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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