terra Nova, Heroes, Falling Skies, etc., some end at the 1st year, some limp along into the 2nd before cancellation, and then the unfathomable few struggle with the die-hard fans until the plug is pulled. (I've been one of those fans of all three examples.)

So, when a series like PERSON OF INTEREST, which is described by some as a "Cop Procedural Show" can not only make it past the first year but into a second one, there's cause to celebrate! Yes, this IS a Cop Procedural Show but with so many subtle twists and turns to it. The first year was pretty basic: it introduced the viewers to the Core Four: Finch; Reese; Carter and Fusco. (no need to write about them if you're reading a 2nd season review). Each week there was a...

My second Amazon Review because POI is just so amazing
This has to be one of the best TV shows I have ever seen. Great cast and always changing plots so you never know where the storyline will be going. Every show is worth watching at least twice to pick up on the nuances you missed the first time.

Already looking forward to Season Three.

A great continuation of an awesome show (spoiler alert)
I first found out about the show, "Person of Interest" by accident via Wikipedia. When I read about how it involved a former Green Beret/CIA operative using his skills to prevent violent crimes, I was already interested (I love movies/shows like The Bourne Series and 24 where highly-trained former soldiers/agents put the smack down on bad guys), but I figured I wouldn't be able to watch it 'cause I didn't have TV and it wasn't on Netflix. Last Christmas, when I saw the first season on DVD, and I bought it. I was instantly hooked and practically devoured all the episodes. I quickly realized that Season 2 was going on, but I despaired because there was no way to catch up with the episodes.
Fast forward to a few days ago, I checked on Season 2 on Amazon to see when it would come out on DVD, and I found out - much to my joyful surprise - that I could purchase the episodes on Instant Video. So that's exactly what I did.
I am very happy to say that Season 2 does not...

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The English Teacher

An Appealing A-List Cast Sells This Pleasant Experience, But The Movie Never Quite Figures Out What It Wants To Be
For its A-list cast alone, I'm surprised that "The English Teacher" didn't get a wider distribution or more notoriety. In my world, any time Julianne Moore headlines an indie film, it's time to take notice! Here, Moore is joined by Greg Kinnear, Nathan Lane, Michael Angarano, and Lily Collins for a slight, but not unappealing, comedy about (you guessed it) an idealistic teacher. In looking at some of the other notices, I must admit I'm absolutely shocked by the moral outrage that this film seems to have engendered in certain viewers. The film is so lightweight, I'm just mystified that people have taken it so seriously. Let's just put it this way: if you find the content of "The English Teacher" horrifying, then you must not watch TV, movies, the news, or have any knowledge of the real world. The situations and plot lines in the film's screenplay are so far removed from reality, in fact, that I wonder what all the fuss is about. Are teachers in movies supposed to be saints...

There are some flaws...but I still liked it!
I give this movie 3.5 stars.

The good:
- Julianne Moore plays the awkward teacher perfectly
- Never boring
- Some funny moments
- Cute ending (altho predictable)

The bad:
- NONE of the characters are likeable
- A major lack of character development

Even with the flaws, I cannot help but like this movie. Would I recommend it? Yes.

Different Role for Ms. Moore
Wanted to like this movie more as I was looking for a strong comedy to lighten up a boring Saturday. Nathan Lane did not disappoint, and Julienne Moore was great as always. Just wasn't over the top funny.

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Slightly Single in LA

Excellent date flick and/or chick flick!
A lighthearted comedy that almost gets too serious, but enjoyable all the way through, with an ending that makes everything all worthwhile! Lacey Chabert hands in a terrific job of acting, where you might just believe she IS her character who can't find that right man.

Although not a main character, SNL's Chris Kattan is always good for comic relief, too!

Because of subject content and language, I would recommend SSILA for 18 and over.

Cute Romantic Comedy
I quite enjoyed this movie and all of the characters in it. Light, fun romantic comedy, quirky and fun. The two lead actors were very cute & believable, realistic storyline.

Plays like a pilot to a series
So there's risque language without the body-talk to back it up. It's like watching pretty girls and guys chatting stereotypically inside a teenager's dream with neither style nor substance. I gave up with this film after this dialogue came out: "Fleas are people too.".

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Frankenstein's Army

A B-Movie Extravaganza Featuring Plenty Of Gore, Macabre Humor, And A Terrific Array Of Monsters
When you're going to make a movie and call it "Frankenstein's Army," you'd better be willing to serve up something that lives up to the title! Director Richard Raaphorst draws from the real life experimentation conducted by Nazi scientists to create a movie that goes bat guano crazy with the idea. And I mean that as a huge compliment. The film may not have an intricate plot or complex characterizations, but I doubt anyone approaching "Frankenstein's Army" is expecting a thoughtful drama. What it does present is an elaborate and macabre world of engineered monsters that are both scary and funny. It is like a vision of steampunk technology combined with biological carnage, and it makes this film a visceral sensation. The movie combines over-the-top acting, unsettling visuals, and deranged humor to create something that feels startlingly fresh. Perhaps this isn't a great movie, but I admire the thought and creativity that went behind these fantastic monsters. And at the end of the day,...

Real Makeup FX! No computer cartoons here!
If you are a true fan of Practical Effects and Gore you will enjoy this film. I enjoyed seeing all of the different creations. It feels like you are along for the ride through a psychotic house of horrors! The first 20 minutes or so are slower, but it gets crazy after that. Watch it if you want a fun, disturbing, bloody, good time like they used to make in the 1980's.

Glad I don't do acid anymore...
WOW! Every once in a while a movie comes along that afterwards I kinda wonder "did I really just see what I think I saw?". This was one of those movies. As a horror fan who grew up in the 60's and 70's I remember what films were like before all the CGI technologies came about and this movie is a great example of how to make a freaky and entertaining movie the old fashioned way. This is horror at it's best!

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Now You See Me (Extended Edition) [Blu-ray]

exhilarating fun
I just saw this movie at a screening tonight and more than once the audience cheered and clapped with excitement. This is and intelligent, entertaining film that's fun, funny, and exhilarating -- refreshing in the summer of sequel blockbusters a la Ocean's Eleven. I didn't think it'd be this good, but the plot is written extremely well. I don't want to spoil anything, thus I'll just say that this is one of the best executed cat-and-mouth chases I have seen where everything is truly an illusion.

Don't blink, or you'll miss a lot of the intricacies of the plot. This is definitely a movie to watch and rewatch several times.

Now you see me -extended cut!
Compare with the original cut, the story and relationship among characters are much more intense and make sense better!
I watched Now you see me 3 times in the theater and bought the bluray/dvd combo, yeah I'm quite a big fan of the film and waiting for the sequel as well.
This is why I'm giving 5 stars :) Please enjoy!

THE CLOSER YOU LOOK, THE LESS YOU SEE
The film opens with four quick character introductions of "street" magicians. Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg) uses street magic to meet pretty women. His former assistant Henley (Isla "Legs" Fisher) does a stage act. McKinney (Woody Harrelson) is a hypnotist who uses his ability to shake down people. Jack (Dave Franco) uses his slight of hand to pick pocket people.

The four are summoned by Tarot cards (Lover, High Priestess, The Fool, and Death) to a common location. After the credits they become the world's greatest stage magicians while performing crime. They are followed by FBI Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent). Meanwhile Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) is exposing their seemingly impossible tricks on the Internet.

The film keeps you interested as to their next trick. The movie drops clues as to what is going on, but again there is the classic misdirection here too. It is s fun popcorn action film filled with mystery, drama,...

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Love Is All You Need

That and a Really Good Wig
Chick Flick Alert! "Den skaldede fris

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective [Blu-ray]

good, but I'd like a director's cut, please!!!
Ace Ventura, for the most part, is a perfect vehicle for Jim Carrey. I was pleased with the film the first time I saw it. I have, however, seen it on network TV, and have found out that there are many more scenes present in the TV version not shown on the DVD. These scenes not only make the film better, but also more undestandable.

If at all possible, could we see a WIDESCREEN EXTENDED CUT, Mr. Shadyac???

Thank you very much.

Jim Carrey Hits a Home Run of Comedy with "Ace"
"Ace Ventura - Pet Detective" is a vehicle that is tailor-made for the comedy genuis of Jim Carrey. In his first major comedy, Carrey absolutely carries this picture on top of his broad and very funny shoulders! Carrey will tickle your funny bone in this riotous picture.

Carrey plays "Ace" a pet detective, who gets involved in solving the missing case of a dolphin from the Miami Dolphin's training camp. Co-starring the gorgeous Courtney Cox and believe it or not, Dan Marino, the plot has so many funny moments that I cannot begin to list them all. The jokes fly at you about every second minute, so if you don't like one, just wait for the next! I guarantee you will laugh out loud several times and give your tummy muscles a good workout in doing so.

Carry is a genius in facial expressions that will tie your funny bone in knots. His physical comedy ranks with that of Lucille Ball. Carry establishes his comedic "star" in this flick.

If you want to...

A great breakout role...
Jim Carrey's work in Pet Detective is just short of Brilliant. Funny thing was, he was mostly being himself. Don't let the movie premise fool you. The character of Ace Ventura is not a bumbling detective who lucks out in his cases, he is actually smart and knows what he's doing. This is what I most liked about this movie. He outwits the police at many turns, staying far ahead of them on the case of the missing mascot for the Miami Dolphins, a field goal kicking Bottlenose. In his efforts he befriends, and beds, pre-friends fame, Courtney Cox (say that ten times fast). Even stranger, they seem to have great chemistry. Sean Young plays the hard-nosed Police Lt. I couldn't tell if she was hamming up her reputation as a difficult actress or just over playing the part really well, it was obvious that she wasn't taking this movie very seriously. In any case, this movie can't be taken too seriously anyway, although it does on some levels, but it works. This film marked the first in...

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World War Z

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE UNRATED CUT AND THE THEATRICAL CUT
The Unrated Cut runs about 7 minutes longer than the Theatrical Cut, and primarily contains additional action shots (nothing major). Director Marc Forster has said that the Theatrical Cut IS the Director's Cut, which also unfortunately means that we will not be seeing any footage from the discarded Battle of Moscow (except for a few quick scenes in the closing montage) and the Matthew Fox subplot.

The UNRATED Cut is the one to get! It contains slightly more gore (but not gratuitously so) than the Theatrical Cut, and the action scenes are more fluid and less choppy.

I've listed the primary differences between the Unrated Cut and the Theatrical Cut below. Note, SPOILERS follow below, so read at your own risk.

1) When zombies are shot/stabbed/curb stomped/etc.., they spew CG black blood. When people are bitten, there's more CG red blood.

2) During the opening scene in Philadelphia, there are more scenes of pandemonium and zombies getting...

This is not the book on film!
I've heard a lot of reviews written by fans of the book by Max Brooks and many of them are negative, because they were expecting to see the book made into a movie. Simply put, this is not the same story from the book, however it's still a great zombie film. In fact, it's easily one of my favorite zombie movies of all time. If you're a fan of zombies, whether you've read the book "World War Z" or not (I recommend reading it btw) you will definitely have a good time watching this film. While there's not a lot of gore as in most zombie films, the zombies are pretty creepy and there's lots of 'em and there's enough tension to keep things interesting throughout. If you're on the fence about seeing this movie, let me give you a small nudge to check it out. You won't be disappointed. Just don't expect to see the book made into a movie.

Unrated version is bloodier, still not as good as the book
This movie is a great standalone zombie apocalypse movie, carrying over a few themes from the book. I would say this movie is "inspired" by the book rather than "based" on it.

Still, this movie has its merits. Decent acting, amazing visuals, fairly coherent story. There are a few 'why would he/she/they do that?' moments, but they don't detract from the fun.

Though this unrated version has more blood and guts than the theatrical release, it still doesn't come close to other movies or zombie fare (I think it has less gore than a movie like 'Dredd' or the series "The Walking Dead").

Notable differences: more graphic zombie headshots, a more intense (i.e. bloody) version of the hand removal scene in Israel, and a few more zombie body obliteration sequences.

This version did not contain the original ending everybody is hoping to eventually see.

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Homicidal

A cult favorite - for good reason
Do you remember shrieking with horror and giggling with delight at William Castle's old black and white spook-fests? Well, here's one of his best: Homicidal, a drama that borrows freely from Hitchcock's Psycho.

As the story opens, a strange woman pays a stranger to marry her and promptly kills the man who performed the ceremony. Back in the sleepy town of Solvang, California, we meet a peculiar young man named Warren who has returned to his old home with this mysterious woman. Warren is about to inherit a fortune on his twenty-first birthday, but strange things start happening...and what secrets are hidden in that dark, old house?

This movie is short on actual violence but long on creepy atmosphere and things that go bump in the night. The actors are all good, but the real star is director Castle, who creates a very scary mystery with so much tension you'll be on the edge of your...

Scary as He-Double-Hector!
In 1962, my husband and I, along with many on and off campus college students, went to see the "much touted," Homicidal. Neatly seated in the small theatre, voices were booming until the movie started. Popcorn and cokes were the norm, so we settled down to view the movie we thought would be over rated by the general population of the small town.

Much to our surprise, the black and white thriller lived up to be one of the most horrid things we ever watched. Several minutes into the psycho, popcorn and cokes flew through the air and pelted every head that wasn't under the seat! Screams from men and women echoed as though we were in the Grand Canyon and couldn't get out of the enormous abyss. Taking a few deep breaths to calm our senses, the movie continued while we waited for the next knife to jab into another person's guts. Calm, we were...for awhile.

Refilling the snacks (popcorn and cokes)from the previous episode of the nerve shattering wacko woman's rage, all...

"I don't like your eyes, Helga....they see too much!"
One of the most pre-eminent showmen in Hollywood, William Castle, director of such films as The Tingler (1959) and House on Haunted Hill (1959) released Homicidal in 1961, one year after the release of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho. Some will say it's a blatant rip off of Psycho, and others will say it's more of a homage, but either way, it's a very entertaining film.

The story starts off showing a woman, played by actress Jean Arliss aka Joan Marshall, checking into a hotel and offering a bellboy two grand to marry her. The bellboy is naturally curious, but the lure of the humongous pile of greenbacks keeps his queries to a minimum. They arrive at the Justice of the Peace, late in the evening, and the ceremony proceeds, only to end in a very grisly, visceral murder. Confused? I was too, but all will be revealed as the film progresses. The film's plot is fairly intricate, involving murder, money, and mayhem. The story mainly takes place in a small, southern...

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Spartacus: War of the Damned - The Complete Third Season [Blu-ray]

The final season, and possibly the best
(Updated 4/12/13, 9/4/13)

The Spartacus saga on Starz has given us some of the most powerful and dramatic television of the past decade, and this final season may just be the best of the lot. Spartacus: War of the Damned picks up maybe a year after the stunning finale of Spartacus: Vengeance. Having taken his revenge against the Roman patricians that enslaved him and killed his wife and friends, Spartacus leads what is now an army of liberated slaves in all-out war against the Republic. He struggles with both the cunning Imperator leading the Romans against him and the growing tensions within his own army, mowing down legions and cities while gathering strength for what may become an epic battle for Rome itself.

With this conclusion of the Spartacus series, Stephen DeKnight and company have achieved something quite rare in television, or anywhere else for that matter: an epic story simultaneously offering compelling plot, characters, action and drama, while...

Wonderful Tribute to Spartacus and human freedom
Along with the Walking Dead, this was my favorite series. As much as I loved Andy Whitfield (God bless him and his family), I must say Liam McIntyre was equally outstanding and perhaps even more. It is a bit like comparing your favorite James Bond -- Sean Connery or Roger Moore. All are outstanding and render their own interpretations. I am a PhD in European Military History and approve of this series in the way that they rendered history. We all could have small quibbles about this and that, that the Romans always threw pila (special spears) before closing, that Onamaeus was really a Gaul, not a black man...but what a character he was anyway. The cause of liberty should embrace all human kind and the scriptwriters were courageous and inclusive in making this point. Crixus and Gannicus did exist, the former as a Gaul and the latter as a Celt. Since nothing more is known about them, the scriptwriters were open to their interpretations. Of the three primary accounts about Spartacus, two...

I Am SPARTACUS!
First, for those that may not have ever seen Spartacus on Starz and are looking to get into the series via DVD or Instant Video based on its popularity, Spartacus: War of the Damned is season 3 of the show but technically the fourth season. After the excellent 2010 5-star season premier under the title Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Andy Whitfield who played the lead role of Spartacus tragically died of cancer. Whitfield embodied Spartacus; he was a believable, imposing, rough, tough character that made viewers feel like they were watching the real guy from circa 70 BC. His untimely illness left the studio scrambling to decide how to or if the series would continue. Ultimately the studio decided to produce a prequel that ideally would give Whitfield time to recover after treatment, but sadly Whitfield relapsed and passed shortly after production of the prequel.

The prequel was called Gods of the Arena and it was excellent. But there was something missing from Gods that made...

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Kavanagh Qc Set Two: The Burning Deck

Kavanagh Q.C.
I find John Thaw better at being a Queesn Council than he was as a detective--though I liked Morse too.





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Flair Bartending: Working Flair Series

A ton of moves to increase tips
There is something to be said for a series that teaches SO many moves in slow motion so you can actually learn them. The host, Scott Young, is a great instructor and the material he's teaching is excellent. If you are already a FLAIR performer, this might be a bit basic, but it does say for 0-2 years of experience. If that's where you are in the process, you will walk away from this series learning a lot, certainly enough to start increasing tips destined for your pocket.





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Jesus Christ Superstar 2012 Live Arena Tour (Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)

Region encoding warning
Please note, the region encoding for this is B/2. That means it is viewable in the European region, NOT the US! It's a great show, but a little difficult if you can't watch it. They should include this warning when they post it for sale.

Fantastic presentation, R2 version plays on computer
The HD region 2 version is now available over the internet much less expensive than the upcoming Blue Ray region 1. It will play on your computer or laptop, or just HDMI cable it to your big screen TV. This is a mind blowing exciting version produced by Weber himself the way he thought it should be done. The performers and choreography are first class. This sell out show was performed in 12,000 seat arenas at $121 a ticket. This is, in my opinion, the best presentation of this event ever.

New look, New Actors, same awesome music for a new generation to enjoy!
I was really excited about this version of the musical! I had never seen previous versions until last Summer, when I had the opportunity to go to London. Since I love the Spice Girls (Sporty Spice Melanie C is in this version as Mary) I went to a live taping of the Jesus Christ Superstar reality show that she and Andrew Lloyd Webber were judges for. All I can say is: WOW!

The performances to find the new Jesus were spectacular! I've been to reality talent show tapings in the US, but this one ran like clockwork, which amazing sets moving in and out. During the commercial breaks the audience got to ask the judges questions, and Andrew's comments were really fascinating. He said how JCS was a huge hit in American back in the 70s, but flopped in the UK! In the 70s it was playing arenas and hitting the top 40 with their music, but the UK never got to experience it in an arena as it was intended to be.

This production does have a new age look to it, but you get...

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Hammer of the Gods [HD]

Surprisingly watchable... but wait for a price drop.
As a fan of all things "Viking" I took the plunge and payed the $9.99 rental fee.

The best part of the film is the casting.
Ivan Kaye does a great job portraying a pederast Ivar the Boneless. While I don't agree with the direction the film took with the character, Kaye pulls off the role very well. Viewers may recognize Kaye as King Aella from History Channel's "Vikings" television series.
Another veteran from History Channel's "Vikings" is Clive Standen as Hagen, the main character's closest companion. In History Channel's series Standen plays Ragnar's brother Rollo and Standen pulls off the look and temperament of a Viking in this film just as well.
James Cosmo plays as King Bagsecg and although he gets little screen time he steals every scene where he plays the main character's bitter, dying, father. Viewers may recognize him from "Game of Thrones" where Cosmo portrays Jeor Mormont.
Game of Throne's Alexandra Dowling also makes an appearance as Anges...

Excellent movie very well done and I recommend it.
I don't really agree with the other reviews I thought the movie was very good lots of action and good story line. It keeps your interest and I would recommend it to anyone who likes this type of action movie. I thought the $9.99 was worth it and would pay it again I don't feel you should rate the movie on the trailer alone nor should you base on weather or not to see it on the reviews everyone's taste is different I say rent it watch it and you be the judge.

First rate Viking brutality!
If you enjoy historical fiction like I do, then you'll definitely want to give HAMMER OF THE GODS a look. Granted, you will have to suspend a bit of realism to enjoy the film (for example, the Vikings have slightly British accents and drop F-bombs like the word actually existed back then), but if you can do so then you're in for a treat. This film is visually striking and wonderfully brutal in its content, not to mention immensely entertaining.

I don't mind suspending reality to enjoy a film if I know what to expect going into it. Thankfully, a friend had seen this first and mentioned the use of nonexistent profanity for the time-period, so I was already expecting it. After a bit of conversation, we decided to just accept the usage as a `loose' translation of a vulgarity they would have used back then. We probably spent too much energy on this topic, but nobody has ever called us brilliant.

HAMMER OF THE GODS is shot well and looks great from a visual...

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Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing - Season Two, Part 1 (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray]

Huge disappointment.
The world of Last Exile is one of the more interesting anime realms that I have come across and the original series remains a favorite of mine. The mix of steam punk and sound story-telling draw you in and make you love the stage and feel for the characters on it.

Fam, the Silver Wing looked to be an exciting continuation of that world, but it falls distressingly short. The primary problem comes in the narrative inconsistency and the rather pathetic characters. In what is otherwise a compelling story about empire and conflict - a story dripping in moral implications - the naivete of the protagonist and the nonsensical resolutions of poor moral choices make this almost unwatchable at times. There is nothing worse than having a show try to get you to feel bad for characters engaging in genocide. And it takes a good third of the series to fully explain how this timeline and the prior series ultimately relate, which is supremely confusing.

But for all that, the...

Almost -- but not quite
Frankly, I loved the original Last Exile and mourned the possible loss of Dio as well as the death of the Captain. Now we come to Fam, the Silver Wing and the confusion sets in. I had hoped for an explanation of Dio's escape from death, but there was none. Then we hear that former planet inhabitants have been coming in from the hourglass shaped world for hundreds of years, taking over territory that the inhabitants who never left earth have been working to unite and rebuild. It's confusing because there is no apparent explanation of the time frame in which the story is being set. When did the Anatore-Disith folks return? Why do they all seem to be the same age as in the original story? SPOILER: Why is one of the two leading characters in the previous story in a wheelchair asking whether he'll ever fly again? I watched the complete series twice, just in case I had missed something; however, I don't believe I did. So timeline confusion was a big negative for me along with lack...

What starts brilliantly...
Ends in a predictable all female cast anime style way.

If you are a fan of the series, watch this for sure. In some ways its much better than the first. It also fills in some bits n pieces of what happened after the first ended. But where Fam fails is in the fact most of the cast is all female and the writers don't get creative with it. How characters react to things gets beyond predictable. They use tired out lines about stopping fighting and war...then when someone acts like you'd expect a person to do, everyone is horrified. Moments like: oh no, how could you take revenge on those who murdered so many people?!! You must be more evil than them! Oh how terrible you must be!! It really gets on your nerves later in the series because it just exposes the weaknesses in the characters even more.

Case in point, pay attention to Dian. She is the only character in the entire series who actually stays true to her character and doesn't compromise on it. Fam's head is...

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Parade's End

A Handsome Five Part Miniseries: A Great Benedict Cumberbatch Plays In A Romantic Triangle Set Against A World War I Backdrop
Oddly enough, this handsome co-production (BBC and HBO) of "Parade's End" isn't even the first adaptation of this wartime saga that I've seen this month! BBC has also dusted another version from 1964 out of their archives for DVD release, and I watched that one prior to settling down to this most current version. Although it has no particular bearing on my comments about this interpretation, it might be of interest to you if you love the story. It features nice performances (Jeanne Moody is merciless as Sylvia) and boasts a young Judi Dench as the second female lead Valentine. I love Dench, so it was a win-win! Ford Madox Ford's "Parade's End" is an epic tale of love, scandal, marriage, and war. It is also about propriety, integrity, and retaining gentlemanly values as the world crumbles around you. It has a very moral center which is why the 1964 version didn't even feel particularly dated, and this lovely new adaptation is nicely stylized between the modern and the...

Superb character study
This HBO miniseries is a masterpiece. It is beautifully written and acted, and unusually accurate historically. The film is emotionally devestating on the incompetence of the British military leadership in WWI, and on the hypocracy of social mores in the period before that war. From excellent novels by Ford Maddox Ford, but even better. Also, this is Benedict Cumberbatch's best film performance to date. Buy the video!

Delicious!!
I loved this series - and it gets even better with repeat viewings. If anyone were to delete this from my DVR between now and the time the Region 1 Discs ship I WOULD kill them.

Rebecca Hall is a force, and the rest of the cast is fantastic. Yes it's a bit uneven at times but just go with it - it's worth the ride. This is not a comfy "sit back and be spoon fed" piece by any means. The characters are so layered and complex that you really feel you know them.

After watching Parade's End I saw Benedict in Star Trek - and he was no where NEAR as impressive/appealing without Ford/Stoppards beautiful words and clear motivations. True - he's an actor who can make just about anything he says sound good - but why should he have to? Parade's End is in a word - DELICIOUS!!

The physical changes in Cumberbatch's character over the 10 years of this are at times a bit jarring, but it is 10 years, and he is playing a fat, clumsy, ugly, blond Yorkshireman - if you...

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The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

One of the great Westerns in an amazing package!
MGM released a DVD edition of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" in the late 1990s, but it had few extras, a mono soundtrack, and a scratched print. Finally, MGM has given Sergio Leone's Western epic the double-disc special edition it deserves. The print is restored and as clear as I've ever seen it, the sound is now an astonishing 5.1 Surround (listen to the glass falling off Tuco after he springs through the window in the opening sequence!) nineteen minutes of footage from the Italian original have been restored, and the discs are packed with extras. Even the packaging is great: a sturdy interlocking box, with the DVDs kept in the upper and bottom parts of the two lids. Also inside the box are cards containing posters for the film in five different countries.

The film, like most of the European Westerns of the 1960s, was critically disregarded in its day. The New York Times said of it: "the most expensive, pious, and repellent movie in the history of its peculiar...

Il Cattivo, il Brutto, il Blu-Ray
I am a huge fan of Leone's work, especially his Westerns. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a fantastic entry in his oeuvre (though I rank Once Upon A Time in the West and For A Few Dollars More just above it). It is full of his great style, it's very entertaining, and it features one of the best adversarial trios ever put to film in Blondie, Tuco, and Angel Eyes.

So it is with sadness that I have to rate this Blu-Ray 3 stars (and it's closer to 2.5). I've bought this movie three times now, not counting this Blu-Ray: on VHS, the first single disc DVD, and the SE that came out a few years ago. It should be obvious that I love this movie. When the Blu-Ray was announced, I was ecstatic. High definition Leone? Sign me up! I pre-ordered it along with the new T2 disc. Then I started reading early reviews that said the picture quality wasn't up to snuff. I was disheartened, and decided to cancel my order until I could check out the disc for myself.

I rented it from...

"Such ingratitude after all the times I saved your life..."
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is Sergio Leone's epic masterpiece. While it is part of his Spaghetti Western Trilogy( all three films have different characters and plots), the film stands on its own and really shows you how good a movie can really be. This movie has it all. It has action, drama and even some comic relief in it. It is a timeless classic that is unforgettable. When I first saw it, I was a little kid and couldn't truly appreciate it as I can now at age 22.

Blondie (The Man with No Name) isn't your typical good guy. He mainly does things that suits his own agenda. However, when compared to the murderous Angel Eyes and the greedy Tuco, Blondie is a saint. This tale involves bloodshed, shoot-outs, search for treasure, and double-crossing. And it all takes place while the Civil War is going on, which makes things a lot more "interesting" for the notorious three. The West has never been wilder or more unpredictable than it is now. With an incredible...

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