The Resident Evil Collection (Resident Evil / Resident Evil: Apocalypse / Resident Evil: Extinction / Resident Evil: Afterlife / Resident Evil: Retribution) [Blu-ray]

You know what these movies do right?
They're ridiculous, they know it, and they don't give a damn what you think. In point of fact, they prefer if you don't think.

Let's get one thing straight, I am a huge fan of the game series. I own Resident Evil 1-5, and I'm probably going to buy 6 soon. I am fully aware that these movies deviate from the games in every way, but for some reason I still love them. They're dumb, stupid fun.

Resident Evil is actually a great movie in and of itself. It's suspenseful, and well made. I appreciate the fact that zombies and other monsters aren't introduced till late in the movie.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is actually my favorite of the bunch. It's a good action movie, and I think they really captured Nemesis. Great movie, and awesome action.

Resident Evil: Extinction is a little slow, but is ultimately a good movie. The story of this series has never been cohesive, but the plot of this one in particular is just ridiculous. At this point the movies...

Resident Evil Collection Contains 5 Films on Blu-ray
Milla Jovovich deserves better treatment. The Resident Evil Collection includes 5 films on their own disc but a bonus disc would have been appreciated by fans. Afterlife is presented in Blu-ray 3D (but not Retribution 3D sold separately). You also get the 2D version of Afterlife for those who don't own 3D TVs. Overall, the picture quality is average but the audio is very good. The audio formats and subtitles vary by film. This set does have some extras but this is not a deluxe collection for RE fans. There is roughly 6 hours of bonus content for 5 films which is good but not great. If you already own the trilogy be aware that nothing new is added so you may consider buying Afterlife 3D and Retribution 3D in their stand-alone Blu-ray releases. Resident Evil: Damnation (2012) is not included. These are 4 star films in a 3 star package.

At this price, I feel like a thief. Great film series for the price of one 3D Blu-Ray.
5 films for the price of one 3D blu-ray film. It is a steal. I only paid $29.99 at the time and it was something I was not about to pass up considering I enjoyed the RE films. People who are not hardcore RE fans may not enjoy these films as much because knowing the games allows the viewer to pick out little nostalgic pieces they threw into the films that were shown in the video games. The quality of the blu-rays are outstanding though. If you enjoyed the films or are simply a die-hard RE fan, get this. At this price, no matter what, you won't be disappointed.

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Thomas & Friends: Up, Up & Away! [HD]

Thomas is great entertainment for little ones
good quality video. great way to entertain little ones. the instant videos are so convenient to watch on kindle fire

balloons, animals, trains, bubbles...PERFECT
NOthing scary , big subtitles, balloons, animals, bubbles...everything a toddler loves.
Perfect toddler material with situations they have to solve, but nothing scary.

GREAT DVD
MY GRANDSON LOVES ANYTHING THOMAS. I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE THAT THIS WAS OFFEREDTHROUGH AMAZON. I USED MY LAPTOP TO PLAY THIS AND HE WAS GLUED TO IT THE ENTIRE TIME!!

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The Little Mermaid

Don't waste your money
This is probably the worst film I've ever seen! Poor quality and just poor film all together. My daughter, who loves mermaids, didn't even give it 2 minutes before saying she wanted to watch something else. Please don't waste your money.

Not the real deal
I wish I wouldn't have purchased this. I thought it was the most recent version but, this movie was probably made in the 70s when I was a kid. :)

Not Disney - this is from the original story
This is NOT the Disney version. For those of you who rented it thinking it was - just look at the cover. This is an adaptation of the ORIGINAL Hans Christian Andersen story which inspired Disney's The Little Mermaid. Although it's not the 1975 Japanese anime classic with a blond mermaid called Marina some of us remember watching when we were little - 14 years before Disney made a ginger little mermaid - I believe this is a good adaptation. The original story is both scary and sad. I'm glad Amazon is offering this adaptation; I wish they would offer the 1975 anime version!

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The Blues Brothers (Widescreen 25th Anniversary Edition)

Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration doesn't fail us
Let's get this straight -- this blu-ray contains both the theatrical AND the extended cuts, for the misguided soul here (obviously NOT on a mission from God) who says stick with the 25th Anniversary edition.

And let's get this clear as well -- the quality of the picture is superb, much MUCH better than the DVD. Older films have issues when you transfer them to blu-ray, no question about it, but this image is as good as it can possibly get (don't believe me? Check out Blu-ray.com for a review of it).

On the extended version the extended scenes aren't as good a quality -- the source material there wasn't available and they probably transferred it from the DVD master. But it's not WORSE than the DVD, only not improved.

And on that note, IMHO the theatrical version is the one you want anyway. This is a film that does not get better when the timing gets slower -- and at nearly 2 1/2 hours the extended version just drags. Watch the theatrical version...

My Two Cents Worth
I've read the reviews on Amazon but wanted the blu-ray upgrade. Amazon's details may not be complete. The blu-ray I purchased has theatrical and extended versions on a single disc. There is a banner at the top front on my cover with says "Includes Theatrical and Extended Versions" and it is also mentioned again on the back cover. The DTS sound is outstanding on my Polk 360 home system and I don't think I am missing anything by not having lossless DTS sound. This movie looks and sounds great on blu-ray and the price is affordable. I found myself enjoying the movie and singing along with the sub-titled songs. I saw it in the theater when it first came out and here it is over 30 years later looking and sounding just as good if not better.

I want the original version!
I love The Blues Brothers. This is one of the all-time great comedies; a truly epic comedy. In it's original form, it is flawless from beginning to end. Five Stars easily.

Unfortunately, this "Special Edition" dvd includes 15+ minutes of scenes. Not under a "deleted scenes" section, which would have been appropriate and very welcome, but inserted into the movie itself. To be fair, the extra footage doesn't really hurt the music scenes. But did we really need to see Elwood at his place of employment? Did we really need to see where the Blues-mobile is stored when not being driven? None of the extra footage adds anything to the movie. In fact, it really ruins the perfect pacing of the regular cut.

I truly hope Universal sees the error of their ways and reissues this film on DVD with the original cut. They could even make the added footage viewable within the movie, through seamless branching, but for the love of Pete, give us the option!!!

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GoodFellas

Another 5-star movie in a (barely) 4-star release... ****UPDATED 12/31/2010 for new 20th Anniversary BluRay***
There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said about "Goodfellas"... it's one of the best movies ever. To hell with the AFI, this is arguably one of the top 10 American movies ever made! Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco: five top-notch talents operating on all 8 cylinders in this story about three decades of life in the mob.

Now, you'd think that Warner Brothers would give this movie the most complete Warner DVD release that's ever existed. A fervent popular following, a high level of anticipation for a special edition, and the current booming state of the DVD industry should've made this a no-brainer slam dunk for Warner's marketing and home video departments. And so, after years of having to flip over the old disc, after years of almost crushing that flimsy snap case, after years of listening to that 5.1 surround that sounded suspiciously like 2-channel, should you get this new version?? The answer is a...

Good Blu-Ray Transfer
Goodfellas has long been one of my favorite movies. I've watched it many times since I saw it in the theater. I've seen it on tape, on laserdisc, on the original "flipper" DVD and the remastered anamorphic DVD, and now, Blu-Ray Disc.

I'm happy to report that the Blu-Ray is a significant improvement over the remastered DVD. The picture is brighter, the colors are more vivid, and many scenes have much more detail and clarity. Of course, the overall picture is much sharper.

Goodfellas is not the kind of movie that is a showcase for high-resolution video, however. It has a lot of dark indoor scenes; very little takes place outdoors (something I never noticed before). I noticed some graininess, which has a lot to do with how Scorcese shot the picture. It's just more noticeable in the higher resolution.

There are some minor problems with the audio in one scene. The dialogue drops in volume and then jumps back up in the following scene. Other than...

A suspect DVD release for a classic film.
GoodFellas is on top of my "best films of all time" list. I was one of the people who had bought the previous DVD edition, the infamous "two-sided, no features" release that had been one of the first generation of DVD releases, before the medium evolved into what it is today. I had been counting the days until they would re-release this film, so I was first in line to get this new edition.

Unfortunately, though this edition is much better than the previous one, it very much pales alongside most modern DVD packages.

The package aroused many suspicions in me that this was a rush job. Among my dissatisfactions:

- There's no booklet, leaflet, film histories, or printed material of any kind which generally supplements a two-disc release like this;

- The film is long, but still under the three-hour mark, and the second disc has three short (eight to 20 minutes), unremarkable documentaries plus a storyboard-film comparison. Wouldn't all this...

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Red Vs. Blue Volume 3, The Blood Gulch Chronicles

Longer, funnier, faster...er..harder
Season Three is over two hours of action packed, plot twisted, character driven mystery, adventure, time travel, explosions, talking bombs, robot armies, and lots of dead people. Tons of extras, such as deleted scenes, outtakes, a audio commentary and a Easter egg. Of course, there is adult language and jokes, even in the commentary and this is not for little kids, babies, pets, people with heart problems and, no matter what they tell you, don't watch after getting drunk. You're just asking for trouble.

Funny
This little thing is funny, even if you aren't a fan of video games. In fact, personally, I hate Halo, and find this stuff hilarious.

Jeff's rewiew
I watch Red vs Blue on the web , it is the best thing I ever seen , I laugh so hard I think I died , luckily I'm still alive to laugh over and over and with this DVD I intend to.
Bottom line , buy this DVD

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Thomas & Friends: Splish, Splash, Splosh! [HD]

Lots of Thomas & Friends!
This box set is perfect for Thomas & Friends both old and new. My boys just recently got into Thomas so they haven't seen really any of the older episodes which this box set has discs ranging from 2001-2008. Each disc has episodes focusing on a certain character or just the best of! There are over 50 episodes total and each disc is between 40-60 minutes long. Luckily my boys aren't too picky yet and love all the engines equally, but for kids who are specific or especially families with two kids who like different engines, this would be a great set. The episodes are classic Thomas & Friends episodes and I love that there are so many episodes in one set! For just $24 on Amazon, that is like $.50 an episode that you can watch over and over again!

A bit scary for the younger viewers
My son is 3 and normally loves the Thomas movies (Misty Island, Hero of the Rails), but this movie was a bit scary for him. I think it's Diesel 10 and his sparking claw that really scared him. I had to turn it off and try it again later. We eventually got through it, but he doesn't want to watch it again (unlike Misty Island and Hero of the Rails which we've seen a lot). The quality was really good, but it was a bit darker than the other movies. If you have a 2-3 year old, you may want to wait until their older.

"Not scary to me"
I have a 3.5 year old and I was worried after seeing the reviews on here that the movie would be too scary for my son. We watched the movie and there wasn't a time he wanted to turn it off. This has been the case with some children movies he has seen on TV. I wanted to write this review for those parents that were put off by some of the other reviews. There was a darker tone than Misty Island Rescue, but I thought it was a theme my son could grasp.

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Tom & Jerry: Golden Collection, Vol. 1

The TRUE Tom and Jerry set you've always wanted!
At long last; the Tom and Jerry set to end them all! Don't be fooled, this isn't you're ordinary Tom and Jerry set because this 2-disc set features the first 37 shorts in chronological order uncut and uncensored and restored and remastered for the first time (I understand the transfer will be remarkable)! Plus, some of these shorts include their original title cards for the first time anywhere on any format! Plus bonus features including 9 commentaries and a new retrospective documentary. Truly the ultimate Tom and Jerry set...ever!

Tom & Jerry, the way it should have been released from the start!
I've been a fan of Tom & Jerry since I was about 4 years old (I'm 23 now) and still just as big of a fan of the show as I was when I was little. I owned all of the VHS tapes that came out in the early 90's but had to get rid of them since they had a lot of wear. I do own the Spotlight Collection but the shorts were edited and not presented as they were originally released. I'm so glad I held out on the last two sets of the spotlight collection. This is the way the Spotlight Collection should have been released. I really wish I knew how WB remastered these shorts because the picture quality is absolutely beautiful even on the DVD copy.

There's only one DVD case with a beautiful shiny slip cover. Inside, it comes with a small booklet episode guide and two discs. The original opening and ending credits are included in each episode.

Note: The DVD does warn you that these shorts are intended for the adult collector. I added a screenshot that shows the warning. There's...

Finally!
I had refused to buy the old DVD collections and am now glad I did! I am NOT a PC type of guy (seems people go out of their way nowadays to be offended) and won't bother with edited/censored stuff. Here they are in all their glory the way they always should have been. Plus the shows themselves look great AND I have the DVD NOT the blue ray so I can imagine that the blu ray looks even better!

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Shooter

Edge of your seat thriller
After a mission gone awry, Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) now leads a solitary existence in the mountains of Wyoming. When he is called back to assist a covert military group (headed by Danny Glover) in determining how to pull off an assasination attempt, he soon discovers that he's been set up in an elaborate ruse to take the fall. Hell hath no fury like a Marine scorned, and Swagger becomes a PO'ed two-man army (once he hooks up with disgraced FBI agent Michael Pena), determined to bring the real culprits to justice. Directd by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day"), this high octane conspiracy thriller just doesn't let up and will keep the viewer guessing. Though it's pretty violent - it's well worth watching!

My only drawback was having to hear Glover's dialogue - was it me or did he have some really ill-fitting dentures that provided him with the most annoying lisp. I was just waiting for them to fall out. Overall though, Glover has not given a more chilling...

Shooter review
A veteran double crossed by the government during his early military career is used once again in this fast paced action flick. The unsuspecting soldier is talked into helping 'prevent' the assassination of a president, but things are not what they seem and he's roped into a deep conspiracy. Now he must run for his life while he tries to find a way to reveal the truth. I could slightly guess the formula and where it was leading on this one, but still enjoyed the action packed story.

Chrissy K. McVay - Author

His country forsook him, but he never forsook his country
The film opens with two US troops being abandoned by their commander. They are not in authorized space. When asked why, the commander said something to the effect that the men were well trained and they would find their way home.

We know one of them did, because we see him years later. Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg) has nearly gone off the grid. It's just him and his dog living in a remote cabin.

When he's approached by Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) to help foil a plot to kill the US President by determining how the shooter is going to do it, he reluctantly accepts the job.

When the fated day arrives, it's actually the Archbishop of Ethiopia who is shot and the crime's blamed on Swagger. Swagger goes on the run, trying to find out precisely what happened.

"Shooter" is a smart paced and intelligent conspiracy thriller taken from the pen of Stephen Hunter. Excellent acting on the part of the whole crew. This multi-faceted film is well...

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Barbie in The Nutcracker

Sure to be a Christmas classic!
Beautiful. Exquisite. Captivating. There aren't enough superlatives to describe the quality of Barbie's first, and hopefully not last, movie. I bought this for my daughter thinking that it would be fun video for her to watch (Barbie lover that she is at 2 1/2) as the holidays approach. I didn't expect to fall in love with it myself. In amazing computer animation, the Nutcracker is retold through the eyes of Barbie playing both the roles of Clara and the Sugarplum Princess. The story is strong, with lots of action and tenderness: the plotline includes, of course, Prince Eric as the Nutcracker, the Mouse King and his legions, and lots of adorable sugarplum fairies. The dance sequences will take your breath away as the graphics artists have integrated actual footage of the dancing of the New York City Ballet into their computer animated scenes. I only wish there had been more of them, but I will take quality over quantity! A few of the scenes were a little rough for my 2-year...

Not Bad For Barbie, Very Enjoyable!
I never liked Babie, not even as a kid but I always enjoyed The Nutcracker. Being tired of watching a total musical, I was shocked to find that this video was more of a movie with a plot rather then all the charactors hopping up and down all over the picture. I love how the viewer watches as the Nutcracker and Clara bond closer as the movie Progresses. The animation is almost as good as Toy Story (Main Frame that made Barbie Nutcracker are the guys that made that computer series Reboot) But the best animation has to be the Mouse King and Pimm. Tim Curry did an excellent role playing the regal rodent and I would say that little purple bat is the cutest charactor not to mention great comic relief to the story (it's so cute when Pimm whispers as the mouse king is holdng him upside down by his feet "Sire I can't feel my toes" and he gives them a little wiggle, Just makes you want to squeeze him! Also the highlight is when Prince Eric and Clara dance together at the end, very...

It isn't the ballet
Since my daughter, age 7, is taking ballet, I was excited to have two things she likes combined (Barbie & ballet). Unfortunately, the plot and characters of The Nutcracker ballet have been changed dramatically and the dancing limited to the final scene. The video's plot is the nutcracker's battle to find the sugar plum princess and regain his true identity. I particularly found the added "rock giant" character distasteful. On the plus side; the animated dancing in the final scene is quite good and the music by Tchaikovsky is used consistently throughout the movie. The movie has a positive message though it is heavy handed. If you are looking for the classic ballet dancing or story you will not find it here.

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Cool Dog [HD]

Take It To The Top, Cool Dog!
Cool Dog is one of the greatest movies of the past decade. What appears to be a simple movie about a boy and his dog on the surface is really a uncompromising examination of class, crime and religion in today's society. I don't want to spoil too much, but you will be surprised at how deeply Cool Dog plumbs the depths of your soul. You will laugh, but you will cry, and in the end you will come back a better human being.

Everybody, young and old, should watch Cool Dog. Rainy is the hero we need in these times, and he will inspire you as he inspired me.

Like inception, only with a better twist
This is a short review, but cool dog is simply the most complex film I have ever seen. The twist at the end *spoilers* where you discover that the cool dog song tells the tale of the movie creates a sense of both fate and the will to travel for said rainy the dog. Cool dog will make you laugh, cry, and truly think about the world around you. 5 stars, would even give it a higher score if I could.

So many twists and turns, you'll think you're in a corn maze on the fourth of July
Cool Dog is one of the best films of the past two decades. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll bear another child just to watch it again. This coming-of-age comedic drama has some amazing special effects which never detract from the subtly interwoven plot lines that highlight the interplay of cultures and socioeconomic strata. Truly a hidden gem!

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After the Wedding (English subtitled) [HD]

You Can't Go Home Again
Jacob, doing humanitarian work at an Indian children's refuge, (the erstwhile "Casino Royale" villain, Mads Mikkelsen) doesn't know what to think when his superior tells him that a prospective benefactor ( Rolf Lassgard in a heart wrenching performance as Jorgen) requires Jacob to return, after twenty years, to Denmark so that the refuge can receive a huge donation. So as much as Jacob dislikes the idea, and at this point we know not why, he returns to Denmark in Susanne Bier's remarkable, emotionally charged, sometimes even overwrought "After the Wedding."
Bier has composed this film in much the same way as a Verismo opera: scenes of confrontation, scenes of enlightenment, scenes of disclosure are piled one on top of the other as the film slithers insinuatingly towards its tragic yet redemptive denouement.
All of the main characters: Jacob, Jorgen, Jorgen's wife Helene (Sidse Babett Knudsen in a mature, sexy performance) and Helene and Jorgen's daughter, Anna (Stine Fischer...

"Do I Have to Live on the Other Side of the World to Get Your Help?"
Early on in Susanne Bier's Oscar Nominated (Best Foreign Film 2006) film "After The Wedding", Danish expat-in-India Jacob (the solid Mads Mikkelsen) is faced with the prospect of reluctantly returning to his homeland after twenty years to meet with a mysterious man who is offering the necessary funding to keep his school/orphanage open. When explaining to Pramod (his adopted son-of-sorts) that he must leave, the precocious eight year old asks about the wealth of people in Denmark and finally concludes, "If I was rich, I'd be happy."

Soon after, when we delve deeply into the lives of the proposed benefactor and his family, we see that this proclamation certainly does not apply to all people. Or, at the very least, it definitely does not apply to billionaire Jorgen (the authoritative Rolf Lassgard) or his family.

Although it seems like it might at first. The jump from the teeming Indian squalor to the lush green Danish countryside almost jarringly illustrates...

"Can't Buy Me Love"
`After the Wedding,' Denmark's "Best Foreign Picture" nominee for the Academy Awards has a lot going for it. Even if there is a soap opera feel to the scenes and the story, the quality is head and shoulders above any serial. Not to mention the fact we get six months of development in one movie. Solid performances, and camera shots that capture every revealing reaction give the story a magnetic interest.

The film begins in India where Jacob Pedersen (Mads Mikkelson) works with the impoverished. He feels at home with the children, but he goes back to Denmark to raise funds for the orphanage and get reacquainted with his family. At home his former love Helene (Sidse Babett Knudsen) has married a tycoon, Jorgen Hanson (Rolf Lassgard), someone Jacob is able to solicit funding with ease. Once they meet, he is invited to their daughter's wedding. Much like `Rumor Has It' with far less laughs, yet more substantive development, Jacob finds out at the reception that he has...

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A Walk to Remember

A Movie to Warm Your Heart!
"Wow". That's about all I could muster at the end of the movie (embarrassingly, between a flood of tears - after all, a guy isn't allowed to cry, right?) I must admit - my skepticism was extremely high upon first hearing about this movie. I queried myself as to the necessity of watching yet another "teenage love story". However, upon a friend's recommendation, I decided to give it a go, and realized that I had actually come close to making a terribly big mistake in my life had I not watched it. The movie was simply INCREDIBLE!

Shane West does an excellent portrayal of High School bad boy Landon, and his desire to be popular and cool will surely strike a chord in many of our hearts. After all, during our precocious teenage years, there are arguably few things that are more important than being cool and universally liked by peers. One's self esteem is invariably tied with how others perceive us. And so that is how Landon is, until he meets sweet Jamie Sullivan, the local preacher's...

Beautiful...a Classic in the Making
First off, please pay no heed to the critics on this one. They seem to have written it off as just another in a long line of typical teen films, giving it their typical (and apparently recycled) reviews for such films. In their prejudice, they fail to realize the uniqueness of this film, especially in this day and age. Sure, the story -- based on the best-selling Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name -- is nothing new: big man on campus falls in love with misunderstood misfit harboring a tragic secret. The difference here is in the presentation. Instead of the jaded, busy and noisy perspective taken by most teen films, "Walk" is quiet, gentle, full of hope.

The plot is simple enough. Popular bad-boy Landon Carter (Shane West) is sentenced to various after-school activities as punishment for his participation in a prank gone terribly wrong. Consequently, he comes into contact with do-gooder Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore), the preacher's daughter and school outcast. They grew...

A Movie That Will Be Remembered
After seeing the trailers to A Walk to Remember, I have to admit, I wasn't psyched about seeing this movie. It seemed to be yet another stereotypical cardboard cut out of recent teen movies in the past few years. There are a few 'chick flicks' that I have enjoyed in the past, but they're not my favorite movies. But, because of my friends eagerness to see the movie, I gave in, and went to see it. The results were very surprising. This movie wasn't just another average 'chick flick,' it was something much more. It became one of my all-time favorite movies.

The movie is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, and tells the wonderful tale of two people who are the definite opposites of one another only to be brought together by a miracle. There is Jamie Sullivan, played brilliantly by Mandy Moore, who is a shy and meek girl who is always teased on by her peers. Her head remains strong however, because she doesn't allow the rude and immature comments penetrate and hamper her...

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Idiocracy

Hilarious Dystopian Satire Muted by Distributor
Idiocracy, meaning rule of the stupid, is a dystopian film from Director Mike Judge (Office Space) that cost about $30 million to make but only made about half a million dollars because the film's distributor wanted nothing to do with promoting the film. There were no advertisements, no trailers, and the film was eventually released on just 130 screens in a limited amount of American cities. The film is written by successful veterans, stars some solid talent, and the CGI effects and art direction were likely not inexpensive. Unlike most films that a distributor ignores, Idiocracy was well-received by critics and I will echo here that it is indeed a very good satire. The distributor was of course Fox and they were likely embarrassed to release a film that does what any good dystopian tale does, and that is strongly denounce the self-destructive culture we currently live in and continue to facilitate...

Brilliant Satire (brought to you by Carl's Jr.)
As a high school teacher, I saw this movie and was convinced that Mike Judge had secretly studied my students. He is DEAD ON about where the up-and-coming generation is headed, and it's so funny it hurts. This film is way ahead of its time in its cultural commentary, which is why it still hasn't received the promotion or praise that it rightly deserves. Then again, that's the problem with satire as a genre--the message is lost on the people who need to hear it most.
If you appreciate Office Space or King of the Hill, you'll love what Judge is up to here. It's refreshing to know that someone in Hollywood is ballsy enough to blast corporate America for its hand in creating a culture that is too stuid to recognize its own bleak future. It's also a little sad to realize that if you "get" this movie, you're already part of a dying breed.

A scathing satire on our modern society
If you hated this movie you either didn't get it or were one of the people that the opening narration talks about. This film is a scathing satire about the culture that is breeding things like Paris Hilton, Jerry Springer, and Girls Gone Wild and taking a look at where the United States could be if that culture continues to grow unchecked. The Result is a movie that while not as funny as Office Space, offers a humorous although somewhat frightening look at our society and pop culture. I think this movie is one of those films that will eventually become a cult favorite and generate an even larger following that Office Space has. If you are troubled by your little niece's obsession with being like Paris Hilton or are dismayed by what passes for entertainment these days then you need to see this movie.

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Midnight Clear

Random Acts of Kindness: A Little Christmas Story
MIDNIGHT CLEAR is an easily overlooked film: the cover of the DVD is bleak, the description of the story sounds a bit corny, and the promotion of the film has been scant. But what is not expected for those viewers able to overcome the above negative aspects is a well-made little series of interlocking vignettes that poignantly address the impact of random acts of kindness in a world grown calloused. It is touching in the best sense of the word and well worth watching even beyond the Christmas season.

The unnamed town gradually opens windows to some fairly sad people: an elderly woman Eva (K Callan) talks with her doctor on the telephone about her meds and we note that she may be facing the thought of suicide in her desolate life; a sweet woman Mary (Mary Thornton) and her young son Jacob (Dominic Scott Kay) visit their brain damaged husband/father in a rest home (the man was critically injured in an auto accident one year ago); a lonely many Kirk (Kirk B.R. Woller) stands...

Best Christmas movie in years!!!
By far the best Christmas movie I have seen in years and one of the best movies I have seen in a long time! I wish they made more movies like this!

Simply told, and beautifully understated. A wonderfully told tale about five strangers whose paths cross one Christmas Eve and impact one another's lives in sometimes simple, yet rather astounding ways.

Not your usual Hollywood-type Christmas film where everyone is smiling and a happy ending can be found around every corner. No, this film is about real people, with real problems, in the real world, where things don't always necessarily end happily ever after. And, during the course of the film, we're never quite sure just what the outcome is going to be.

Honest, sincere, real, totally believeable. I could readily and easily identify with each and every character. The performances are top-notch and are played to perfection. Every performance comes across as being completely genuine.

I love...

Midnight Clear
"Midnight Clear" was directed by Dallas Jenkins, son of Jerry B Jenkins, who also produced and wrote the story the film is based on. I'm not a fan of Jenkins Sr and expected a rather preachy Christian film. I was wrong, almost.

Stephen Baldwin gives a suprisingly good performance as divorced, unemployed and homless Lefty, and K Callan is even better as the lonely widow Eve. The rest of the cast is a mixed bunch. The story is about loneliness and kindness and some scenes are very good, others weaker. The ending, while optimistic, is especially weak. It didn't feel true to the rest of the movie and this keeps me from giving it a higher rating. Not all problems are solved by going to church.

Overall, this is a pretty good movie, certainly much better than I expected. It's a rare example of a Christian themed movie that is not preachy and can be enjoyed by both Christian and non-Christians.

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Beautiful Girls [HD]

LOTS TO LIKE
I saw this film once before but, unawares, rented it again and, even though I realized I had seen the movie previously after it started, I enjoyed even more the second time. This is quality movie-making: good production values, a good script, good acting. I even ordered a Neil Diamond album after watching the "impromtu" singing of Sweet Caroline in a fun bar scene. Ensemble acting at its best, we have Rose O'Donnell, Uma Thurman and Matt Dillon featured along witn talented others. Timothy Hutton is perhaps the most interesting character in the film as a lost soul and his 30-something character's "romance" with thirteen-year-old Marty played by Natalie Portman is truly remarkable. I don't know what federal laws I was breaking but I was in love with Marty and I secretly hoped that Hutton's character returned to get her when she turned eighteen. What an amazing adult woman in a thirteen-year-old's body! They had a fascinating and strange relationship. Uma Thurman is...

Like Going To My Own Reunion
The story line of this movie is set at the ten year high school reunion. Listening to the characters was like going to my own reunion. I saw myself and my buddies in these characters. What a classic this is! With an all-star cast including Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Lauren Holly, rosie O'Donnell, natalie Portman, Michael Rapaport, Martha Plimpton, Uma Thurman and Mira Sorvino and a wonderfully matched soundtrack this movie is hard to top.

Will (Timothy Hutton) is trying to figure out the path his life will take, should he get married or not. But he is intrigued by the little girl next door and starts to think that his future wife may be a bit ordinary. Add to the mix Uma Thurman's out of town character that is beautiful and witty and Will is getting more muddled all the time. The local boys plow snow, drink beer and have affairs with married women, date women for nine years without proposing and raise kid with not clue how to do it. All real life things that we see...

Featuring the Future Padme Amidala...
A terrific ensemble cast brings this film to life, which focuses on the difficulties some face in making that final, "mental" leap from adolescence to adulthood, and spend way too many years trying to sort it all out. As one of the characters so tellingly puts it at one point, "I'm not anywhere close to being the man I thought I'd be--" and the denial, that failure to accept the fact that time stands still for no man, and the inability to choose which path to take when you hit that inevitable fork in the road, forms the basis for director Ted Demme's examination of how human nature affects the process of maturating, in "Beautiful Girls," a drama featuring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon and a young Natalie Portman.

Willie Conway (Hutton) is back home in the Midwest for his high school reunion, but more than that, to try and make some decisions about his future. He finds that nothing much has changed-- the town, or his old friends, most of whom seem to be exerting more time and energy...

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Happy Feet (Full Screen Edition)

An objective look at a polar-izing movie.
South polar-izing in this case, but it's hard to miss the fact that some people really love this movie and some really...well...don't.

I just saw this movie twice over the past three days, and here's my take on it, with the upsides and the downsides.

The upsides were:

The animation technology! Some of the animation, especially the backgrounds, was drop dead gorgeous. I don't even have HD, and I was mesmerized by how beautifully done some parts of this movie were.

The misfit becomes a hero. It hit sort of close to home for my wife and I because we have a special needs child and have often felt like Memphis and Norma Jean. What went wrong? We sigh a lot and wonder what will become of him. I quietly hope he will develop some great talent some day. We'll see.

An environmental message that wasn't too heavy handed. The humans are not presented as evil, just as being who didn't know what they were doing. Once they discovered the...

Great movie that looks amazing in HD!
First of all, this is simply a great movie. The narrative is brought to life with humor, action, important life lessons, and conservational commentary. The voice actors all give 5-star performances and the animation is incredible.

But, this being the Blu-ray disc, I'm going to focus on the picture and sound.

The animation by itself is simply breath-taking; easily one of, if not the best looking CGI feature to date. But in HD, it's brought to life even further. Every feather on the penguins is apparent, every flake of snow falling through the air and I'd almost go so far as to say every molecule of water! This is the best looking animated feature you can get on Blu-ray now. It's definitely the show-off piece when people ask "How much better does HD look?". The leopard seal was particularly mind-blowing to me.

Another hook is the sound. While I wouldn't say this is the best sounding movie on Blu-ray, it definitely puts sound to good use and ranks pretty...

Happy Feet.. Made me happy
I loved the movie, it had me swaying to the music and singing right from the beginning. I loved the characters.. I chose to get it in full screen version due to I'm not a big fan of the wide screen version.. I loved the movie from beginning to end.. I watched it along with my parents and they're a tough bunch when it comes to movies, But my mother loved it especially, I think she must have laughed and kept a smile through the whole movie.. My fathter, whose an even tougher critic to watch movies with enjoyed it also.. I even him him laughing a few times and saw him smile, so all and all, it was worth the buy.. Thanks amazon!

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Not Fade Away [HD]

It's all about the music
"Not Fade Away" (2012 release; 112 min.) is the debut feature film from writer-director David "The Sopranos" Chase. The story is very loosely based on Chase's days of growing up in New Jersey in the early 1960s, with Douglas (played by John Magaro) standing in for Chase. The movie starts with a retelling of the infamous meeting between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on a train in the early 60s, and not long thereafter we see the Stones appear on TV and Douglas and his friends want to start a band "like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles". The voice over is from Douglas' sister, informing us she is going to tell "the story of this band nobody has ever heard off". There are many side stories and characters in the movie, none more so than Douglas' dad, played by James "Tony Soprano" Gandolfini, which in my opinion was very risky: how can you see this man play yet another Italian patriach with an anger problem and not think Tony Soprano?

But in the end the story line is...

No happy endings here but truth is told
I had high, very high, expectations for this movie, depicting the rise and fall of a Rolling Stones-influenced garage band from New Jersey. David Chase are I are both Jersey kids; are more-or-less the same age (he is 67; I am 63) and had some of the same experiences. I sat down to watch this flick, expecting to be pulled through an earlier part of my life.

The beginning of the film set the stage in a fabulous manner, with the imagined meeting of Mick and Keith on a train heading to school. (As a side note: when in the world will someone film a similar event of Lennon and McCartney?) A voice-over by the sister of the stories protagonist informs us that while almost everyone knows how that story goes; a similar one involving her brother Doug is known to virtually no one. The very obvious implication here is that her brother's band was not a success.

With that thought in mind we are allowed to observe the life of the band for the rest of its existence. Through this...

A love letter to 1962-68 pop/rock music. Only the Blu-ray has the 41 minutes of bonuses.
I saw this film on the big screen last year at the Philadelphia Film Festival and was looking forward to seeing it on home video and to see what bonus features would be added. There's so much music - both played by the actors as characters in the film, and as snippets of licensed music from the 1962-68 time period, that I sometimes lost track of the story while concentrating on the great music - selected, by the way, by Executive Producer Steven Van Zandt (of the E Street Band). (When I saw in the theater I kept asking myself what the licensing fees must have been to release this film.)

As you will learn from the Bonus features on the Blu-ray (no bonuses on the standard DVD) this film was germinating in the mind of writer/director David Chase from the moment his HBO series "The Sopranos" ended. It took a while for him to say what he wanted. Not to give any "spoilers" (but I think you will find it helpful), Chase chose ACTORS , not musicians, to play the roles of members of...

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Show Me Love

So real, it hurts
Show Me Love, also known under the 10 times better foreign title of F**king Amal (isn't there some sort of statute of limitations on Puritanism?), is an incredibly frank and naturalistic story about what it is like to be 14, in love, and trapped in a one horse town. The fact that the movie is based in Sweden and focuses on a relationship between two girls does nothing to harm the universal appeal of this intelligent and remarkably well-crafted film. The director, Lukas Moodysson, has such a fine eye for the day to day minutiae of the teen years you will recognize many of the film's best moments whether you are from Lubbock, TX or a place like Amal, Sweden. Alexandra Dahlstrom plays Agnes, a retiring teen who has only one outcast friend even though she has lived in Amal for three years (a fate made more acute by the fact that rumor has it she is a lesbian.) Agnes is of course in love, Who wasn't at 14?, with the most popular girl at school Elin (Liljeberg). One night Elin...

A Beautiful, Charming little movie!
I just happened to catch this movie on Cinemax one night while randomly flipping thru the channels. I was immediately struck not only by the cinemetography, which lends a gritty realism to the film, but just by the sheer HONESTY of the movie.. The shy akwardness of falling in love and being with a lover...the catty banter between sisters,dealing with parents, the angst of high school and of being an outcast, going to parties, and of course, dealing with boys who have yet to mature...Everyhing about this movie is THE TRUTH, the characters' emotions, the dialogue...when u watch this movie, you realize these kids could be from NJ , or Paris or anywhere..kids are kids. I was also struck by the performances of the cast in general, but also of the two leads who played Elin and Agnes...I dont know how the director got such honest and nuanced performances from actresses so young, but he did a good job of it..Maybe, its because their teen years arent so far behind , lol...but I think its...

Foreign Import - Worth The Watch. Good Movie !
If you were ever a teenager, then this movie is for you....

Okay, so I'm being a bit broad based here, but this is a great film - and it touches so perfectly on what it's like to be a teenager, the feelings - confusions and emotions - that it's worth it's weight in gold.

The story follows a small group of Swedish youth, including an akward young girl "outsider" named Agnes who has fallen in love with her schools "it" girl: the very popular, especially with the boys, Elin.

The Elin/Agnes relationship is painful and beautiful at the same time. It's an excellent recollection of what it is to be a teenager in love, regardless of the sexuality. These are honest and true emotions, the kids portrayed could be any in any city, regardless of the country.

The film is full of angst and humor and a precious kiss.

The subtitles are done well and are easy to read.

If I had to pick a complimentary American film - get yourself a copy of "All Over Me"...

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12 Men Of Christmas

Mr. Darcy is Mr. December!
Was Jonesing for a romantic comedy Christmas flick and was pleasantly surprised with The Twelve Men of Christmas. Based on a Brit novel Dating Mr. December, it is a fish-out-of-water story. Our plucky little heroine EJ (Kristen Chenoweth) Leonard Bernstein's Candide (Great Performances) simultaneously loses her great Manhattan job and caddish boyfriend and is forced to relocate to a small Montana town to become their publicist.

Apparently everyone there has taken a vow to be very nice and understanding to perky newcomers. All the males are pretty much "ah shucks ma'am" to a gorgeous blonde city women except the rich, handsome Will (Josh Hopkins) Swingtown - The First Season who is very stand-offish to our protagonist. The plot centers around the efforts to...

Cheno Makes Christmas Sexier!
Saw this movie on Lifetime when it first aired and have watched it every time its on tv. I think Kristin Chenoweth is adorable and immensely talented so I had to add this movie to my collection.

Love it!
I really enjoyed this movie. Great when you need to veg and watch something easy and fun. Sort of the male side of "Calendar Girls".

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