Wild and Weird - The Alloy Orchestra Plays 14 Fascinating and Innovative Films 1902 - 1965

Ideal Collection With Top Notch Alloy Orchestra Accompaniment
I hesitated to purchase this set because, as a silent film enthusiast, I already have most of the films (11 of 14) in other collections. However I happen to be a fan of the Alloy Orchestra and that combined with a pristine, original title card version of Buster Keaton's THE PLAYHOUSE (which looks gorgeous) and THE RED SPECTRE which I have only seen excerpts from, settled the matter. Adding to the fun are the hand painted slides that were used between films in the early days of cinema. Some of these slides showed up in Kino's THE MOVIES BEGIN set. None of the films are less than fascinating although some are better than others. I am constantly amazed at how creative the pre-feature filmmakers were, employing camera tricks and editing skills that are still in use today and for sheer creative imagination, some of these shorts like Winsor McCay's THE PET, have nevered been equaled.

Once again Flicker Alley has done a fantastic job with this presentation although a couple of the...

three stars for the films
...but I'd only buy it if there were other musical choices. Waiting for the video company mavens to fall out of love with these guys.



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Land Girls Series 2

MORE DRAMA than Land Girls One-same uniform colors
BBC honors farm service gals of WWII again, with more fictional drama, & winning awards. Remember, this is not documentary, and the same old "wrong color" uniforms that caused such a stir in Series 1 are used. But with nostalgic flair. Land gals sure can fill those bib overhauls. The aesthetic license taken to make this a beautiful scenic series within a war period adventure works well again. The writing is authentic enough to keep this war gals' story away from the column of `chick flic'. It's home front reality, scripted as fiction.

Awesome sets. The cast becomes characters you quickly believe in and consider family. Land girls Joyce's (Becci Gemmell) spouse is MIA, Bea (Jo Woodcock-`Dorian Gray') mom to a boy not her hubby's, are back. New LG Connie (Seline Hizli) sexy singing flirt, who taunts the pub pianist Henry (Liam Garrigan), also new, and also clergy. A great sub-plot.
Also returned from Series 1 is Esther (Susan Cookson), her son Martin (Mykola Allen), fat...

Worth watching
I love this series and only wish there were more episodes. It has humor, romance, action, and history. It shows many things that happened in England during the war to the everyday people who were doing their best to support the troops. It portrays many of the hardships these people endured, especially the women who were left behind. It grabbed my interest and held it for every episode.

Very good.
Enjoyed both series 1 and 2. Another interesting view of the life during WWII.
What both women and men did to survie and for their country.

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In The Year 2889

"Don't Touch Him! He's Red Hot With Radioactivity!"...
IN THE YEAR 2889 is a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi epic by schlock-maestro Larry Buchanan. After the nuclear holocaust, an elderly man and his daughter host a group of other survivors in their incredibly well-lit home. This film suffers from being overly talk-y, and from its distinct lack of action (like all Buchanan movies). The true "horror" begins when a humanoid mutant -that looks like a man in a melted Ben Franklin mask- arrives on the scene. Expect a lot of dullness, but if you enjoy movies like LAST WOMAN ON EARTH or THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED (the original Roger Corman movie that this one rips off), then this one might not induce coma...

A heavyweight contender to plan 9 from outerspace for corniest syfy movie ever!
Dare to venture in a nightmare world of post nuclear attack! See some of the best acting and special effects not seen since PLAN 9 FROM OUTERSPACE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! PARENTS I IMPLORE YOU DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS WATCH THIS ALONE!



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petals - journey into self-discovery

No Petals Shown (WTF!)
You'd think that a movie about a book that is promoting the vagina would show a few vaginas. Not here. There are a bunch of people talking about how women should not be ashamed of their vaginas, how beautiful vaginas are, and how no vagina looks the same; yet no vaginas. I thought the whole point was that there is nothing to be ashamed of. Seems ridiculous to me. What's next? Will they produce a show about gardening, yet show no plants? Or maybe they'll make a travel documentary about Italy, and just interview people from Utah who've been to Italy. If I could give this boring show zero stars, I would. You might find that watching paint dry is more interesting. A total waste of time and money.

Petals
With only two reviews to go on...it was hard to push the buy button. I am glad I did. As a woman..I have always been uncomfortable with that which should be hidden...even not talked about. This movie is beautiful in making what is natural...and part of every women..seem beautiful and unique/individual. I am very glad to have seen it and will show it to my teenage daughter tomorrow.
If you are a woman...watch it. Its very well done and tasteful.

It's a poor talk show.
It's a poor talk show. The cover, both picture and title, is misleading. You cannot see any beautiful stuff. Save you money.

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Travel Yoga: Yoga For Your Active Lifestyle (DVD)

My Favorite Yoga Video!
This video is great! There are 4 segments that are under 15 minutes each. It's perfect, cuz I'm on the go all the time. I travel alot, so I can do stretches on the plane, in my car, and then I can do a meditation in my hotel if I like. The cool thing is that this video isn't just for travelers, I can do the video at home too! Jenn's instructions are clear & easy to follow. She has a calm and soothing voice.

Love It! One of my favorite yoga video's
I really enjoy this video. I'm traveling a lot for my job and my big excuse for not exercising is "I don't have time" to go the studio. This has been great I put it on the commuter and have a great yoga session right in the hotel. I've notice I'm much less stressed and my eating habits funny enough are much better. Its a must buy I give it an A+

Production Quality Very Poor
I didn't actually practice with this at all because I was put off by the very poor production quality. Sure, I could have missed out on a great yoga series but it just looked so amateurish.

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Oriental Massage: Express Basic Techniques

Glad I watched it.
Fairly good instruction. Learned some good techniques. Watched this because I'm taking a class like this in the Spring. Music is really annoying because it's the sound of a chime over and over.





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Icky Twerp: The Electronic Babysitter

Icky Twerp - Hero from Ft. Worth, TX in the 1960's
First of all, I enjoyed watching this. If you were a kid in the 1960's and lived in the Dallas - Ft.Worth area, you are probably familiar with Icky Twerp and watched his Slam Bang Theatre, a locally produced kids tv show. Icky performed skits with his sidekick gorillas and band between showings of the Three Stooges and popular cartoons of the time, shown early in the morning while we were eating breakfast and getting ready for school. The subject matter is close to my heart, and thats why I liked it. I probably would have given it 5-stars for that reason alone.

From a movie making perspective, it was really quite amateurish. Bad amateurish at that. The clips from Slam Bang Theatre looked like there was no restoration at all done to them and they were very grainy. I suspect on top of that, the movie editors put even more grain, snow and fuzz to give it an even older feel. Too much. There were a few interviews with coworkers and Mr. Camfields son, but not much more...





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Fuzzbucket

Finally Opening The Vault!
For years, I have wanted Disney to start releasing on DVD the shows and movies that I remember seeing and growing up on in the 80s when "The Disney Sunday Movie", or whichever title it was going by, was on TV. I was extremely excited when I discovered that Disney had indeed opened the vault and were releasing wonderful titles on the 'Disney Generation Collection' line. How great! Maybe we will finally get more of the shows/movies/specials we have been waiting for.

"Fuzzbucket" is a charming and whimsical tale that, even though we have seen it's kind before and probably will know exactly who it goes, doesn't fail to be charming, watchable, and takes you back to a more fun and innocent time. 12 year old Michael Gerber is starting middle school. Everyone thinks that his invisible friend, Fuzzbucket, is just Michael acting out over starting MS. How wrong they are. Fuzzbucket is real. Once he becomes visible, we see that he sort of looks like a mixture of Alf and a rat...

Memories
My adult daughter was thrilled to find this in her stocking. I recall wonderful memories of her and her friend Casey watching this movie and loving it. And the bonus, she looked up her childhood friend just to tell her about getting the movie. AWESOME!!!!

Excellent little show
This little show was a great memory, and especially so for my son. I only gave it a 4 star rating because the "quality" of the print was not the best in a couple of spots, but still well worth owning and viewing again and again.

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Madame Bovary [DVD] [1991]

C'EST MAGNIFIQUE...
This is an excellent adaptation of the Gustave Flaubert novel of the same name. Isabelle Huppert is superb as the central character, Emma, a prosperous farmer's daughter, who marries a doctor, Charles Bovary (Jean Francois Balmer). He is a kind and gentle soul who adores her and wants nothing more than to make her happy. The problem is that he does not know how. Even Emma does not really know what would make her happy.

This is the story of Emma Bovary and her unhappy, wasted, shallow life. She is a woman who on the surface seems to have everything, an adoring, doting husband, a lovely, healthy daughter, an attractive well appointed home. Yet, she is unhappy. She loathes her husband, finding him pedantic and dull. She has little time for her daughter and seems to have little motherly instincts. What worldly goods she has never seem to ber enough.

Seeking fulfillment, she takes lovers who always seem to fail her in the end. She mistakes passion for love and never...

The Madame of Bad Decisions
This film is a French adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's classic tale of human bondage, "Madame Bovary."

I expected this adaptation to be better than others I have seen simply because it was done by the French, but sadly the film does not hold up to Flaubert's original work. Isabelle Huppert does a so-so job as the lead character, the great sufferer, Madame Bovary. Huppert does not show enough passion and emotion for my taste though, the original character is consumed by suffering and desperately stabs at whatever form of relief comes her way, but Huppert doesn't quite get any depth out of this performance. She looks lovely in her period costumes however. Madame Bovary succumbed to adultery, debtful spending habits and even suicide while being married to Dr. Bovary and never feeling passionately satisfied with her life. The character is both the ultimate victim of her own circumstances and that of the stigma society held over women of her time. In the classic novel she...

Flaubert + Chabrol = Period Drama
"Madame Bovary," based on the novel by Gustave Flaubert, stars Isabelle Huppert in the title role. Unsuccessfully prosecuted by the French government as "immoral" after its publication in 1857, "Madame Bovary" is the story of a country doctor's wife bored with the banalities and emptiness of her provincial life in 19th-century France. To escape, she throws herself into love affairs with a suave local landowner (Rodolphe Boulanger) and a law student (Leon Dupuis) and runs up huge debts, much to the dismay of her dull husband. The 1991 film, directed by Claude Chabrol, closely follows Flaubert's novel and beautifully captures most of the famous scenes. Filmed in Rouen and neighboring villages, it lavishly evokes 19th-century France with its winding country roads, meadows, and homes. Period costumes complete the portrait of the era. The movie is in French with English subtitles. The two-disc DVD includes the bonus documentary "Isabelle Huppert: A Life of Acting.

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Hannie Caulder [Blu-ray]

A Fistful Of Raquel
Since I was a teenager growing up in the late sixties, I always thought that Raquel Welch was greater than the sum of her parts (no pun intended) and always gave excellent performances which were few and far between when the public craved the cheesecake rather than the actress. She proved this with 'FATHOM', one of the best female secret agent movies ever made and her trio of westerns ,'BANDOLERO' in which she played a grieving widow with teeth, '100 RIFLES' playing Burt Reynolds girlfriend of the Revolution and could handle a gun and Jim Brown as well as her bandit team, and 'HANNIE CAULDER' the best role of her career and one of the most underrated films in the Western genre. Written and Directed by Burt Kennedy , this was a British, Spanish,co-production which is in the company of Edward Dmytryk's 'SHALAKO' with Sean Connery and Don Medford's 'THE HUNTING PARTY' with Oliver Reed and Gene Hackman and could almost pass as a Spaghetti Western but not quite. Not only does it give...

It's about time!
Obviously this "review" is not for the DVD - it hasn't been released yet. The 5 stars are a kind of "what took you so long" for an official Region 1 release! I bought an import version (Korean I think) of this movie several years ago because I got tired of waiting, but I have no idea yet how it compares to this upcoming release.

This movie is a strange bird. I find it a very enjoyable "revenge" Western. But there IS something jarring about the slapstick way the gang of rapists (Elam, Martin and Borgnine) are portrayed. There is also something stupid about the way the "mysterious stranger" is introduced into the plot towards the end of the movie - I have often wondered if some part of the story line was just left out through bad editing, or if the director was just manifesting contempt for the audience. Maybe this release, if it includes commentary, will clear up the matter.

Anyhow, neither of these two criticisms ultimately detract from my overall enjoyment of...

Hannie Caulder
I'm so glad that this movie is finally to be released on DVD. I have an "imported" copy. Although I have difficulty with the, almost comedic,antics of the villains,as well as the mysterious stranger, this movie is a gem. The late Robert Culp was always one of my favorite actors. As Thomas Luther Price, his courage, integrity and prowess with a gun are unmatched...as is his compassion. Being a shooter and collector of "Old West" firearms, I found that as a teacher, Robert Culp was unbeatable. He showed Hannie the proper form, and approach to shooting a six gun, with a mixture of toughness, understanding, and patience. His advice, at all levels, was both wise and true. Such was Thomas Luther Price's "presence", that something about the movie seemed to die with his absence. For those who value courage and integrity, coupled with compassion,and the "romance" of a love left unspoken, I highly recommed this movie.

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Olympic Weightlifting: A DVD Guide to Learning & Teaching The Olympic Lifts

much improved second edition, great cues
Having done olympic lifts for the last 10 years but not having instruction on them either in about 9 had left my technique with some holes. I have always been able to get a good amount of weight up but I wasn't efficient with my lifts. This video shows just about if not every movement involved in olympic lifts in full speed as well as slow motion with an occasional pause where the point of emphasis is. When dealing with movements that are done in a split second this breakdown of the movement is vital in seeing what you want your athlete (or yourself) to be concentrating on. I recommend this for all lifters novice and experienced as we can all take something from it, well worth the investment.

A Systematic Approach to Learning the Olympic Lifts
This volume represents a thorough presentation of the basic and advanced training to acquire and build the skills to successfully perform the 2 Olympic lifts. For those unfamiliar with Olympic lifting, this sport demands the development of flexibility, co-ordination, speed, and finally, power. Performance of the lifts represents a true measure of overall body strength and agility. All of this goes far beyond gym rat bodybuilding and power lifting (no disrespect - but what are you guys trying to accomplish?).

In more than 50 chapters, Greg Everret methodically works through the basics for learning and performing the lifts. This is probably the first time that I have seen both a precise description of the hook grip and the reasons to use it. Everret uses a unique approach to the lifts by breaking down the lifts into specific movements and exercises from the top down. Learning to lift from the floor is the last part of the lessons.

I am 65 years old and have...

Thorough and Instructional
Coming to the Olympic Lifts as a CrossFit coach, Greg Everett has made an incredibly thorough and instructional DVD here. When combined with the accompanying book, you are really able to get inside the details and technique of each lift, including several different progressions. Highly recommended only if you really want to learn how to perform and / or teach the lifts. Not for anyone looking for a quick, "get fit now!" program.

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Ripley's Game [HD]

Fun and games among the sociopathic elite
Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley is a true sociopath and Malkovich plays him chillingly. Although I had trouble understanding the basic scam that seems to be driving the plot of this movie, I have a hunch it is not really significant anyway. The movie seems to be primarily a metaphor for modern (postmodern?) life and the seduction of an honest (but weak and dying) man by evil. Dougray Scott plays the "innocent" party. His moral struggle and agony is constantly displayed on his face. It is hard to imagine how he as an actor could produce all this intense emotion when he is getting nothing but deadpan understatement from Malkovich. But their partnership on the screen is truly eerie. And the stony coldness of the Berlin setting (with its unforgetable associations with nazi evil) only adds to the general atmosphere of creepiness. Although I don't know if his line comes from Highsmith's novel, it does seem consistent with the existential aura in which she casts her killers to have Scott's...

Superb psychological thriller
Twice as enjoyable as "The Talented Mr. Ripley", and probably shot for a tenth of the price, this later installment in the Ripley saga can happily dispense with the coming-of-age angst and crank up the mature Ripley's violent menace. Living a quiet life in a villa near Venice, Ripley is called upon by an old partner to arrange an assassination. After some consideration he proposes a total innocent for the dangerous task - a local picture framer against whom Ripley has a grudge. Ripley also knows the man is terminally ill and will need money to provide for his wife and son. He looks to be a suitable pawn but, of course, not everything goes as planned . . . John Malkovich brings a chilling and seductive elegance to the role of Ripley which Matt Damon could never provide. It's essential here, because what's important about this story is Ripley's utter amorality and dangerous vanity, and how both traits lead him into a situation in which his self-conception is ultimately challenged...

Murder amidst sophistication arttistically done
Insults lead to bad tidings in "Ripley's Game", an Italian production that contrasts high art with everyday murder and thievery and effectively pulls off this dichotomy. John Malkovich stars as Ripley, a self-described "talented improvisor" that lives like a prince in an Italian estate thanks to his mischevious nature. His lifestyle as killer and art thief supports his girlfriend's high falutin' keyboard career in addition to his own very prosperous lifestyle.

When a 9-to-5 married picture framer unknowingly insults Ripley during a party, he sets up the schnook through lowlife partner Ray Winstone -- an earthy foil to Malkovich's refined character -- and he is soon knee deep in an enterprise of murder and mayhem that monumentally disrupts life for his lovely wife and young son. This, Ripley suggests, is "the game."

Soon the picture framer -- who is driven to murder by greed and his own cancer -- is led into a deepening morass of killing and greed where Ripley is...

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The Sacrifice: 2-Disc Remastered Edition

FIVE STARS FOR THE FILM, THREE FOR THIS DVD
THE SACRIFICE is a true work of art. It is probably the most beautiful film by the cinematic poet Andrey Tarkovsky. It is also the most accessible among his works: unlike his films prior to this one, the plot of THE SACRIFICE itself is quite simple and easy to catch. A retired actor- journalist-author (some kind of an intellectual superman) hero living in a beautiful sea-shore house suddenly faces the end of the world: a nuclear war. What can he do to stop it? He prays to God, he who never believed in God before, and offers himself to be the sacrifice for saving the world as he knows, a world which for the first time, he realises how much he loves it.

The plot is simple, but its implication is complex. One who believes in God and the absolute love he represents can see this as a story of miracle. An atheist can see this as all being a hallucination of a repressed old man. Tarkovsky makes the film in a way that you can interpret it in whatever way you want. But in...

Thought-provoking film; great-looking DVD!
Kino on Video should be proud of their work releasing Tarkovsky's THE MIRROR and THE SACRIFICE on DVD. The DVD of THE SACRIFICE looks markedly superior to any version of the film available on home video. Doing a direct comparison with the old Image laserdisc, I was struck by how much better the DVD captured the film's subtle gradations of light and color, how it revealed details in the set design which I had never noticed before. For Tarkovsky this is all-important. In addition, the DVD includes a feature-length documentary on Tarkovsky which says a great deal about his working methods as a director and his thoughts on the cinema in general. If you have any interest in Tarkovsky or in film as an art form, the DVD is recommended.

This is not to say that the film itself is perfect. I strongly believe that Tarkovsky's last two films, made in Europe (the other was the Italian co-production NOSTALGHIA), are distinctly inferior to his Russian films, especially his masterpieces...

A Definite Upgrade But Still Lacking
Kino's blu-ray release of "The Sacrifice" is unquestionably a better release than all previous DVD versions. Unfortunately, it is also plagued by several forms of unnecessary manipulation by Kino. There are visible edge-enhancement halos everywhere, especially in outdoor scenes. The picture has also been egregiously bathed in excessive DNR, to where the image rarely looks filmic, but rather soft and digital. I'm ecstatic that Tarkovsky films are making their way stateside in HD, but you can't help but feel that the transfer would have been handled better by a distributor like Criterion, who knows how to restore films without such destructive tinkering.

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...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of The Dead Live in Concert

its okay...
I'm not the biggest fan, but if you like the band its worth watching. Check out the double drumming, and multiple guitars.

Follow the Trail
This is an awesome show. I have not followed Trail's more recent albums, so half the songs were fresh to me and they still kept my interest. Like someone said, there is nothing else out there live from these guys. So this is a keeper. A good one. The audio is great, despite some edits where they obviously used another recorded live source to cover problems. A lot of energy! They look committed to the performance. No fancy lights and no big video screens. Just an intimate, aggressive, sweaty blow-out. Dual drums and a full wall of guitar and keyboard sound. I saw Trail of Dead on the tour for their 2nd full-length album in LA. I actually ended up on stage with about a dozen other people jumping and thrashing about amongst the band. I successfully grabbed a couple of people and saved them from flying off the stage to the hospital. Good times. This brought it all back. I highly recommend enjoying this video. Shows what good playing can do to an audience without all the stage-show...

GOOD
good I like it a lot and stuff I remmenocd to peps who like rock music #YOLO #LERBON JAMES #nba

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The Making of the President : The 1960s

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE PRESENTATION, historical & unbiased politically
WELL DONE! 3 separate documentaries, award-winning, based on Theodore H. White's books, one a Pulitzer Prize winner. Each feature is 79 min. and is a continual look at elections via historic archival film footage. Very nostalgic for those of us old enough to have watched 1960's election news. The footage, some a half-century old, explains the predominance of B/W. The final '68 disc has the early period-capable color. You see it as all Americans (the world) saw it on TV. Wonderful. When the actual footage sound is muted, excellent narration fills the audio.

SUBTITLES exist for all 3 features, PLUS the bonus films. Viewer's guide adds fun campaign historical info. Remember Pat Paulsen?

1 THE MAKING OF THE PRESIDENT, 1960
Eisenhower will be replaced by whom? Footage goes from primary campaigns to conventions and finally the fall election JFK wins. This period of time is when campaigns/conventions were more than money & TV ads. The conventions actually chose a...

So much political history. Wish the sound was better
Has very interesting history but sound makes it difficult to understand what some of the charaters are saying. So many historical faces but often not names. Names as subtitles would have been helpful with position title. Still, worth the time to watch. Really learn at lot about our presidents and what they went through to reach the office of President. You also learn about our relationship with other countries plus other additonal info.

Takes you back to a simpler era.
Especially found the bonus material regarding the JFK tribute at the '64 convention very moving, in view of the upcoming 50th anniversary of that day in Dallas........

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Crack in the World [Blu-ray]

Another "Chiller Theater" gem released on DVD
Every Saturday night @ 11:30, I'd settle down on the couch for 3+ hours of horror and/or sci-fi on TV courtesy of Pittsburgh, Pa's "Chiller Theater" hosted by "Chilly Billy" Cardille. Among my many favorites was "Crack in the World," about a scientist who, through underground testing of some sort, creates a mammoth fissure in the earth that keeps getting bigger and bigger, threatening to tear the earth apart. I've always loved this movie, especially the uncompromising ending, and I'm happy to see it finally being released in DVD. Check it out.

Sure the science is outdated, but it's a fun movie nonetheless.
Interesting story about a dying scientist who plans to tap the geothermal energy beneath the Earth's crust, with dire consequences. Andrews, Scott and Moore, as well as Alexander Knox, all give excellent performances. Special effects are superb and very believable. I remember seeing this on TV when I was little, and it scared me to DEATH. Seeing it again as an adult, it is not quite as scary, but is still fast-paced and entertaining.

While the science is now dated, thanks to the discovery of plate tectonics (the Earth's crust is divided into may separate "plates", and therefore already has many "cracks"), the story is still entertaining. The interaction between Dr. Sorenson (Andrews), an aging scientist trying for one last victory; his young wife Maggie (Scott), a scientist in her own right; and Dr. Rampion (Moore), the project's geologist and an old flame of Maggie's to boot; works very well, even if it is a bit formulaic.

All in all it is a fun movie, and...

Crack in the World....Excellent
I too am a great fan of this movie. I spent years looking for it, and about 3 months ago, I found a very watchable version at a site when I Googled it. The disc only cost $10....but. About half way through, down in the lower right hand corner the symbol "AMC" popped up and I realized that it was just a good copy made from the American Movie Classic channel.

This version that is now being released should be far superior....and I look forward to it.

If you have not seen this movie, by all means give it a try. There is not a single wasted minute in the whole film. Excellent!

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The Witchmaker

Cheap thrills...just the way you like 'em!
The Witchmaker (a.k.a. "The Legend of Witch Hollow," the alternate title that actually appears on-screen here) is one of those movies that horror fans have HEARD about for years, yet relatively few had actually probably seen. Its legend among witchcraft-themed movies has loomed large, however, and its "official" release on DVD is an important event for horror cinema.

[Minor Spoilers ahead] Green Acres' Alvy Moore is the paranormal researcher who stumbles upon murder and supernatural mayhem in bayou country. It turns out one of his students (the lovely Thordis Brandt) is a descendant of witches. Their investigation also pits them against a powerful, creepy sorcerer known as Luther the Berserk.

Despite being unavoidably dated, all this is played out with dead seriousness, helping The Witchmaker to rise above its surface camp appeal. There's plenty of bright red blood and some near-nudity (think a late-sixties Hammer feature) to keep things moving along. The...

History of THE WITCHMAKER initial marketing and premiere in 1969.
History of THE WITCHMAKER initial marketing and premiere in 1969.

"The Witchmaker" (1969) was a low budget horror movie released in the summer of 1969, which made a lot of money in drive in theaters in the Los Angeles, California area, following it's heavily promoted world premiere at the Acres Drive In located in Phoenix, Arizona.

Here's the background story of my connection with THE WITCHMAKER (1969 Excelsior Films) starring Alvy Moore, Thordis Brandt, Anthony Eisley, and John Lodge (also Susan Bernard).

I'm currently a movie actor, but didn't start paid, full time movie actor work until 1970 in Hollywood.

Before that, I worked two years as a regional movie publicist for a SF CA USA based regional ad/PR agency which specialized in local (SF Bay area) movie publicity, primarily for Warner Bros., but also for other studios, large and small.

United Artists Theatre Chain of SF CA showed a lot of "Indy" movies (along w/Hollywood...

The Witchmaker - Code Red dvd release is stellar!
Before anyone asks, I was able to get THE WITCHMAKER early from a store that doesn't necessarily stick to release dates. I wanted to make sure folks know that this release from Code Red is the ONLY FULLY AUTHORIZED release with producer LQ Jones' involvement. The image quality very ably betters the old Midnight Video release in every way since it is a new HD transfer from elements provided by Jones (significantly better colors and detail, anamorphic, many fewer scratches). It also features an 18+ minute conversation with LQ Jones and a commentary track with LQ and cinematographer John Morrill. OAR is 2.35:1. I have posted some screen caps at a few cult movie forums, just do a search online.

THE WITCHMAKER (aka Legend Of Witch Hollow) is a great movie that follows Alvy Moore, Thordis Brandt, Anthony Eisley and others investigating mysterious murders in the swamp. They come up against Luther The Beserk, creepily played by John Lodge, and his minions from the other side...

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Training to Win! From Reno Nevada to Verdi California. Virtual Indoor Cycling / Spinning Fitness Videos

Great group virtual ride!
This is another amazing training video shot from a camera on the handlebars (but with no vibration!). It has good music and can be used in several different ways. In this video you are in the middle of a group ride with all of the hand signals, conversation, and even wrong turns that usually accompany such a ride. You get the feel, as you train indoors in the winter, that you are actually with a bunch of riders in Nevada. This is much more enjoyable than watching people spin on trainers indoors, or outdoors for that matter. This is like you are actually riding this route. I highly recommend this DVD.

Based on this video and the Anaerobic I video, I have ordered two more because they are that good.

Training to Win! Video Preview


Another great workout
This video has all the usual bells and whistles of Paul's other videos - real-time workout data on the dashboard (rpm, power level, heart rate, hill profile, and so on) - and you need it! There are not a lot of hills but it is a really fast, crazy pace. Good scenery and background music, and lots of good coaching by Paul on how to manage the ride and get the most out of it.

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Starsky & Hutch [HD]

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson Enforce Laughter
Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller are two of the funniest actors around these days, and they're even funnier when they're teamed up. Starsky and Hutch puts them in the roles of two drastically different cops chosen to work together. This approach may seem overdone, but Stiller and Wilson keep the screen fresh. They are both incredible actors and comedians; it would be hard to watch this film without laughing out loud.

Owen Wilson is Hutch, a laid back cop that likes to bend the rules. He never gets any work done and even drinks on the job. Starsky is the exact opposite. He is uptight and follows the rules to the book. You wouldn't guess, but he's also one hell of a driver. His car of choice is a red Grand Torino, and man can he make it fly. However, both Starsky and Hutch are outcastes at the police office, so they are put together. Naturally, the two characters hate each other when first paired up.

They soon get on the case of some drug dealers who are trying to get a...

Uneven, but turns out to be diverting and fun...
I remember having a discussion with a friend, once, about people in high school and how there are three groups of them - (1) the ones you hate, (2) your friends, and then the third group: the people that you could live without, but you simply don't have the energy to actively dislike them...so you're nice to 'em. Watching Starsky and Hutch last night, I realized that those three groups totally apply to movies, also - filth like Welcome To Mooseport easily falls into that first category, masterful cinema like The Passion slides into the second one, and then...well...stuff like Starsky and Hutch goes right into that third category. Unlike director Todd Philips' earlier films, Road Trip and Old School, there's a sweet, harmless quality to Hutch that, even though I can't say I loved it, I enjoyed myself.

The '70's cop show isn't so much parodied in the movie but used as a springboard to pair Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, who - with the right project (The Royal Tenenbaums) - can rock...

Not Half Bad, Actually
I never watched the television series "Starsky & Hutch." It just had no real appeal to me as I was never a fan of cops shows where the cops drove great cars and were somehow really cool, good looking, and always got the gal. So when my wife suggested seeing this film, I balked a little at first. However, the presence of Owen Wilson, who always seems to entertain in whatever film he is in, convinced me to go. I don't know if this is faint praise or not, but the movie's not that all that bad.

First, if you like Stiller, you'll like this movie. I personally find him to be an acquired taste. He just doesn't seem that funny to me and it seems to me his success is always dependent on the surrounding case to make the film work. Teaming with Wilson again (they previously made "Zoolander" and "Meet the Parents," although in each Wilson had clearly secondary roles) is a good start toward making the film work.

The film trys hard to be over-the-top funny, sometimes playing on some of the...

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Total Recall 2070: Complete Series

This is an Amazing Cyberpunk series!
Total Recall 2070 is about a dystopian near feature. The world is run by powerful companies who can do about anything to anyone. David Hume is a detective at the Citizen's Protection Bureau, when his partner is killed by a rouge android he is partnered with Ian Farve who happens to be the first Alpha android. The show is a science fiction cop show and most of the episodes is based around some atrocity one of the huge companies is doing and David and Ian fighting it, there is also plenty of sub plots including allot of them based around David's wife Olivia. The overarching metaplot of the series is trying to find out where Ian comes from and sorting out all the threads in a huge conspiracy.

This series have great characters. The setting is close enough to ours to be recognizable but it is darker, a warning of what might happen if cooperations who only think about money and profit is allowed to run loose and unchecked. The science fiction elements of this show blends very...

Great Little Known SciFi
"Total Recall 2070" is a very well written well made Showtime TV show, from start to finish. Made in 1999, it has good charcters. Starring Michael Easton, from ABC soaps, "Port Charles" and "One Life To Live", showcases his ability to portray the somewhat disgruntled cop. Don't let the title fool you, it is really based on "Blade Runner" but they couldn't the rights to title the show "Blade Runner 2070". It captures the feel of the Blade Runner world very well. The effects are not top notch, very early CGI looking, like the "Babylon 5" show, but gets the job done in a great overall arcing story for the whole season. Very good charcters, acting and great continuity writing, made this one of the best scifi shows no one saw. The actor Karl Pruner, that plays Easton's partner, Favre (Yes, like Brett Favre), does as good as job as an andriod as Brent Spiner did as Data. Too bad it was only on Showtime and couldn't find an audience.

Unsung
This little noticed show was underrated and only lasted one excellent season. Well conceived and executed, good acting and directing leaves one wanting more. Unique, very enjoyable. One trip to Mars, not much in common with the movie.

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Gettysburg: Director's Cut [HD]

A brilliant recreation of America�s most famous battle!
"Gettysburg" is one of my all-time favorite war films! It re-creates the Civil War's battle of Gettysburg with superb acting, an excellent screenplay, a hauntingly beautiful musical score, and some of the most authentic and stirring battle scenes I've ever seen in a movie.

Based upon Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Killer Angels," this film follows the principal characters, and chronicles the main events, which occurred at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from July 1-3, 1863. The events depicted in the film are notable for their historical accuracy. Some of the most exciting battle scenes in the film are General John Buford's engagement with the Confederates on the high ground north of Gettysburg on July 1; the defense of Little Round Top by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine on the following day; and, of course, Pickett's Charge on the final day of the battle. The battle scenes contain plenty of smoke and fire, but are also...

Outstanding transfer to DVD
Many other reviewers have written about the movie Gettysburg itself, so I thought I would comment on the DVD itself.

I have an extensive DVD collection, and if you have experienced what I have, among them are the great quality transfers and some real dogs. Gettysburg might well be THE finest transfer I've seen. The video (I play it on a widescreen HDTV) and audio are outstanding. I must emphasize that the video delivers unbelievable clarity, perhaps the best I've seen. Clearly, the careful attention to detail and loving recreations that were the foundation for the original movie have been carried to the DVD with that same committment. It is refreshing to see a studio that REALLY cares about its product.

As an aside, I should also mention I am an amateur Civil War historian focused on the battle of Gettysburg and of course find the film an outstanding, albeit limited, short history of the battle. This DVD will expand other people's knowledge if they avail themselves of the...

"Gettysburg" holds true to Shaara's book
"Gettysburg" is perhaps the best attempt by any film to capture a single battle from beginning to end. It is not a movie for everyone since there is no artificially-embedded love story (as in. "Pearl Harbor"), and in fact, there are no women in this movie at all. It sets out to depict the largest battle ever fought on the American continent. Its success is the product of the deliberate choice of the director to respect the source material, namely one of the finest historical war novels ever written, "The Killer Angels", by Michael Shaara.

Gettysburg is a battle of superlatives. It was the largest and bloodiest encounter battle of the Civil War, adding up the three days between July 1 and July 3, 1863, and it tore the heart out of the Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.. It is also the most controversial battle, generating more than its share of debates over decisions and tactics. Was Lee off his game at Gettysburg, as Shaara suggests? Or, as other historians argue, was the...

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Beauty and the Beast (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Luminous, magical, deeply moving film; superb DVD
Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (1946) is not only one of the greatest films I have seen - a perfect blend of poetic fantasy and psychological depth - it's also one of my all-time favorites. The restored version from the Criterion Collection is among the best DVDs I have seen, both for the breathtaking clarity of the image and sound, and for a wealth of supplemental materials, including several fascinating documentaries, essays in a lavish printed booklet, and Philip Glass's complete opera synched to the film on a separate audio track.

With each re-viewing of Beauty and the Beast, I see new layers of Cocteau's vision. As a child, I was enthralled by how real, and actually lived in, this fairy tale world seemed. And I was spellbound by the Beast, brought fully, both horribly and tenderly, to life by Jean Marais' riveting performance. I will never forget the Beast's death scene, when Marais expresses worlds of pain, love, and self-understanding solely through the eyes peering out...

ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A GREAT FILM...
In this, his first feature film, director Jean Cocteau set a standard for filmmaking that not even he could surpass. A masterpiece of inventive, surreal imagery, this film captivates the viewer as few other films have. Haunting, lyrical, and enchanting, this film retells the story of an age old fairy tale classic, "Beauty and the Beast" by Jeanne Marie LePrince De Beaumont. The film is sheer poetry in motion.

This marvelous, exquisitely rendered adaptation centers around the core of the fairy tale. An impoverished merchant (Marcel Andre) comes across a most unusual chateau, deeply hidden in the forest, where he is provided with hospitality by an unseen host. Upon leaving, he happens to break off a rose from a rosebush in the garden of his reclusive host, in order to take it back to Beauty (Josette Day), the most beloved of his three daughters. This simple act calls forth his previously unseen host, The Beast (Jean Marais), who tells him that the theft of that which The...

A treasure trove of Beauty
I vascillated for a long time on picking up this disc. Its pricey and I asked myself, how often I would want to revisit this film, practically memorized by now, having viewed it countless times over the years.

Yet something drew me to this edition, and the verdict is definitely a positive one. The restored version is lovely-all the incredible contrasts of soft greys, silver and stark blacks have been gloriously brought back to life. This what they mean by "in glorious black and white!" There is a clarity and richness here that gives the viewer an opportunity to notice subtlties that were obscured by the scratchy old print that was used on the VHS version. Gone are the distracting audio pops and clicks and most of the visual scratches, allowing the viewer to more readily fall into the dreamy trance of this timeless film.

Cocteau was a poet and a visionary,and despite the technical limitations of film in the 1940's, he brought real magic to the screen, something...

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Wretches & Jabberers [HD]

A must see--if you are human.
I saw this amazing documentary at the theater premiere with my sister. We are both educators in special education with an interest in the area of autism. My sis is a school psychologist and I am a special ed teacher. This movie/documentary clearly makes the case...that we need to stop trying to measure the intelligence of people who have autism with traditional IQ testing in the schools. This movie so clearly demonstrates that the inability to communicate effectively, does not make you cognitively disabled...it can however make you a very lonely human being. I left the film feeling very emotional but inspired to continue my fight for autism awareness and I will continue to advocate for my students who have autism. A must see for anyone that cares about human beings...this movie has changed me and how I work with all children. Heartbreaking and Heartwarming.

Enlightening and moving film!
I saw this film last night at a conference for autism and low incidence. I was not an attendee, but rather, a member of the video crew. I've worked live events for almost 25 years and not a single one has made such an impact on me as this one. I really knew nothing about what autism really is until I met Tracey and Larry along with their associates Harvey and Pascal. This film does a lot to show us what really is inside of these two men who are autistic. Tracey's intelligence and Larry's poetic phrasing amazed me. This is not a preachy film, this is a fantastic documentary that is worth viewing for it's film making alone.

Waking Up The World
I have seen this film more than 6 or 7 times every time it is in my area. I also have the DVD. These two autistic men have given there heart and sole to make this film. They show emotion, laugher, but most of all the intelligence that these two guys have is amazing. No one should ever under estimate anyone with autism or any other dissability. It is a wonderful film taking place in Shi Lanka, Finland and Japan and also the home towns of Larry and Tracy. The trip was to show the world that there are others just like Tracy and Larry everywhere who are being out casts because of their autism. I cried , I laughed, and most of all you will be totally educated on just what autism really is about. I recommend this film to anyone who has a person in their life with autism that there is a light at the end of that dark tunnel, just watch Tracy and Larry show you that.
Thanks Tracy, Harvey, Larry and Pascal!

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Trailer Park Boys 1 & 2 [Blu-ray]

Trailer Park Boys review
I enjoyed these movies very much. They were very entertaining and are very funny. I also showed these movies to my friends and they had a good time.

Buyer Beware!
First off, let me say that these movies are great, and it is great to see them in hi-definition, I gave it such a low rating because of the lousy packaging.

I was suckered in because you get two great movies in one package, the problem is, you get ABSOLUTELY NO BONUS FEATURES WHATSOEVER! Most multi-movie packages come with separate discs in a double case. Not so with this one.

Strictly the movies, no audio-commentary, no deleted scenes, you can't even access the scenes from the menu. EPIC FAIL!

It's common knowledge that a blu-ray disc will hold a ton of information, I feel that they could have done a lot better job than this.

Hilarious!
The funniest two movies Ive seen in ages! I hope they make more. Totally met and exceeded all of my expectations!

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Tribute to Tuna - Part 1

A must have for historical fishing buffs!
Great footage of old way of commercial tuna fishing/canning, etc. If possible, get Tribute to Tuna, part 2--also very good!





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Legacy of Love: Biblical Wisdom for Parenting Teens and Young Adults

A most own book
This is one of those books that can truly be of guidance when working with teens (young adults), whether they are your own, your grandkids or belong to someone else. We all need each other to work together to help build the kingdom of God and get past those sometime difficult years. My hat off to the author, Kimberly Hahn. Thank you for all your insight.

Excellent
I am really enjoying this book. It's easy to understand. I would reccomend it to anyone who has a family.

Practical advice based on Scripture
Legacy of Love: Biblical Wisdom for Parenting Teens and Young Adults is the fourth entry in the Life-Nurturing Love series by Kimberly Hahn. Earlier titles deal with marriage, homemaking, and family life. The series, based on Proverbs 31: 10-31 grew out of bible study Hahn has offered to students at Franciscan University. Legacy of Love's 15 chapters are grouped under the following sections:
1. She Opens Her Hand to the Poor (Prv 31:20)
2. She Looks Well to the Ways of Her Household (Prv 31:27)
3. She Does Not Eat the Bread of Idleness (Prv 31:27)
4. Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed (Prv 31:28)
5. Her Husband Also, and He Praises Her (Prv 31:28)
6. A Woman Who Fears the Lord Is To Be Praised (Prv 31:30)

Appendixes include outlines to accompany the video version of the book; questions for intergenerational women's study; and "Radical Hospitality: An invitation to Share Life Together. Hahn also offers recommended resources and chapter...

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Uprising [HD]

The Warsaw ghetto uprising as more than a moral victory
"Uprising" is a story of the Holocaust that really could not be told until NBC showed this two-part made-for-television movie in 2001. The story of the Warsaw ghetto uprising has been told before. In the 1978 mini-series "Holocaust," a major subplot had to do with Moses Weiss (Sam Wanamker), who becomes active in the uprising before being caught and shot by the Nazis at the end. Other movies dealing with the Holocaust have touched on this heroic but futile act of resistance against Hitler's army. This time, however, the point is to cast the uprising in terms that count for more than a moral victory.

When Poland fell to Nazi Germany the city's Jewish population was put into a walled in section of the city, thereby creating the ghetto. In the summer of 1942, after 300,000 Jews were deported from Warsaw to Treblinka the first reports of mass murder were heard in the Warsaw ghetto. Mordecai Anielewicz, then 23-years-old, and other young Jews formed the Zydowska Organizacja...

Brave effort
A full telling of the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto is rare - normally it's a short segment of a longer tale about WWII or the Holocaust. So this DVD is a welome addition to historical drama and complaints about a lack of pace or action are unfair.

The Jews walled up in the ghetto did not have huge arsenals of weapons and the people who became heroes were ordinary citizens -hence the lack of a huge cast of big-name stars is welcome. And the performances coaxed from the likes of Cary Lewes, as the sickeningly anti-semitic film-maker Fritz Hippler are worthy of praise. And it was a revelation to see David (Friends) Schwimmer turning in such a heart-rendering turn as one of the heroes of the revolt (and he gets full marks for a realistic but not-over-the-top accent).

Where the drama falls short - as all are bound to - is the inability to reveal the true horror these human beings were forced to endure - and for how long. A 10-part mini-series mihght give some idea of scale of time...

Years later, but we must never forget...
I have seen a variety of Holocaust films, due to my interest in World War II, and I would have to say this is probably one of the best, if not the best, that I've ever seen.

Uprising brings to us everything that Schindler's List does: touching story, great cinematography, and good actors. However, instead of focusing on a middleman such as Schindler (German helping Jews), this film focuses on the Jews helping themselves.

The emotions were strongly carried through due to overall great performances from many actors: Leelee Sobieski, Hank Azaria, David Schwimmer, Donald Sutherland, and many more.

This is film of hope, love, and cherishing life while you have it, all while in the toughest of times. These people overcame enormous odds by standing up to the oppressive and barbarous reign of the Germans, and not unlike one of the German characters, we now have it on film. Moreover, it is a great film.

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The Complete SLR Digital Photography Camera Course

Best Photography Guide I've had
If a had a quid for every photography book and manual I've read and not understood I'd be a rich man today, thank god I was recommended this DVD, simple easy to understand and none of the pro talk which I can never get my head around. I had my Eureka moment on the spot metering, no more over exposed shots now..Great for beginners and intermediates like me ..

excellent course
I've caught the photography bug badly and I've stocked up with a Canon g12, CAnon 7d and the twin lens kit, my only problem was I'm working overtime to buy a new flash and I don't have time to go a class on photography so i thought a DVD was my best bet, I could watch it when I finished work, most dvd's were around $60 plus and i found this gem for only $20, I picked up great tips for both cameras and some really solid composition tips as well, .

Well worth the $25.00 I paid for it.
I think that calling this video The Complete SLR Digital Photography Course is a little bit of a stretch. However, It is a great video for an absolute beginer and well worth the low cost of the video. It's packed full of very usefull information and tip's the beginer will find extreamly helpfull.

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Mutant X: Season Three

Mutant X does it again!
There was a huge movement and after a huge fight, the Mutant X Fandom finally made sure that the third Season was out on DVD and it was definitly well worth the fight we put up.This show just gets better and better every season. Despite the absence of Emma DeLauro (Lauren Lee Smith) the very capable and edgy Lexa Pierce (Karen Cliche) adds a new twist to an already wonderful show.Though she is no Emma many fans immediately warmed up to her and with good reason. She shares a great chemistry witht he other three members of the cast, all of whom seemed to know there characters like anything.

The plot is brilliant.Every episode has amazing twists and turns.And as well as the main storyline and action, every episode the viewers are treated to a new secret about each of the four main characters.So every episode as we reach the climax, we also get closer to the heart of Brennan, Jesse, Lexa and Shalimar.

The only thing I missed was Adam's prescence.John Shea played the...

The best show on television!
When it comes to originality and a medley of fresh idea's ,creativity , great cast chemistry, brilliant storylines and sharp martial arts that dazzle the eye and thrill the mind; Mutant X has it all and more.

Itis a downright shame that this show was cancelled because of the greed of Marvel. Mutant X and X-Men are nothing alike; there have been plenty of books and movies written about Mutants before X-men , but did they sure Marvel for using the Mutant name? No, because the idea does not belong to them anymore than the word 'alien' beings to only one science fiction writer.

Mutant X took science fiction and fantasy to a whole new level of originality.What I like best about it , is the originality with which the writers make use of the mundane powers the X-men have over used.In the X-Men the powers of the mutants are always too great to make it belivebale that they have problems losing to Magneto.But Mutant X have weakness's and stengths that give them an edge and...

Awesome Show!
Season 3 is by far the best season Mutant X has ever had. It's not always the same story, save a mutant put them in the underground. Things aren't always so cut and dry this season. Plus the cast is amazing. Karen Cliche joins up this season as Lexa Pierce. She adds so much chemistry to the group and the relationships are very interesting to watch. If you are a true MX fan you have to have this DVD!

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Black Marlin Boulevard W/ Ted Williams Circa 1954

It's a great dvd
A look back on the times of plentyfull, . . . .
everything still handmade quality ;the boats, the reels, the rods.
I liked the ocean waves in the movie, a descent swell ! What great waves to have fish on !
To see a giant black in waves like that, must be bliss. Would love to see it one day.
enjoy

Whim!





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Principles of Paintball

More of the same but done by the best
Many will recognize my name. So I will be careful. I mean no disrespect to Oliver Lang. I bought this video as an advanced woodsball player looking to glean anything new I can use in terms of technical skills.

I do many HOW TO videos on Youtube: DangerManXX is my channel. I've got but ONE favorite paintball player. Oliver Lang. His passion for the sport became more. He is something special. He has an understanding of the game that when you see him in the game - he mesmerizes you. He is that good.

Years ago I became a very good paintball player. I coveted my secrets. Then a day came I realized it was time to share. To show others what I knew. I was hoping to find some of those secrets, SOME in this video. Instead this is a very straight forward training video for sup'air players.

Is that bad? Of course not. But if you already own a paintball training video, or are part of sup'air team, then this video won't expose anything you have not already learned...





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Jens Pulver: Driven [HD]

Truly Inspirational!
This Summer I Saw Wizards Battle Till The End. I Saw A Brooklyn Boy Become An American Super Hero and I Saw Apes Begin To Take Over the Planet..Entertaining Yes! Life Changing No. Motivating No. Lasting No. Inspirational No. If You Guys Truly want to see a Film That when you walk away, you wont look ,feel or judge your life the same way again.This is That Film! If Oprah was still on air Jens would be across from her being interviewed, yes its that type of emotional imp-actual soul stirring film. You don't have to like MMA to get this Film. You don't have to know Jen to get this Film, but in the end you will want to know him. It Really Is This Summers Hidden Treasure!!

If You're a "Tough Guy", Try to watch this.....
without shedding a tear. You will be fighting back the tears when you watch this.

I can't remember when the last time a movie got me choked up. "Little Evil" was one of my favorite fighters back in the day, #1 because he was a wrestler and #2 he was an F.N. savage in the ring. Pulver was one of the pioneers of ground and pound.

Pulver's story is nothing new: growing up dirt poor; abusive, alcoholic father; finds talent in a sport; then realizes that talent is all he'll ever be able to do; and then his career is over. It's Pulver's delivery that makes it stand out. Although his words are simple, they are geniune and honest and heavy.

I recommend this not only to MMA fans, but to everyone.

A 5 Star Documentray.
Not to say that this the end all be all, but it is.

Jens could be an insurance agent, or a banker, or any working man.

This movie destroyed me.

I am glad that it slapped me around, and I am blessed that I watched it.

I recommend with 5 stars.

No Spoilers.

-Best Wishes!

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Accompanying Dave Swarbrick

fine fiddling from the great Swarb
This is a short documentary of legendary English fiddler Dave Swarbrick touring Denmark in 2008 with a long-time friend and accompanist. This is a fine addition to the catalogue of Fairport Convention and Fairport-related dvds available, and has snippets of Swarb's playing with Fairport in the 1970s, as well as his later acoustic group Whippersnapper and his duo with guitarist and singer Martin Carthy.

Production values as such are simple but effective, the stories are endearing, the playing fluid, and the dvd comes with a couple of nice extras: an hour of uninterrupted concert footage, as well as a bonus cd that runs a little under an hour and apparently does not duplicate the material on the dvd.

All in all, Accompanying Dave Swarbrick is a pleasing short film that shows a brilliant artist back from the dead (a premature obituary in the Times and a double lung transplant behind him) and playing in his inimitable, nimble, warm-hearted way.





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Top Gear US: Season One

Not as good as the UK version. Still good.
Top Gear UK is one of my favorite shows on TV. I was very excitied when the US version launched on the History Channel. Just like the Austrailian version, its not as good as the UK version. You really just can't replace James, Jeremy and Richard. They are some of funniest people on TV. However Adam, Tanner and Rutledge are still solid hosts. Tanner of course being a professional Rally Car driver and stunt car driver could have been The American Stig and has experience on auto shows as he appeared in a few shows on The Speed Channel. Rutledge is very funny as he is on Speed Channel's NASCAR coverage. Adam completes the trio and just like his co-hosts is funny. But the US version's biggest flaws are the lack of originality and the lack of humour as seen in the UK version. As for the lack of originality the 5th episode of this series resembles quite obviously the British Leyland Challenge. And of course this US version has to worry about offending certain people and is perhaps more...

Better than the first season of UK Top Gear.
For the majority of hardcore Top Gear fans this show was doomed from the day it was announced. It could never be as good as their beloved UK Top Gear. I too was fearful but instead of watching it ready to nit pick it to death because I was offended by the very idea of it, I awaited it with hopeful enthusiasm. I was rewarded with a pleasant surprise. This show gets a 5 out of 5 in my book because it tremendously exceeded my expectations. Go back to the first season of the UK Top Gear (current format) and you will find a dreadfully tedious show. It took at least four more seasons for that show to develop into what it has become today as the presenters developed their personalities and interaction. The American version is already outpacing the UK version. From the first episode until the final challenge in Alaska you get to watch a significant improvement as the presenters find their footing and develop their on screen chemistry. This is a show that couldn't be perfect in its...

It gets better.
At first, I hated the US top gear. However, it gets much better as you get later in season one, and especially in seasons two and three. I think they just needed to figure out their own identity. Now, going back and watching the first season again, it is not as bad as I remember it being the first time through. If you like the UK version, give the US version a try.

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Rat Rod Rockers! (Black & White Version)

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Rat Rod Rockers!
Postby Goose

Lou [HD]

Well done slow paced independent Australian film with a touch of Nabokov's "Lolita".
This is the second independent film from Monarch that I've seen and reviewed in as many weeks and, while it didn't hold my interest as well as "Lebanon, PA" (seed review elsewhere), it was well worth spending the 86 minutes with. (There are no supplemental features.)

This is a "small" film - the kind that grab audience awards at regional film festivals. It covers many of the "topics" that frequent independent films: loneliness, financial problems, mental health (Alzheimer's, in this case), and family ties. It was filmed in South Australia and funded in part by the Australia Film Commission.

The family here is the young 24-year old mother Rhia (played by Emily Barclay) and here three daughters, the oldest - the title character Lou - is now 11 years old and on the verge of being a teenager. The father left a while ago and the family is struggling to stay one step ahead of the credit collectors. As the film begins they learn that Rhia's dad (played very low key by...





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ChickFight On The Road vol.1

CHEERLEADER GOOD
I was pretty happy with this womens wrestling dvd especiaaly since I am a CHEERLEADER MELISSA fan as she appeaes in several different matches in different roles.





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Halloween Addicts

Not the only one.
The dvd is a documentary about four people who addict to Halloween. Even after few years later, they still are. They do things that are Halloween relating, like visiting grieves. Of course, They do plans of what they're going to do next year. If you think you're addict to Halloween, you're not the only one. So watch this documentary. I brought this dvd so that I can compare me to them if i'm addict to Halloween or not, which I am, Anyway good film. It was entertaining.





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The Sound of Insects

Poetic, esoteric and profound!
Watching and listening to "The Sound of Insects", its a narration that haunts you.

When we think of suicide, it's one person's quick way of ending their life and we are used to hearing about it on television and newspapers but what we don't hear are people who try to commit suicide, in this case through starvation and not knowing what to expect.

We often know through letters left behind of those who have went through with their suicide of the pain they lived in their life but with "The Sound of Insects", its the day-by-day narration of what the man committing suicide is feeling and experiencing at that minute.

We can easily relate or understand the concept of one not fitting in but we are not prepared to hear the self-torture that one will experience. The man committing suicide doesn't know what he will experience and what will happen. In his mind, stop eating and see how long it will take death to claim your life. But the way its narrated, there is...

Profound and Mesmerizing
This is a small movie, one you'll surely not see at the cineplex... no actor appears on screen, only a man's voice reciting his diary entries in a remote forested area as he slowly starves himself to death in a makeshift tent. Besides the visuals of the forest, the film is a collage of dream-like images, as the days turn into weeks as his body gradually shuts down.

The accrual of tension as time passes is haunting and disturbingly powerful. There's no moralizing, no grand questions put forward, no philosophizing, only a straightforward description of his disintegrating physical self over time. I watched this movie last week on netflix and it will not leave me be.

Certainly not for everyone; but, an experience you'll not forget.

Disturbing, raw, and... long.
This is the story of a man in his early forties who decided to commit suicide... through self-starvation.

The documentary is told entirely by narration accompanied by strange and miscellaneous film footage.

As a narrative the film is compelling and spooky. This man is truly recording his own agonizing death. He even goes so far as to tell us his masturbation habits, his bowel movement activity, and his philosophies of life itself. The man's words are torn straight from the pages of a journal that he kept with him throughout the entire process. The words are compelling, and it keeps you glued to your seat in anticipation, but the random film footage - used mostly as filler to keep the movie an hour-or-so - was lacking in entertainment value. Part of it was in full color, the other half was in black-and-white which gives the documentary a very odd vibe. As if the filmmakers couldn't decide which color scheme or what feel they wanted so they just did a...

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NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2011: Boston Bruins

Bruins bring the Cup back home!!!
Being a Bruins fan my WHOLE life I am very pleased (& still in shock) that the Bruins are Stanley Cup champions! With that being said I am quite happy with this DVD release. The disc starts off with a quick rundown of the beginning of the 2010-11 season leading into the playoffs which makes up the majority of the playing time. This is where my only complaint comes from as I was hoping for more coverage of the regular season but hey after all the playoffs is what matters most! You get a good variety of players, staff, announcers, & some big Boston media honchos commenting throughout & it was particularly great to hear what they had to say in the more riveting moments of the playoffs...such as being down to Montreal in the beginning of the run, the Flyers getting annihilated, Bergeron's exit & return, the exciting Tampa series, Horton's injury & that pathetic garbage talking Roberto Luongo which also helped motivate the team to capture the Cup. The extras appear to be great even though...

CHAMPION BRUINS DESERVE BETTER DVD
After watching this dvd of the Bruins Stanley Cup championship, I felt that the dvd was lacking in
content. The color and crispness of the disc is great. While viewing the disc, I found that often times the camera shots were extremely close and many parts seemed rushed. The entire regular season is completely gone through within the first 15 minutes of the disc. There were numerous moments in the playoffs that seemed to be barely included, like Thomas' great paddle save as he dove back across the crease. Don't blink or you will miss it in the highlights. Much of the commentary in between scenes is done by players Ferrence or Kelly. How about some of the other players reactions? I don't think Sidenberg is even mentioned. The extras were once again gone thru too quickly! The parade and the locker room celebrations were special moments that lose something once translated to this disc. The final extra are the top 10 goals, saves and hits of the season. Not by the Bruins mind you but...

39 Years in the making for a DVD Dud.
First and foremost, I'm with the other reviewer in wondering where the HD Blu ray is.

Secondly, while finally getting to see the B's hoist the cup was worth the long wait. Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final and the four games the Bruins won in the final vs Vancouver is all we get to relive? What about the emotional roller coaster of the Bruins/Canadiens series or at least the series clinching game 7? How about a couple of games with the Bruins "exorcising the demons" in the four game sweep of Philadelphia (the very team that just a year prior came back from a 0-3 series deficit to hand Boston a Game 7 Heartbreaking Series defeat)?

This is kind of a let down. I think I can still get the Games on I-tunes which is probably where I will look unless there is a more complete set released.

A&E got it right with their World Series Baseball DVDs. They were a little pricey when first released, but you get all but 1-2 games of a team's championship run. I...

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American Muscle Car: The Complete Series

For My True Love
I had purchased this set for my husband, just because I believe he needed a pick me up. When he received it in the mail, he was surprised, not only for the gift, but what the gift was. My husband loves everything about Muscle Cars. He really enjoyed watching these DVD's and learning all the neat features and abundance of information they give on each vehicle. The one thing he really liked was that you could put the DVD in and pick which specific car you wanted to hear about from the menu. Totally awesome set. Ladies you can't go wrong with this set. Money well spent.

Awesome History on Noteworthy Muscle Cars
I found the packaging right for the DVDs. The 1970 LS6 Chevelle on the cover fits the DVD Box set perfect. I have seen all the episodes before buying the DVDs. I think if you love Muscle Cars then this is a must for you. Each Episode specialize in a certain model, and shows the history of the model including who was responsible for their creation. A lot of good interviews with noted designers, muscle car restores, and owners of the cars. I would recommend this DVD. A thumbs up! :):):)

great
This was a TV series that aired on the Speed network. Each episode has a lot of great information. The title is misleading because it says complete series but there are other episodes not included in this set. I've looked on the web and have not yet seen another set or individual episodes.on DVD. I believe most of the episodes are included here. Maybe they should call this set The best of?? If you get this set and want the other episodes I believe they are downloadable online.

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The Gospel According to Jesus (Institutional Use)

Skeptics & Sages
The Gospel According to Jesus is presented by Norris J. Chumley. He takes Stephen Mitchell's book around American for comment and consideration. The September 1995 edition appears frequently throughout. While this is an intriguing way to market a book, the DVD turns out to be profoundly beautiful, humorous or revealing.

Christ's powerful words are read by people across America in situations that seem to give a visual reference. At times this enhances the words and at other times gives one pause.

A woman speaking of grief, sweeps away a tear. A family quotes passages about sowing and reaping while images from a farm are presented. People read passages while vacuuming, while writing, painting, sewing, working, swinging on a swing and even while their children laugh and dance for the camera. I think Jesus likes those sections especially well, to hear his words being read while children were present.

There are quite a few unbelievers who are willing to go...

Intresting but incomplete.
I just got done watching this movie. I found it interesting to hear some of Jesus Christ teachings from various people (young and old, Christians and buddist). But I found some of their comments of Christ teachings to be completely wrong. Also the fact that they leave out the greatest thing Jesus Christ did, which is the Resurrection. They had a little 10 minute spot where some believe and some didn't believe. The author reminds me of a friend I had who said she believed in Jesus, but didn't believe in the Bible.

If you are enjoy hearing other people thoughts on the Gospel, I say watch it. But don't look to it for any growth in your knowledge of Jesus Christ.



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101 Gadgets That Changed The World

101 Gadgets - Made me wonder how I lived without some of these items once upon a time
I bought this DVD for my brother-in-law for Christmas who is a combination of Tim the Tool Man and MacGyver. He and his adult sons (also handymen) watched it so many times that my sister now calls the DVD "Seseme Street for Big Boys." I highly recommend this DVD for everyone--men and women because it is very informative and makes you think about all the gadgets that have made our lives easier and made me wonder why I didn't patent some of those ideas.

Great Job
I use it for my US History class. Very informative and quick. Doesn't stay on one product too long, Great job

Very informative
Excellent DVD. It is great for school use and holds the interest of students well. Also very entertaining for personal viewing.

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Malmo Aviation Avro RJ100

Great scenery, weak on the aircraft
An older DVD, this one features great flying over mountains and farmland in Sweden, Germany, and Austria. Visually nice, not as much explanation of the flying as in many other titles. I'd you want to learn about the aircraft and have great visuals by Druk Air. Air Atlantic is also more aircraft and less visuals. This is a good piece for a collection, but should not be the first 146 video you buy.





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The Filmmaker Series: Screenwriting

The Filmmaker Series: Screenwriting
I should have this DVD before all those books that I bought for this subject. But for heaven's sake; it is a great DVD and great for the subject matter.





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Two Weeks Notice (2002) [HD]

The Furies
Good, Light Romantic Comedies are few and far between as are actors capable of pulling them off. The days of Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Katherine Hepburn, Carole Lombard, etc are long gone. Once in a while though, moviemakers come up with a good one and "Two Weeks Notice" is one of them: substantially helped along with the Charisma, Charm and talent of Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant.
Even though I was a fan of Bullock's "Murder One," most want to see her only in these light comedies as in her hit last year with "Miss Congeniality." And Bullock has the business-savvy and intelligence to hire the best writers and directors as in Marc Lawrence here.
The story of "Two Weeks Notice" is a trifle: filled with witty repartee between Grant and Bullock and involving a love/hate relationship standard in this type of genre film. With so many of last year's films turning out so deadly serious, this is a relief and a palliative to all that earnestness. Ditto with J-Lo's "Maid in...

A Fun Romantic Comedy For Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant Fans
This is a throughly enjoyable, light as air movie that you should go to see when you just want to relax, smile a lot and spend some time watching Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock have fun. No serious message, no real surprise twists and turns; but despite being totally formulaic it was a traet and we and the rest of the audience were often laughing out loud.

Sandra Bullock is Lucy, a dedicated environmental lawyer following in the "do good save the world" footsteps of her parents. Hugh Grant is the rich shallow playboy developer whose project she wants to halt. He shocks her by offering to hire her; they strike a deal to save her beloved Coney Island neighborhood center from the wrecker's ball in return for her becoming his counsel. Of course, she soon becomes his indispensable aide, eventually becomes disillusioned, and gives her TWO WEEKS NOTICE. Her relacement invokes jealousy in Lucy, the community center is about to be demolished due to George's brother's (and partner) efforts to...

Pretty Good, Star Power Carries it over the Finish Line
I will begin by issuing a disclaimer. Like probably a million other heterosexual American men below the age of 65, I have a bit of a crush on Sandra Bullock. To paraphrase the line from "Jerry Maguire," she had me from hello, or at least when I first saw her in "While You Were Sleeping."

So, I eagerly went to see "Two Weeks Notice." I had fairly high expectations given the charisma of Bullock and Hugh Grant. By and large, I wasn't disappointed. It was not side-splittingly funny, but there were a number of moments where I chuckled or laughed out loud. The other people in the audience seemed to enjoy it too. I thought that Sandra Bullock did her trademark performance very well, that of the lonely girl next door that steals our hearts. Hugh Grant came across as a sympathetic and charming rogue. As a couple, I thought they looked good together.

Where I felt the movie was weak was a little on plot. I'm not picky, like movie critics who seem to spend their careers sneering at...

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