Psycho Gothic Lolita [HD]

uh ok,,,,not much to this movie.
there isn't much to the movie. a girl's mother gets killed and she dresses in a Lolita style outfit and kills everyone involved in her mother's murder. naturally she does it with a parasol and some martial arts fighting skills but that's about it....until the final battle. just when i thought the movie couldn't get any less stupid the final battle occurs and all of a sudden...yep something supernatural occurs! the movie was just not cohesive. i know this type of movie doesn't have much of a plot but it could have been tied together a little better. needless to say the acting was cheesey and the plot unoriginal. the parasol could have been more interesting if they had varied the ways she used it.

I love this movie!!!
I love this movie. I love the sword action; I'm a big fan of gory samuri films. An I like Lolita's character; the whole goth look design with the tutu and umbrella. Her umbrella has a spike one minute and it's a gun like the Penguin's from Batman Returns the next. I love it, I love it, I love it!!!!!

Vengeful gothic lolita? I love it...
This is one of those movies that if you are going to watch it, you already know you're going to see something over the top. That's why I liked it.

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Sound City [HD]

Digital Killed The Analog Star
When you think of where some of rock's greatest and most memorable albums were recorded, chances are that Sound City is not what you have in mind.

Located in a run down neighborhood in Van Nuys California, Sound City's dilapidated appearance looks better suited to the production of meth, not music.

This is the story that Foo Fighter's front-man and first-time director, Dave Grohl, sets out to tell about this unlikely rock landmark that changed the face - and more specifically, the sound - of music.

And Grohl would know, as Sound City is where Nirvana recorded their seminal album, "Nevermind," before it exploded onto the scene and transformed the rock landscape forever.

** "This Place is a Dump." **

Sound City opened its doors in 1969 to an inauspicious beginning. It was not until 1975, when Fleetwood Mac recorded their heavily praised self-titled album there (a serendipitous and well documented story in the movie), that the tiny...

For everyone who loves music
I saw this last night and was blown away. As a Foo Fighters fan, I expected to enjoy this, but it was even better than I expected. So much musical history about Sound City Studios, and then the second part, where they invite people back to make new tracks with them, was even better. Loved watching Trent Reznor, Josh Homme, Rick Springfield, and Paul McCartney create music! Left me wanting more.

WOW!
Saw this at Sundance and have already pre-ordered my copy. I think this is going to be on the best documentaries of the year. The direction and editing were awesome and the music blew me away. Paul McCartney still has it as does Rick Springfield and Stevie Nicks!

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Seven Psychopaths (+UltraViolet Digital Copy)

Living and dying for the sake of Shih Tsu
Martin McDonagh, among the best known Irish directors previously won an Oscar for the short movie Six shooter A Collection of 2005 Academy Award Nominated Short Films although he is perhaps best known for the acclaimed In Brugesalso starring Colin Farrell, a dark comedy with tragic overtones about two hitmen on the run.

I first heard of this movie last year when I saw the movie The Guard directed by his brother Michael John. A trademark of the McDonaghs is dark humor mixed with some irony and perhaps even some philosophy together with some absurdity. As I loved The Guard so much and it has the biggest domestic box office of any Irish movie ever made, I looked forward to this latest movie with more than a little anticipation.

If you're like me and like American directors who also write such as Tarantino with Reservoir Dogs...

If you liked "In Bruges", you'll love this one
Some 3-4 years ago, director Martin McDonagh teamed up with Colin Farrell in an absurd but very funny crime comedy called "In Bruges". I loved that movie (and not just because it was filmed in the Belgian city of Bruges, where I spent my high school years). Now comes another crime comedy from the same team.

"Seven Psychopaths" (2012 release; 110 min.) brings the story of Marty (played by Farrell), a struggling writer who is working on a movie script called "Seven Psychopaths". His buddy Billy (played by Sam Rockwell) is volunteering to help in any way possible. At some point Billy steals a little dog, and only later do we learn that the dog's owner is Charlie (played by Woody Harrelson), a dangerous gangster who is out for revenge. Last, but certainly not least, there is Hans (played by Christopher Walken), a buddy of Billy's. There are a bunch of smaller characters in the movie. To be honest, I had a hard time keeping track of the multitude of characters, and the fact that...

Original, hilarious, and a must-see
Being a big fan of "In Bruges," getting excited for writer, director, and now producer Martin McDonagh's latest film "Seven Psychopaths" was like second nature. "In Bruges" is begging for a revisit, but it added a lot of humor to hitmen and crime situations that usually try to be gritty or as serious as humanly possible in films before it. "In Bruges" had this uniqueness to it and "Seven Psychopaths" is even more creative and hilarious in comparison.

A struggling screenwriter named Marty (Colin Farrell) has an idea for his next screenplay; a movie entitled "Seven Psychopaths." The problem is Marty is having difficulty coming up with the actual story or the psychopaths for that matter and his alcoholism often gets the better of him. His strange best friend Billy (Sam Rockwell), who kidnaps dogs with a religious man named Hans (Christopher Walken) and returns them to get the reward, has extreme interest in helping Marty write his story. What Marty doesn't count on is Billy...

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The Priest's Wife

A Comedy Concerning The Catholic Conundrum...
(1971) Valeria (Sophia Loren) has just broken up with the man she's been dating for four years, seeing as how she just found out he's married and has a family all this time, by demolishing his car before verbally tearing him a new a*hole. Distraught, she goes home where she lives with her parents (which was still commonplace at that time in Italian households), heads to her room and begins ingesting twenty narcotic pills to end it all. The pills she begins to take are laid out on a magazine cover that has a suicide hotline ad displayed, and she phones it as a comically ironic last gesture. The person at the other end of the line is Prof. Don Mario (Marcello Mastroianni), who just happens to also be a priest. He advises her not to go through with it, but she continues to ingest the narcotics while they converse, ultimately passing out while still on the phone with him.

Father Don gets a phone call from the local hospital while teaching a classroom of Catholic hoodlums the...

It takes two to tango,,,,
The Priest's Wife

The explosive chemistry between Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren is undeniable. Although this is not one of their best films together, it is still very good. Sophia is delightful as the hot tempered, scorned woman who fails at all her relationships and then sets her cap on a priest played by Marcello. Handsome Marcello is incredibly believable as the celibate, pious priest who tries to help Sofia while attempting to rebuke her advances. Of course he fails so the age old duplicity of priests is well highlighted. Very good movie, well worth a view.,

C3 = Comedy, Caper, Catholic = Cute, Cuddly and Charismatic
Who can resist these leading couple, the Italian equivalent of Hepburn & Tracy, Bogart and Bacall, with the pairing of Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.
They absolutely shine in their comedic genius and Sophia looks absolutely ravishing in her mod clothing. And WOW what a looker she is.
There is also some good camera work with some swell sights of late 60s/early 70s Italy
A definite must have for all Sophia and or Marcello fans.

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Grinders [HD]

Mediocre surface depiction
This movie is good in that it seems a realistic depiction of real poker players. It is non-fiction. The main protagonist is trying to make a living while unemployed. It addresses the hardship of insecurity for his family, but does not go into the detail I would have wanted. How much does he actually make? What is the variance of his income? How does this variance impact he and his family? Watching the struggles of this one character might have been dramatic and revealing. The film spends too much time on the story of a poker room owner who is being blackmailed for extra rent. This is time that could have been spent examining the lives of actual poker players. The film also talks about one poker player trying to get on a poker reality show, but does not follow up to let us know how well he did. I would have liked to learn a lot more about the characters and how poker playing affects their lives.





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Rattlers (1976)

Fangs for the Memories
I give "Rattlers" 3 stars, "The Snake People" 4 stars, and the extras 3 stars.

Rattlers is just another one of the many barely distinguishable movies about humans attacked by swarms of snakes/spiders/bees/ants/frogs/etc. which came out in huge numbers in the 1970s. It has all the usual characters: the local sheriff, the good scientist, the love interest, the small-town victims, etc. Not bad as a time-waster, but this one doesn't even have the usual big-name B actor like William Shatner or Michael Caine to laugh at.

"The Snake People", which isn't even given double billing on the front cover, is not only a longer film, but far superior. It is one of several cheap Mexican films Boris Karloff made towards the end of his life (usually small, unimportant scenes filmed in L.A. sliced into the rest of the movie, filmed in Mexico). Most of these films were quite exploitative, making me wonder if Karloff knew the true contents of the rest of these films. However, this one is very tame...

Hisssssssssssssss ...
RATTLERS (1976) is a forgotten little fright film released by the ubiquitous Harry Novak that I recall playing the Drive-Ins during my youth. It failed to get an official video release, and is now winging its way to us via the good folks at Something Weird DVD! One should be warned that just because it's digital, it doesn't mean that RATTLERS is a feast for the senses: indeed, the print is brown, worn-out and ugly to the eye. In actuality, it adds to the grittiness of its barren desert setting.

We know the film has its heart in the right place when two tow-headed little boys wander from their family RV to go snooping around the Mojave Desert and fall into a bed of rattlesnakes. Ah! How trash films of this era rose to the occasion ... starting a film with the deaths of two small children whose biggest sin was taking a sip from their white trash daddy's beer! Something's not right as other citizens of the sand-swept area begin to fall prey to the slithery ones .... A farm boy goes in...

Snake Eyes...
Oh no! The army's been dumping more horrid chemicals in the desert! This time it's effected the natural order by turning harmless rattlesnakes into hyper-aggressive killers! No one is safe from the venomous fangs of these slithery fiends! They can even bite through jeep tires! Can a herpitologist (Sam Chew) find a way to deal w/ these vipers of doom?? RATTLERS is an ok movie, w/ some mildly exciting scenes and minimal carnage. Meanwhile, SNAKE PEOPLE is a wild affair w/ Boris Karloff as a voodoo guy and exotic dancing legend Tongalele as the red hot voodoo priestess! Yessiree!! Watch also for the cannibal women!...

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Paranormal Activity 4 - Rated

They forgot to make this one scary
A big fan of this series (my name even gets a fan credit in #1!), I thought the trailer for PA4 was awful. And the "viral campaign" never took off like it did for #2 and #3. It was as if even those involved simply weren't very committed/interested in the film they were making.

The reviews were ALL tepid--even those that sort of praised it--and word of mouth was dismal. The "actual people watching the film" TV ad was so over-the-top, it became a joke.

And then the film itself was a mess. Why have the wink-wink "in jokes" of the kid riding the bike like THE SHINING? It takes us "out" of the movie we're watching...and ads zero to the film. Same with the first
fake" drag scene of the girl. Again, why remind us that we're watching a movie, why take us out of the experience?

And NOTHING happens for so long into this movie, it's just people talking and talking and talking. The few little scares are already shown in the trailer, which they have done...

The Weakest Entry Yet
Paranormal Activity has become the "Police Academy" of horror films, with a sequel each year targeted at a particular type of audience, with a similar plot and familiar characters each time out. This year, the pickings are very slim, as this is by far the worst film of the four. Scares are few and far between, the acting is terrible, and the film is ALMOST IDENTICAL to Paranormal Activity 2, with the same exact ending as Paranormal 3.

With a budget this big and a devoted audience, it is an insult to the integrity and to the intelligence of the loyal fans to put out a lackluster film such as this. They have obviously run out of ideas and are already rehashing the same scenes over and over again. Unless you are a huge fan of the franchise, don't seethis film. Not only are the first three better, but they are almost identical.

Paranormal Activity: Deja Vu
That would have been a better name for this film. Basically, it scoops up the same ideas as before and inserts a different (and much worse) cast of actors and a new setting. Everyone is pretty bland and boring. The boyfriend will annoy you as soon as he appears and it only gets worse from there. You will start to root for the demons to pick everyone off and that's always a bad sign.

Also, there is no suspense or sense of foreboding. I kept waiting to be scared and nothing ever really took off. Katie makes brief appearances and sports her demon face again as we saw in the first film. The two main characters mimic the two teenagers from the second film. The ending reflects the ending of part 3. It really adds nothing new or interesting to even make it worth watching.

The first two films were great. They were suspenseful and added new ideas and scares. Plus the cast in the first two films were much much better. PA3 was definitely a downgrade in quality. It was...

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The Ring [HD]

... then you die
Every horror buff knows -- the horror that creeps up on you gradually is much, much scarier the one who bounces out and yells "boo" as it decapitates somebody with a machete.

And sadly, most current "horror" movies lack horror, because it's easier to substitute it with screaming blondes, blood, guts and sharp objects. But "The Ring" is soaked in foreboding, creepiness and horrific imagery. Director Gore Verbinski relies heavily on the original Japanese movie for a lot of his remake's flavor, and the result is a slow-building terror that keeps twisting right up to the end.

Single mum Rachel (Naomi Watts) is attending her niece's funeral, after she died under bizarre circumstances. Several of her friends died on the exact same day, at the same time, which (surprise surprise) makes Rachel think this isn't a coincidence. So she investigates the mountain cabin all the kids stayed at a week ago, and finds an unlabeled videotape with a series of bizarre images -- and a...

Surprisingly more complex than you'd think
I have yet to see the Japanese version of the Ring, so obviously, unlike other websites, I cannot comment onto whether or not the American version is superior or inferior. What I can say is that this was one hell of a movie, and in a way I'm pleased to be able to review it on it's own merit without the influences of another flick in my mind.

I went into it with mixed emotions. All have heard the hype of how terrifying or disturbing it is. Since I very very rarely become frightened by the cinema, I tried to rely more on the plot for my expectations. The story itself sounded...weak. A video tape that kills you after seven days??? I didn't see how it could be pulled off.

Thankfully I didn't go in expecting the best from all the hype, but in a way the worst, and I turned out very suprised in a positive way.

First of all - the story. Wow. Creative as hell, a real mind-twister - Gotta love mysteries. You just had to watch to the end once the movie itself...

Great classic
Fantastic classic movie my daughter had never seen it and she loved it! I'm thankful it was available to rent. Finally a movie she enjoyed and considered scary

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Amazing Ocean [HD]

Dont buy into the hype of the other reviews. Good, but definately not Great..
If you have viewed Imax:Deep sea 3d or Imax undersea adventures than this movie is hardly going to do anything more for you than either of those other two films have done, you definately are not going to find that scene that makes you feel like your purchase was worth it.

With Imax Deep sea you had multitudes of scenes where the 3d depth wasnt only great but those occasional Pop Out scenes that made you say OMG! that was cool... not to mention the audio quality of that film paired by entertaining narration made it worth every penny.

With Undersea we had one of the most significant 3d pop out scenes ever, the one scene alone made it worth owning the entire disc.

Unfortunately this release was kinda flat to me, it had some okay 3d depth but nothing near what the other underwater films have brought to 3d, the pop out was very limited as the only things that appeared to pop out were the fish left in 2d as they were closest to the front, but this is more...

boring :(
the cover is the best from this blu-ray. the 3d effects are not good and the light is very, very bad.
imax-3d movies are much better then this amateur movie.

amazing 3D effects
Literally the best 3d effect I have ever seen anywhere! Good narrator and there are a lot of cool pop out effects and amazing depth! Excellent!!!! The only problem with this movie is it will make you wonder why can't every other 3d bluray use this amazingly technology so well. i like!

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Quiz Show [HD]

Superb recounting of the Quiz Show Scandals
Although not a reason this movie is so good, I would like to begin by stating that as a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, I believe this is the only movie ever made that mentions Arkadelphia. And not just once, but twice!

There are many, many reasons this movie succeeds so marvelously, but I would like to focus on three.

First, this movie benefits from an exceedingly fine cast. Not merely the leads, but many of the lesser roles are filled with extremely good actors and actresses. While Ralph Fiennes, John Tuturro, and Rob Morrow all shine in the leads, lesser parts are filled with people like David Paymer, Hank Azaria, Mira Sorvino, and Martin Scorsese. I was especially impressed by the always superb but underutilized Paul Scofield (who won the Oscar portraying Thomas More in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS). He seems the very embodiment of the man of reason, erudition, and courtesy portraying Mark van Doren, and his pain upon learning his beloved son has...

A time of innocence and the deception of the pubic
Directed by Robert Redford and nominated for several Academy Awards, this 1994 film tells the true story of the quiz show "21" in the 1950s and how the contestants were given the answers ahead of time and coached for the show. As a child at the time I remember the hoopla and how whole families would watch this show together, holding their collective breaths during the competitions for big money. It was a time of innocence and the viewing community was deceived. And never again have the networks won that kind of public trust.

Paul Attansio adapted the screenplay from the book written by Richard N. Goodwin who was the government investigator at the time. In the film this role is played by Rob Morrow who is determined to uncover the deception. All the other actors are excellent too - most notably John Turturro who is cast as a Jewish man from Queens who is allowed to win for seven weeks before being replaced by Charles Van Doran, a professor at Columbia who came from a long...

It doesn't get much better then this.
When I first heard about this movie, I thought, "A guy cheats on a quiz show. What a dumb idea." Then when it was up for the 1994 Oscar for Best Picture, I said to myself, "Well, I saw the other four movies up for BP this year." So I rented it. Then I bought it. Then it was playing in my VCR almost every day as background sound when I played on the computer or ate. I have the dialogue pretty much memorized now. The movie is art. It was an instant classic. A must see. Every time I watch it I notice something new or "get" a joke I never understood before. It has fantastic actors, unbelievable dialogue, and is a cute little story. This reigns as my favorite movie of all time.

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Eye Of The Devil

Odd, but intensely compelling film
I am surprised this movie is not out on DVD or video because it's one of the few films of the beautiful Sharon Tate, the actress killed by the Mason Cult. Supposedly her "introduction" film along with fellow actor David Hemmings, MGM made a big todo of showcasing them before the films release.

The film was also called 13 in some releases, and the supposedly unlucky number seems apropos for the film with Tate later being murdered, and the trouble over initial casting. The simply gorgeous Kim Novak was set to play the lead, they had actually begun filming when she was thrown from a horse. A broken bone resulted in her being replaced by the powerhouse Deborah Kerr, who seems, truthfully, better suited to be playing David Niven's wife.

This is like no other Niven film, an high popular, but I believe, underrated actor. He made it seems so easy. But you watch him with Gregory Peck in GUNS OF NAVARONE and you will see he was a marvellous talent.

It's a low-key thriller, in the...

Stunning Black And White Photography, Compelling Performances
From the novel "The Day Of The Arrow" by Phillip Loraine, this is a supernatural thriller concerning a creepy ch?teau in the French countryside, beset by bizarre occurrences and rumors of witchcraft. Phillipe De Monfaucon, Marquis de Bellac (David Niven), his wife, Catherine (Deborah Kerr) and their children, Jacques (Robert Duncan) and Antionette (Suky Appleby) become concerned and then victimized by the mysteriousness, including the presence of foreboding brother and sister, Christian (David Hemmings) and Odile (Sharon Tate)D'Carey. It soon becomes clear that the menacing pair is attempting to initiate the family into their cult. Even the village priest Father Dominick (Donald Pleasance) appears to have a sinister agenda. An interesting premise, excellent cast, glorious black and white photography; a cult favorite in the making. Young up and comers Hemmings and Tate embody their cherubic blonde innocence and evil blackness wonderfully - their appearance only enhances one's feelings...

Paganistic Inheritance
The sixties gave birth to many films dealing with every aspect of the occult from witchcraft to demonic possession and sometimes they branched off into something else of which director J. Lee Thompson's 'EYE OF THE DEVIL' is one of them. Without giving way the essence of the plot, the wife of a grand marquis in modern day France gets mixed up in a nightmare involving her husband and children, suffice it too say that it truly is not a horror film per se but an exercise in Paganism and predates Robin Hardy and Anthony Schaeffer's production of 'THE WICKER MAN' by a number of years. David Niven gives a subdued performance as the Marquis and Deborah Kerr in a role reminiscent of her turn as the governess in Jack Clayton's 'THE INNOCENTS' gives her wife in peril performance a fine driven feel. David Hemmings right from his debut in Antonioni's 'BLOW UP' and Sharon Tate in her first film role give the proceedings an eerie, unsettling twist but the real stars of the affair are the first...

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The Human Comedy

So...what's wrong with tugging a heart-string or two..?
This has always been one of my favorite films, since I saw it on TV about 30 years ago. Sentimental & Corny? Sure, but those who take the time to feel the deeper message will be rewarded. Apparently, some of my reviewing predecessors kept their minds closed to the depth (yes, that's right) of the story. First of all, this is a fable; a commentary not on life itself, but about life as it ought to be. The fact that it involves Ithaca, and characters named Homer, Ulysses & Marcus suggests Greek tragedy (the irony of the title) and the Greek chorus (the father). I couldn't possibly deny the fact that there are plenty of sappy moments, but they are layered & blended with some quite profound lessons. Let's not forget that in 1942 the war was at its absolute peak and enouragement like this was not only welcome but very necessary. Mickey Rooney gave a relaxed, centered performance, probably his best; Frank Morgan, Fay Bainter, James Craig, Marsha Hunt...all wonderful. How can you not feel for...

TOUCHING MOVIE!
In today's society where everything seems to be based on cyniscim, this movie is absolutey refreshing. It takes you back to small town life that has all but vanished from the face of America today. Some viewers may find it trite and corny, but I saw the sweetness in it. When Mickey Rooney reads the letter from his brother Van Johnson it never fails to bring tears to my eyes. I found this movie touching, and a far cry from the craziness in the movies we see these days. I like remembering what life was like back then. A time when neighbors were neighors, and everyone in town knew each other. If you don't watch this movie, you are missing a gem. I recently wrote Miss Helen Hunt who also starred in the movie with James Craig and thanked her for making this movie, she graciously wrote me back and gave me her autograph even though she must be in her eighties,but shes a product of the old hollywood, when stars were really stars.Watch this movie you won't regret it.

Golly! This movie is corny and patriotic? You don't say.
A fine film. It's pure, distilled, Grade-A, all-star, all-American, accept-no-substitutions, concentrated, three-hankie, melodramatic, sentimental, heartwarming, white picket fence, patriotic wartime schmaltz. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Mickey Rooney stars as Homer Macauley, a bright-eyed, fresh-faced, optimistic teenager living in Smalltown, USA during the height of World War Two, when all able bodied young men, including his older brother, have gone off to fight against the fascists and save civilization itself. Still, even with soldiers passing through town and cannons crowding the trains that are headed back East towards Europe, the war is still far, far away, and civilization can still be saved right here, back on the homefront. Taking his brother's place as "the man of the family," Homer learns about hard work, fair play, compassion for others, and about disappointment and heartbreak as well. It's all unremittingly corny, but that's entirely the point. This is...

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This Is My Life [HD]

Seeing Spots
You know when you are real little and your parent't want to shove a vegitable in your mouth, and you instantly reject it? Even if it makes it into your mouth you spit it out? Then after a time and you grow a little, vegitables aren't the big nasty monster's that your dad used to shove in your face? Well, that's the best way to describe this film from my point of view. I flipped through the channel's, stopped on the opening titles and kept on flipping. A second passed and I decided to flip back and give it a chance. What a rewarding decision that was. Julie Kavner won a place in my imagination with her portrayal of a nurse in Awakening's, my favorite film. She also does the voice of Marge Simpson. You get to see a performance that comes from the simpson side of her talent's as she plays a comedian and mother of two girls: Samantha Mathis, and Gabby Hoffman.(Both of these girls have since grown into blossoming careers) What I most enjoyed was the sincerity, and honesty as the girls deal...

Mother daughter must see!
This movie is a real down to earth, sweet and troubled look at REAL life.
I was looking for it on DVD to watch on Mother's day! But, sady it doesn't
exist. A loving film of a single mom's love for her two girls, her support
group of friends as in "it takes a village", the tenacity of children who are raised
with love not matter how crazy it looks on the outside. Love is the answer and
this film has a permenant place in my heart. I can't wait to share it with
my 9 year old... when I can find it...The Twelve Gifts of Birth - MUSIC

Lovely movie......sad that it doesn't have spanish subtitles !!!!!!!!!!!
this is a beautiful movie that have been waiting for 22 years to be released in dvd. Major disappointment that in doesn't have spanish subtitltles. My mother loves Carly Simon even though she doesn't fully understand the beautiful lyrics of her songs. But when my niece sang to her the theme of this movie when she was 5years old; she's. been hoping and asking me to get this movie. Finally I did......and still she cnnot enjoy it fully.....

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Keep the Lights On

Sundance, berlin
I watched this film at Sundance and then again at Tribeca after it had won the Teddy Award at Berlin. I think the film is superbly done, and it approaches a relationship without judging its characters. It is also extremely well acted, and the lensing is fantastic, with a grainy beauty and a cinematography that reflects the 10 year journey the characters go through.

Great Film,
Highly Recommend it.

Superb acting, hopeful and heartbreaking, verismatic.
True love can be difficult to realize in the face of innumerable and unknown life impediments. These impediments, along with self-inflicted wounds from the emotional DNA we all carry (and which often expresses itself in relationship(s) with others), leaves these two people blissful, vulnerable and ignorant. Drug addiction or an addiction of any kind is anathema to any relationship(s). Often there is the enabler/co-dependent and the addicted one, who doesn't perceive the danger ahead. We get all of this in Keep the Lights On. It is a roller coaster of discovery for both of the individuals in the relationship, fascinating and heartbreaking to watch, but never vapid. Over a decade, the individuals in this story really do try to find a way to make their relationship work and it was refreshing to see the enormous, even herculean effort the two principals in this love drama expend in order to save each other and their relationship. The acting is superb and the attention to detail in the...

Bavo
An amazing film of another time that is unlike anything else..love, sex, community, forgiveness. Unsentimental and funny at times and true to what it is.

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The Imposter [HD]

Mystery thriller of the year: a MUST SEE
I had seen the trailer of this movie a couple of times when catching other movies recently, and I have to say I was immensely intruiged by the premise of the movie. The movie finally opened this weekend here in Cincinnati and I went to see it right away.

"The Imposter" (2012 release; 99 min.) brings the tale of Nicholas Barclay, a 13 yr. old kid in San Antonio who disappears one day without a trace in 1994, only to be miraculously found 3 1/2 years later in... Spain! As it turns out, the boy in Spain is not really Nicholas, but some French guy pretending to be Nicholas. He manages to talk his way through everything, fooling US and Spanish diplomatic and legal personnel alike, and "long-lost Nicholas" is returned to Texas, where he is eagerly awaited by his overjoyed "family". Life is good for a while, but when others get involved upon his return (a trauma specialist, the FBI, etc.) he is eventually found out to be an imposter. At this point, we are only half-way into the...

Simply Amazing
Truth is truly stranger than fiction. This is possibly the only documentary I've ever seen that features a jaw-dropping "twist" toward the end, just like a real thriller. A sobering look at grief, family, lies, denial, government incompetence, and the universal human need to belong. Watch this.

First impressions are nothing
Was Nicholas Barclay who turned up in Spain, forty months later after disappearing in San Antonio in 1994 an impostor- which also happens to be a title of this disturbing tale. The documentary focuses more on the why and how and leaves you with more questions and confusion. Why would someone who is 23 want to assume the identity of a teenage boy seven years his junior? How does he know that Nicholas disappeared and what does he know about his disappearing. The most jaw dropping situation was his ability to fool the boys family and their total acceptance of this stranger as Nicholas, why would they do that? or was there any other reason for their acceptance? These questions dominate the documentary.......It is clear from the beginning that Frederic Bourdin is the lying con artist but he was convincing to fool the US state department and the entire Barclay family. They fly to Texas and hope to have a normal life but his hopes of normalcy are dashed because his con is exposed...

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Rio [HD]

3D Review by a 3D Connoisseur
My ratings are based mainly on the QUALITY OF THE 3D, not the video content.

GET THIS; There are about 145 out of screen effects that extend about 10% of the way, from the screen to the viewer and another 36 ranging from 15% to 25%.

The quality of the 3D, in screen and out is exceptional and the movie had my wife and I in stitches many times. This is defiantly a homerun by 20th Century Fox. For animated films, this ranks right at the top along with Open Season and Ice Age.

*** Put this one on your list to ***
*** add to your 3D collection ***

MY 3D RATING = EXCELLENT (poor, fair, good, very good, excellent)

Note: As far as the percentages go, everyone's eyes are different. What I see at 25% you may see at 15% or 35%. To fully realize how far something is out of the screen for you, pause on an effect and direct a partner with an extended finger to the tip of what you are seeing. You may be surprised.

Click on `See...

An animated delight
A rare bird is kidnapped from his adoring owner, who must try to retrieve him. Along the way, the bird encounters various delightful, and some not so delightful, characters. Top notch animation, colorful visuals, and prudent voice selections highlight this animated delight. The storyline and the humor will appeal to adults and children alike, as I found myself getting a few laughs out of this one. The 3D effect is outstanding, and this is a movie for which you will want to lay out the extra expense for the 3D glasses. You don't need a babysitter tonight, as the whole family will enjoy this one.

Familiar themes, but highly entertaining with gorgeous animation
The best single word I can use to describe the film Rio is 'vibrant' as it's the colors that really hit you. One can see why, when you're doing a story about birds, setting it in Brazil with its dazzling variety of brilliantly multicolored avian species is a truly inspired choice.

The story begins when a baby blue macaw in the Brazilian rain forest falls (literally) into the hands of exotic animal poachers and ends up being shipped to the US where, by a fortunate accident, he ends up being adopted by a young girl named Linda in a small town in, of all places, wintry Minnesota. A quick flash forward shows girl and bird, which she names Blu, growing up together, to fifteen years later where Linda is now an adult who owns her own bookstore. The thing is though, Blu, raised as a house-bird, never learned how to fly.

The plot really begins when a Brazilian ornithologist named Tulio comes to Linda's store, having learned from her web-site that she's the owner of Blu,...

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The Paperboy

Outstanding film about the human condition
I came to this film not knowing what to expect. I hadn't seen "Precious" so I was unfamiliar with Lee Daniel's work. Plus, I had read some of the negative reviews about the film, so I came to the film with some trepdidation. But from the opening sequence in which Macy Gray barges in on Zac Efron to clean up his room, and the hilarious dialogue between these two actors, I was hooked. Nothing about what I had heard about the film had anything to do with the actual film. It was at times sad, funny, bizaare, chilling, grotesque, romantic, menacing, and at times all of the above. It was like nothing I have ever seen, except perhaps for the films of Tod Soldendz.

This film, like so many great films, doesn't have a genre, so if the fact that it doesn't fit into some preconceived notion of a specific type of film upsets you, you are not going to understand this film. It is mostly a character study of all the motives, predjudices, obsessions, and secrets that each character in the...

A Haunting Film ...
This motion picture is difficult to watch in places; but it is without doubt one of the best films I've seen this year. Nicole Kidman's performance deserves an Oscar. Ms Kidman is truly an actress who cannot be forced into cookie cutter roles. She has proven throughout her career that she can assume the character convincingly no matter how different that individual is from herself ... a rare and amazing gift.

Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, John Cusack & Macy Gray also give outstanding performances. I especially loved the character played by Macy Gray ... a truly loving and generous character in the midst of a world that did not value her as she deserved.

The Paperboy touches many dark places known to human beings. The film is set in a small Florida town in 1969 ... a place you might expect to find the racism and violence depicted in the film; but by the end of the film, you may view these expected vices tame compared to the other human conditions...

The Most Underrated Film of 2012
With The Paperboy, we have the arrival of a major new cinematic talent - Lee Daniels. Though his first two films (the bizarre Shadowboxer and the extremely well-acted Precious) had their merits, only with The Paperboy do we finally see the maturation of his craft, the arrival of a distinct new voice. It is a hypnotically bold, daringly original, and utterly fearless film that seemingly effortlessly dances between drama and comedy, tenderness and tension, completely unafraid to go to shocking, dangerous places. It feels totally unpredictable, and nothing about it feels safe, which is something far too many movies are these days. The Paperboy hearkens back to the audacious spirit of American cinema in the 1970s, when filmmakers weren't afraid to make outrageous works like Deliverance and Prime Cut. In this film's world, nothing is sacred, and because Daniels is so assured with this approach, so completely in control of every moment, watching it is an enthralling, absorbing, exhilarating...

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Death Race 3: Inferno [HD]

Frankenstein In The Desert
I can't believe it , Roger Corman's 'DEATH RACE' franchise just acts like the energizer bunny , it keeps going and going. Now Paul W.S. Anderson and Director Roel Rene have taken the race to the Kalahari desert in 'DEATH RACE 3: INFERNO' -2013 with virtually the same cast and introducing Dougray Scott and drop dead gorgeously deadly Hlubi Mboya taking care of the villain department. Luke Goss scowls and rants returning as Death Race champ Frankenstein and his sidekick Katrina played by the equally gorgeous Tanit Phoenix kicks butt to win the final race for freedom. The real stars of the film however are behind the scenes as the beautiful editing by Radu Ion and Michael Trent blending with the first rate photography by Wayne Shields elevates the film higher than it should be. The music score by Trevor Morris is just OK but eventually overwhelmed by the incredibly loud explosions and grinding motor engines persisting throughout the films running time (but that's why we watch this...

IT STARTS AND ENDS WITH YOU
Frankenstein (Luke Goss) is up for his final race for his freedom. In a hostile take over Weyland (Ving Rhames) has sold the company which sponsors the races to Niles York (Dougray Scott) an immediately unlikeable person. Niles plans to franchise Death Race around the globe, but to have an audience he needs Frankenstein. Frankenstein is given the ultimatum by Niles: Lose or Die.

The race takes place in South Africa through friendly and unfriendly shanty towns as well as desert. Frankenstein races against people who would rather see him dead than win the race. Names like: Razor, Nero, Joker, Pretty Boy, Olga, and Psycho. Prior to the race the female navigators are placed in a caged death match as 16 Xena looking/dressed women fight each other until 10 are left.

There is a quick flashback to explain Frankenstein, but it is short. The film has plenty of inane "explode on contact" action, racing, hot babes and a twist. Break out the popcorn.

Parental...

death race
As the plot comes full circle in the third installment of this incredible series is a must own for your collection of movies if you dont yet own these three movies I would recomend these to you as a great action movie set that you are bound to fall in love with and keeps you on the edge of your seat through out the entire movie as you watch all the twists and turns and mesmorising thrill of raciing genious this is a movie for you

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Never Die Alone [HD]

"We reap what we sow..."
"Never Die Alone" is a dark and bleak crime drama/noir that never makes any apologies for its brutality or harshness. Definitely not something for people with weak stomachs, the movie is a great example of showing you what goes around comes around, even if you decide it's time to change your life. As harsh as the movie can be, I think it was very well done and took some really good risks. This is definitely something that doesn't come out of typical Hollywood.

DMX plays King David, a notorious drug dealer who has a solid rep and one hell of a dark past. He decides it's time to make things right and hopefully find some sort of redemption. Well, things don't work out like that as his past mistakes finally catch up to him with unrelenting results. A would-be reporter gets caught in the middle of the crossfire and ends up learning about David's horrible past through his own cassette tapes that he had made. What is revealed to him is a grim story about drugs and violence...

Excellent acting and a good story.
I was impressed by the quality of the acting, even in small secondary characters, such as Ella (played by beautiful young actress, Drew Sidora). All performances were convincing, gritty and professional.

If Drew Sidora manages her career the right way, we may see a lot more of her acting talents in the future. She reminds me of Drea De Matteo (of "The Sopranos" fame)perhaps for the way she was made up.

The story is interesting, adding new twists to old schemes. It is somehow a little bit difuse, but that is because it mixes with two other plots.

The movie is worth buying and I am glad I did. I will see it many more times.

Reagan-Gomez Preston was Fab and This Movie Was A+
I admit I am not a big fan of DMX movies, but this movie is truly excellent. The acting was great. DMX shined as King David because of his grimey rap lyrics he was very believable as the dirty shady character. The character that impressed me the most was the acting by Reagan Gomez-Preston. She has played such goody-goody roles in the past I never imagined that she could so convincingly play a dramatic role but she was a scene stealer. Michael Ealy and David Arquette were great too, as was the storyline. It looks like the movie was shot on film and didn't make the transition to DVD that great, it seemed grainy and dark in parts but I loved this movie, although it was a bit violent for my taste.

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Man On Fire [HD]

"Last wish? I wish... you had... more time!" (4.5 stars)
"Man On Fire" is an intense action thriller that takes you through hell and back. This is not a "happy" movie, and it's not pretty. It's extremely violent at times and the storyline is a reflection of a parent's worst nightmare--the kidnapping and possible murder of their child. While it can be over-stylish at times with fancy editing and camera work, it proves to be a more than effective thriller.

John Creasy used to work for the CIA, but now he's an alcoholic who doesn't think there's much to live for. This is due to the terrible things he has done in his line of work (we never know exactly what he did, but there are more than enough hints). Starting a new life in Mexico, his best friend finds him a job as a bodyguard to a nine-year-old girl since the family is worried about all of the kidnappings that have taken place in Mexico. The girl, Pita, takes a liking to Creasy right away, but he doesn't allow her in and treats her as nothing more than a job. Amazingly, he...

Enter the world of Creasy a man about to redeem his soul...
This is a dark, clever and very surreal kind of movie. I wasn't sure what to expect when I got the chance to see a preview of it at a UK movie theatre this week.

It starts off as it means to go on, with the kidnapping of a teenage boy, his torture by his kidnappers, the payment of the ransom by his family and his release, a broken shell of the happy go lucky youth he used to be.

It is after this introduction we meet Creasy, played to perfection by the actor Denzel Washington. He is the tormented killer-come-bodyguard who is slowly drinking himself to death, a man who has forgotten how to live for as his friend Rayburn, the glorious Christopher Walken points out to a Police Officer, "Creasy is a man who has made an art out of killing..."

Dakota Fanning gives an excellent performance as Pita, the half Mexican, half American child who gets under Creasy's skin and into his heart and teaches him that it is okay to care and love another person...

Denzel does Rambo with an attitude
American audiences love their Silver Screen heroes that wreak vengeance on the Bad Guys. In MAN ON FIRE, Denzel Washington makes Stallone's Rambo and Eastwood's Dirty Harry look like altar boys. I don't recall either of the latter two lopping off fingers.

Washington is Creasy, who, haunted by his past as a counter-insurgency assassin employed by the U.S. government, drinks to excess and contemplates suicide. On a social call to a pal from the old days, Rayburn (Christopher Walken), Creasy rhetorically asks, "Do you think God will forgive us for what we've done?" Rayburn, now living the good life in Juarez, Mexico, would like to see Creasy pull out of his self-destructive funk. So, he puts his friend in touch with Mexican businessman Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony), who lives with his American wife Lisa (Radha Mitchell) and daughter Pita (Dakota Fanning) in Mexico City, where kidnapping offspring of the rich and famous is a growth industry. Samuel and Lisa are in the market for...

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Stripperland

I DIDN'T BRING ANY DOLLAR BILLS
This film is a spoof on "Zombieland." If you have never seen "Zombieland" the enjoyment value of this film will be greatly diminished. Like "Zombieland" this feature has our two heroes travel across the country and are eventually joined by two women. Their eventual goal is to go to Portland, Oregon (ground zero for strippers) and seek out Granmbo (Linnea Quigley). Benjamin Sheppard is our Jesse Eisenberg, Jamison Challeen is our Woody Harrelson.

In addition to spoofing "Zombieland," this film smartly satirizes the relationship between men and strippers and unreal expectations that mankind shares.

There is plenty of Troma style blood and guts. The extras show a bunch of women immensely enjoying making this film. This is a fun film to watch, especially right after "Zombieland."

Parental Guide: F-bomb, No sex. Some nudity, but not as much as one would expect from the title.

Perfection at its cheesiest
This movie is a must for any zombie fan. You need to watch it, live it and learn all the rules of stripperdome. This is a spoof of many different movies including Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead and many others. It is a B-/C+ movie in all its glory. If you can watch it without having to pay for it all the better, if you pay more then a buck, I am very sorry!

Terrible
it was god awful was bored after 5 mins but continued to wwatch and i wish i hadnt
that is how bad it was
this was the worst 90 minutes of my life

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Catch Me If You Can [HD]

Immensely Entertaining. Great Performances. -And True Too!
"Catch Me If You Can" is the story of real-life con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr. who, in the late 1960's and early 1970's, when he was between the ages of 16 and 21, wrote $2.5 million dollars in bad checks and became one of the most notorious con men in American history. The film follows Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) from his early high school pranks to his check-printing operation and eventual capture in France five years later. FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) doggedly pursues Frank as he successfully impersonates an air line pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, living the life of a playboy and cashing ingeniously forged checks all along the way.

"Catch Me If You Can" was directed by Stephen Spielberg and, along with Minority Report, signifies a revival of Spielberg's directing talent after fifteen years of mediocre-at-best filmmaking. This film is fairly light fare, but it is immensely entertaining, funny, touching, and impeccably cast. Frank Abagnale, Jr. is a perfect fit for Leonardo...

Spielberg sends us a message....
and the message is, "Sometimes, I'm gonna do a film where I just try to entertain you". And entertain it did!

Reviewers of the movie are at odds, either giving it high praise, when they recognize that it is just there to entertain the filmgoer, or calling it dreadful, when they expect every Spielberg movie to be a momentous event of special effects and storytelling. "Catch Me If You Can" is based on the life of a con man, who pulled his crimes as a teenager, and then reformed for the rest of a long life. The story engrosses the watcher, and Spielberg gives the film a light touch, a terrific cast, and fits it all into the eerily real culture of the 60's everyday life with costumes (wardrobe is outstanding), period sets, and a general feeling of wonder (Remember "The Wonder Years"?) that was the true 60's feel, devoid of momentous political events and the inevitable strife caused by war.

DiCaprio is featured as an odd duck, an...

A Throwback to an Earlier Time
Steven Spielburg's second 2002 film is a dinosaur. It's an anachronism. It belongs to the time period in which it's set, a more innocent America where Charles Manson had not brought violence to the wealthy and Vietnam was still a winnable (and profitable) war. It's Catch Me If You Can, the story of con man Frank Abagnale, Jr., who may very well be the world's foremost expert on forgery and fraud. If that doesn't sound like a complimentary introduction, fear not; Catch Me a film's film and a throwback to the cinema of yore, when audio and video combined to make an experience rather than an assault on the senses.

Imagine a mixture of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and To Catch a Thief. Catch Me has the slow pacing and careful cinematography of Hitchcock at his finest, and Spielburg has forsaken his recent effects-laden shots for straightforward storytelling. Every individual shot is deliberately framed, with a care for detail not usually seen outside of a Lynch film. There are...

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Son Of Sardaar (Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema DVD) 2013

"Hummm, Humm, hum,hum,hum"!
I found this movie amusing and funny. The actors, I think, carried this show rather than the script. The "Po Po" song was really very cute. I own this film because I like all the actors and I have friends who will enjoy this too.





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The Grove

A Provocative Conversation Starter: Debating The Future Of The National AIDS Memorial
While the documentary "The Grove" runs a mere 57 minutes, it presents a surprisingly even-handed and thought provoking look at both sides of a heated argument. That's not always an easy thing to do, especially in such a short running time, so credit must go to filmmaker Andy Abrahams Wilson and his team for being so fair minded. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I knew very little about the Grove, a small section of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco that has been awarded United States memorial status. Unlike the Vietnam Memorial, however, which has become such a Mecca for travelers worldwide, this shrine to the victims of AIDS flies largely under the radar. Originated as a grassroots volunteer movement two decades ago, there is a real difference of opinions about the future status of this unassuming tribute. Those with a large personal investment want the garden-like area to retain its natural vibe and intimacy while others would like this AIDS memorial to achieve real recognition...

Do not go gently
THE GROVE (Prod./Dir./Filmed Andy Abrahams Wilson, 2011, 57 minutes) is one of the most important documentaries of the era. I'm shocked that few people have seen this at all - I'm only the 3rd reviewer. Though it was screened in 2011, the DVD issue carries the date 2012. How sad.

AIDS. How does it feel to read that, to think about it? How about reliving it? What about memorializing all those victims of it? "The Grove" is short for the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, established by Jack Porter.

Few people go there and the ones who do visit and meander around are actually hunting for the famous Japanese Tea Garden. Few are interested in this 7-acre garden, affectionately called "the Grove" by those whose lives include it, and the volunteers who maintain it.

Funny how I had just finished seeing a documentary called "DEATH: IT'S A LIVING" that addressed the modern funeral business and questioned its necessity. THE GROVE is...

Take the extra turn thru Golden Gate, and here to see The Grove!
I really loved this amazing film!

My first impression after watching this, was that I found myself wondering, why I had not heard of nor seen this film before?

For those who can read into it, the film is very much a parable of the Grove itself, a hidden treasure, that does not need to exist in any other way,
or be any longer, or feature anything more or less than it did. It makes it's point on so many levels.

The Grove is well worth the extra turn, that I'm glad I took in Golden Gate, and here as well.

Yours in the Struggle, Adam

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Local Boys [HD]

What DVD does best
"Local Boys" is a perfect example of what DVD does best: providing a showcase for a minor-league delight that had no chance at a big-screen release but deserves more than to be dumped on cable TV for just a few lucky insomniacs to catch on the late show. In short, it is a small gem of a film with a fine cast and promising director that tells a familiar, though moving and involving story. It also showcases a pair of promising young actors who appear on the brink of stardom and gives a couple of solid pros (and former "Chicago Hope" costars) a chance to stretch their acting chops and exhibit their own undeniable chemistry. And it may be the first surfing movie I have ever seen that actually deals with the teen surfing crowd in a realistic and non-exploitative manner by making its kids more than just brain-dead stoners obsessed with riding waves that would kill the world's best surfers.

Eric Christian Olsen and Jeremy Sumpter star as Randy and Skeet, brothers...

local boys
from start to finish this movie was excellent. Jeremy Sumpter was best actor thru the entire movie, all others had a good supporting role and the story line was great thru-out the movie. Very good surfing movie. Mark Harmon was a great dad in the end of the movie. A very good ending. Great family move to watch over and over. Make you dream of your child hood dreams. this movie is totaly awesome, A MUST SEE!!!!!

Not a masterpiece, but enjoyed it anyway
The story is predictable, the writing sophomoric. Yet I still managed to enjoy it, and I appreciated the performances given by Mark Harmon and especially Jeremy Sumpter as "Skeet". Jeremy is an amazing young actor (check him out in "Frailty" if you haven't already) who brings a natural charm to his character -- he never seems forced or phony. Might even bring a tear to your eye in a couple scenes <sniff>. ;) Mark Harmon is quite the pro at this kind of thing and a pleasure to watch. Same for most of the rest of the cast. As I said, this is not a masterpiece, but it's an OK little surf-oriented movie with nice cinematography and music, and a decent enough story to hold my interest.

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Batman ('89) [HD]

Tim Burton's Vision of Batman...at Last with Special Features!
The worldwide success of Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" has prompted Warner Bros. to finally release Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman" with an extra disc of special features...and this is an event worth cheering about!

A groundbreaking cinematic achievement (and one of the most expensive films ever produced, to that time), "Batman" was a tremendous gamble, and the story behind the ten-year struggle to bring it to the screen is fascinating! It is a tale of visionaries, beginning with Michael Uslan, a young student/Batman fan, who not only convinced his university to include comics in their curriculum, but, fired up by Richard Donner's "Superman", knew a Batman film could be just as powerful, and took the idea, with Batman creator Bob Kane's blessing, to Hollywood; of Peter Gruber and Jon Peters, who listened to Uslan, after every studio had passed on it, saw the potential, and decided to gamble; of Sam Hamm, who had a "Batman" script in his head, praying to get the chance to...

A Modern Classic
This film proved to the world that comic book films could be much more than action-packed carnage festivals. This film (and the first sequel "Batman Returns") have so much more to it than that. "Batman" is a gripping and very moving exploration of the psyche; it peers into the souls of not only the Dark Knight, but also those of the people whose lives he changes with his presence. The film is brilliantly acted by its perfectly-chosen cast, which includes Jack Nicholson (the Joker), Michael Keaton (the Batman), Kim Basinger (Vicki Vale), Micheal Gough (Alfred Pennyworth), and Robert Wuhl (Alexander Knox). Tim Burton makes perfect use of his wonderful directorial talents, Anton Furst designs a gothic, beautiful Gotham City, and Danny Elfman's classic musical score further help make this a unique, thought-provoking, and very powerful modern classic, a masterpiece of film noir and grand opera. "Batman Returns shares these wonderful qualities, but,...

I'd forgotten how good this movie was!
If you want to look at a superhero adaptation done right look no further than this movie or the latest Spiderman movies. After watching the last two Batman flicks, I had kind of written the series off, but watching this on TV the other night I realized that I had forgotten how good this was. Michael Keaton was perfect as Batman, if you think about it Bruce Wayne is not the most tightly wrapped guy out there, he dresses up as a giant flying rodent and runs around at night in Gotham City beating up on criminals, and Keaton captured this essence perfectly. Kim Basinger was great as Vicki Vale and Jack Nicholson was awesome as the Joker. indeed I'd have to say that this is the last good performance that Nicholson did, after this movie he phoned everything in and cashed in on his Jack Nicholson act.

In addition to a well-written script (the only contrived part being the fact that the Joker had killed Bruce Wayne's parents years before) the sets for this movie were totally cool...

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The Liability [HD]

A drive on the wild side
Dark, funny British hitman thriller, takes you places you didn't expect to go, both plotwise and geographically (it's set in the Northeast of England). Tim Roth, Peter Mullan, Jack O'Connell (soon to be seen in 300 prequel) are all on cracking form. And Talulah Riley. Wow! What a revelation. She sure was wasted in St Trinian's!

A Genine British Eccentric
Used to be you could discover a movie for yourself. Roll home late, switch on the TV, next thing you know you're glued to the sofa long past bedtime. Or maybe you were hypnotized by the second movie in the double bill at a long-dead indie rep. Left the theatre banging on about it to all your friends. Not any more. Thanks Internet.

So when a movie comes along that looks like one thing, turns out to be something else, and draws you in so completely you feel you're in the middle of an actual discovery all of your own, enjoy it. All that earnest amateur analysis you skimmed online beforehand, the radioactive comparisons with other flicks, the petulant certainties about genre shortcomings, pay none of it any heed. Instead, hand yourself over to the people with the actual talent. Go where the writer and the film makers take you.

The Liability is a movie worth discovering for yourself. The poster of a geezer with a shooter gives a broad hint of what to expect and there...

Don't read the description of this movie...JUST SEE IT!
JUST SEE IT! But don't read the movies description because it gives the "surprise" away! After I saw this exciting film, I read the description and was so glad I didn't read it first before seeing the film! It would be like buying a "who done it book, which tells the reader who did it on the book jacket!"

Yet another excellent performance by Tim Roth. He even makes the other unknown actors look terrific with his understated, intense expressions that say so much more than any dialogue can. Bravo!

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1998 NCAA(r) Division I Men's Wrestling Championship

no sound
there was no sound on the dvd i liked the wrestling action but no sound i kinda want a refund





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Henry Ford American Experience

Crime that Amazon charges for this
This is an excellent documentary that I would recommend to anyone, but for Amazon to charge for something that PBS produced and offers for free on its website is a crime. http://video.pbs.org/video/2329934360/

A little slow and skips over some of the most important parts of his life
They completely left out his obsession with Thomas Edison. I watched this right after going to the Henry Ford Museum in Deerborn, MI and thought the video spent to much time on the relationship with his son (which is important) but missed a lot of the other things he did.

Pulse of a World Changer
This "American Experience" biographicial documentary is one of the best this PBS series has done in a long while. Staying with the motif of how Ford and his Model T changed the way people in America lived is the strong point to the central narrative. So is showing how Ford's Anti-Semitism was eventually forgiven when the auto titan met his end. Shakespeare was right: "The evil men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." The stormy relationship with son Edsel is also dealt with effectively. I cannot wait until the promised treatment of John D. Rockefeller's life and world impact.

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Planet Earth (1974)

About Burn on Demand
I'm all for this option for obscure movies/TV that wouldn't get a chance on DVD if they had to be mass produced HOWEVER the studios (and Amazon) need to get their pricing in line with what they're offering. Most of these offers (at present) have a limited audience (lots of B movie stuff) while price gouging the few people looking for this movie will work in the short term, why not create loyal followers that will buy again and again by offering these on demand movies/TV at better pricing. ($14.99 seems fair)

As for the movies themselves, both the original and prequel movie (Genesis 2, Planet Earth) are the height of sci-fi hokum from back in the 70's. I used to watch these movies every time they would broadcast. They star many reoccurring TV character actors of the time like John Saxon, Alex Cord, etc. Roddenberry movies always had more of a cerebreal theme which was good given the state of special effects back then. (check out The Questor Tapes if you want to see Data's...

Excellent 70s schlock
This was one of Gene Roddenberry's better efforts to recover after the ill thought cancellation of Star Trek. This is an extreme rendition of the prevailing notions of where the future was headed in 1974. And we can all be glad it didn't work out this way... though drugging men and using them as breeders is always a tempting programme.

It is too bad these vintage shows are not available! They are GREAT for high school history classes and GREAT for educational discussions on cultural fads in general. Plus the costumes are hilarious -- bright greens and reds that you just don't see on TV anymore!

Come on ... Networks! How hard can it be to put Planet Earth, Genesis II, etc on one DVD and call it educational? Bring these back to life for the 40-somethings in the world and their kids who wonder why the heck their parents are so bizarre!

BTW.... if you want a print version of the same mentality... I'd recommend Sheri Tepper's A Gate To Women's Country.

Good Effort by Warner Brothers
Just picked up a copy of Genesis II (1973) and Planet Earth (1974).
I just finished watching both Genesis II and Planet Earth, and was pretty happy with Warner Brothers efforts.

They were both a manufactured on demand product using DVD-R recordable media. Warner made some effort with DVD disk art, and cover art, they could have picked a little better picture for the cover however for Genesis II.
I am glad to finally have a copy of these made for TV movies, that are DVD quality. There were a few specks on the picture, but not enough to take away from the movie.

I only gave it a 4 but they are probably closer to 4.5, just because I think they could have done everything just a little better.

Hopefully they will release the 3rd movie Strange New Earth (1975)

P.S. If you aren't into the older movies, you probably won't like them. These are 70's made for TV movies, so the special effects are somewhat lacking by today's standards.

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Batman Forever [HD]

Guilty pleasure, a lot of fun, truly a comic book hero...
Yes, I know, loving this movie isn't a popular opinion, but I'm going to go against the grain and speak out for this guilty pleasure of mine, particularly after seeing the 2-disc special edition dvd recently...

Batman Forever and its' very different tone from the first two, Tim Burton-driven films, was made to appeal to a far wider audience than those very dark films, while keeping the spirit of the Batman mythos intact. I believe the film accomplished this. There were plenty of bright lights, new bat-gizmos and bat-gadgets, exciting action-fight scenes, and even a young, edgy, heart-throb in Chris O'Donnell's Robin to appeal to kids without worrying their parents too much, and at the same time, Batman/Bruce Wayne's tortured psyche, duality and isolation was presented respectfully. Batman's darkness was still there, just shown more subltely, less graphically, yet no less tragically because we don't actually SEE people dying horribly left and right.

The story had...

A really good watch, if not as dark as the previous films
Okay okay,. everyone agrees that Tim Burton is the master of the Gothic, when it comes to films. Just look at some of the films he has done and that's proof enough. And everyone knows that Joel Schumacher isn't, plain and simple, neither does he have the impressive back-catalogue that Sir Burton has. (the only other film I have viewed by Schumacher is "The Lost Boys", which is actually a very good film. But it was the 80s, come on.)

However, that does not deter this film from being a fantastic one. I like the way he mouled Gotham into a really cool, bright-coloured and still dark and gothic city, with amazing glowing clothes and buildings. It seems like a real party city, one you'd definitely want to swing by.

In my opinion, Val Kilmer is a far better Batman than Micheal Keaton. To be Batman, you have to have the Bruce Wayne lips, as they are the only things you can really see with the mask on. And sure, Micheal Keaton had those. But take the mask off, and he...

Kilmer is a great Batman
I think Batman Forever is a very fun movie.It's not as good as the first Batman movie,but I liked it better than Batman Returns,which I thought was too dark and dreary.(although you have to love Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman)In Batman Forever Val Kilmer takes over the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman and does an outstanding job,although Michael Keaton is still the best Batman.Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face(formerly Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent,who was played by Billy Dee Williams in the first Batman)and Jim Carrey as The Riddler are the films villains,and they both are very good.Nicole Kidman is very good and incredibly gorgeous as Dr.Chase Meridian,Bruce/Batman's love interest in this film.Chris O'Donnell plays Dick Grayson/Robin and isn't too bad.The special effects are excellent,and the soundtrack is good.Overall,while a lot of people might disagree with me,I really like Batman Forever.

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Batman Returns [HD]

The Dark Knight Returns
Batman Returns is very much a Tim Burton film. It is a stranger and darker film than Batman, netherless it is a striking film on several levels.

Michael Keaton returns as the stoic and haunted Dark Knight. Danny DeVito is Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin. In the comic book he's a short rotund man who has an affinity for birds and umbrellas. The character is reinvented here. Born grotesquely disfigured, as an infant, he's cast into the river where he's brought up in a criminal circus gang that lives underground in an abandoned Zoo. Michelle Pfeffer is Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, a beautiful yet mousy secretary who's been pushed too far (of a window) and is out for some serious payback.

These three disturbed characters make this Batman film more adult oriented than the first one. DeVito's Penguin is a tragic figure but is very evil and is looking to strike back at Gotham City any way he can. The grotesque make-up is impressive and DeVito delivers a powerful performance...

A dark and totally wicked classic.
The Dark Knight Bruce Wayne/Batman makes a roaring return in the second outing in the legendary Batman trilogy in a darker & much colder undertone with the mysterious hero now up against two menacing villains. One is a corrupt company CEO named Max Schrek (Christopher Walken) and the other is a deformed murderer named Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin. A third rival character in this movie is difficult to categorize as a villain or a hero. That is the twisted seductive Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Although I don't categorize her as a dangerous murderess, it's very difficult to really say if she's truly a villainess but it's easy to say that she isn't exactly the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of heroism but on the other hand, she's an extremely complex character whose eccentric personality renders one unable to help but really pay a lot of attention to her.

The movie begins in the cold snowy & remote stretches of a haunted mansion somewhere I'm guessing in upper New York state...

Stands the test of time
I recently acquired Batman Returns on Blu-Ray, having not seen the film in a very long time, but always remembering that I liked it better than the original Batman (1989). The first thing that stands out about this movie is how visually stunning it is, and this is all done, for the most part, with sets, miniatures, costumes, and lighting, without relying on the crutch of CGI. Regarding costumes, Keaton's Batman, in particular, looks much sleeker and elegant in this one, compared to the original, and Michele Pfeiffer's Catwoman absolutely lights up the screen in skin-tight shiny black. Of course, Danny Devito's Penguin is made up to be absolutely repulsive and pitiful, but it is, in my opinion, an effective portrayal of Penguin as a horrible little monster. Bo Welch's production design and the cinematography is very sleek and sharp looking, and, although still dark in its hue, the picture is much more crystalline and less murky than the original. In 1080p Hi-Def, Batman Returns...

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Spark (1998)

Spark offers an early peek at Terrence Howard's leading man capabilities
When actors have worked as long and as hard as Terrence Howard and Nicole Ari Parker, it's inevitable that there will be some films of theirs out there that have yet to see the light of day. Now that both Howard and Parker have achieved commercial success, it's no wonder that the 1998 thriller Spark has been given a new DVD release courtesy of Warner Home Video almost a decade after its original premiere in various film festivals. While this might seem like the typical production company effort to cash in on actor's commercial success through the release of older, subpar material, Spark reveals itself to be quality work that stands on its own.

From the opening credits, when we hear a car ignition start up in the dark, and then witness urban landscapes rolling away to rural scenery to the beat of Marc Anthony Thompson's original score, we know we're in the hands of a professional. Spark, the first release on the new American Black Film Festival DVD Series for Warner Home...

Spark
Spark is a skillfully directed uncompromising story of bigotry and vengeance in a small town. The unhurried pace of the film and vast open space of the landscape provide a stark, quiet, yet ominous contrast to the volatile character played by Terence Howard. This is a beautifully made film from a promising new screenwriter and director, Garret Williams.

Amazing thriller from up and coming filmmaker!
I've been privileged to see this this film before its release date, and I can't stop thinking about it. For suspense, drama and top-notch directing of an incredibly talented cast, I can't recommend Spark highly enough.

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A Late Quartet [HD]

Intense classical music and relationship drama
"A Late Quartet" (2012 release, 105 min.) brings the story of the (fictional) "Fugue String Quartet", portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman as Robert, Christopher Walken as Peter, Catherine Keener as Juliette (wife of Robert) and Marc Ivanir as Daniel. As the movie begins, we learn that Peter has the beginnings of Parkinson's disease and possibly the end of his musical career. Peter contemplates a replacement so as to assure the contunity of the quartet. Robert at that point voices his long-held frustration of "just" being second violinist and would like to share first chair with Daniel, much to Daniel's dismay. Robert and Juliette get into a huge argument about it and when he feels like she doesn't "have his back", Robert has a ill-fated affair with a younger woman. Juliette finds out and promply kicks him out of the house. Meanwhile Daniel fall for the charms of Alexandra (daughter of Robert and Juliette). At this point we are about half-way into the movie. Will Peter recover from his...

Classical Masterpiece
This movie my favorite film so far this year. The all star cast, including Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener, give a stunning performance. As a violinist, I can appreciate not only he the dramatic storyline but the struggles of the musicians as well. When a world famous quartet is about to lose one of their own, a lot of unspoken and painful feelings are brought to the front burner. There is competition and resentment and friendships that took twenty-five years to build are threatened. This is a film that will make you cry but there are also moments that will make you laugh. The music was as beautiful as the storyline and I enjoyed the classical pieces interwoven with the movie. This film is a must see for anyone who enjoys a good drama but especially for anyone who has even been involved with or loved music

A great study of human relations / community life ;-)
A surprisingly simple yet "complicated" movie that IMHO was one of 2012's best. The aging leader and cellist (played by Christopher Walken) of a classical "String Quartet" finds that he must retire due to the onset of Parkinson's Disease. What now? Well, the "second violinist" (for 25 years ...) played by Philip Seymour Hoffman takes the opportunity to suggest to the first violinist that he'd "kinda like to play first violin on occasion." The first violinist (played by Mark Ivanhir) a true virtuoso and perfectionist is aghast. The second violinist's wife (and viola player rounding out the Quartet) who's spent her entire adult life playing in this Quartet and, in fact, only met her husband through their playing in the Quartet together kinda agrees with the first violinist :-) ... What now? ;-) What a GREAT story about human / Community dynamics and Life ;-) ;-)

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Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death and Technology [HD]

Disappointing...
This film never seems to find a direction, barely touching on interesting topics such as honey bees and corn syrup, cellular phones and cancer, as well as pollution. Even the director's own mess of a diagram makes no sense, so she relies on her father to connect "the dots." Speaking of which, 50% of this film is an exploitation of a dying man, which should be meant for a family video, not a mainstream documentary. Don't get me wrong, it's an understandable reaction to upcoming loss and grief, but it's the kind of footage that most would put into a vault after mourning because it ends feeling macabre.

Now this film builds a premises of the Left Brain analyzes logically, and that the Right Brain focuses on Art, Emotional Connections, and finding patterns. Pattern Finding is not associated with the right brain any more than the left, which is why there are both intuitive-thinkers (NT's) and intuitive-feelers (NF's). Intuitives focus on past and future, finding...

I love it!
It's a great documentary. I watched it first time borrowing from local library and decided that it was so good that I'd like to buy a copy myself. I also shared it with a friend of mine. It's very insightful, full of interesting ideas, as well as well filmed and emotional. It really makes me think what really matters in life.

nice
Having heard his interesting lectures on brain, art etc. the movie really didn't out his skill as a speaker. Otherwise a fine piece of work

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A Life Ascending

Well done doc
The footage is beautiful and the story told well. Very interesting to see how others choose to live in the world. Despite the sadness of those lost, it still makes you want to go outside and enjoy nature. Highly recommend watching this.

Loved this film!
An amazing story, told beautifully. An affirmation of life and one man's relationship with his extraordinary family and the mountain they call home. I was moved by this film.

Beautifully shot
Visually, this movie is stunning - the cinematography is excellent and really captures the mountains and glaciers in all their grandeur. But this documentary is first and foremost about its human subjects. The film follows mountaineer Ruedi Beglinger and his family in the wake of a catastrophic avalanche. The imposing and awe-inspiring scenery never detracts from the intimacy with which the family life of the Beglingers is portrayed. It is the unique life of the Beglinger family that makes this documentary such a memorable exploration of the often-tumultuous relationship between people and the environment.

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Solomon Bunch

Very entertaining, well done, clear biblical message
Watched this with our kids this evening and enjoyed it a lot. Let me acknowledge up front - this is not a high budget/production movie - it's the work of a church and Christian school. But you'll enjoy the kids who do a great job with their characters. This was well written and had a lot of great humor it. My kids followed it and are still talking about it after it ended.
The closing commentary by Katherine Shepler is a great closing giving context and the core biblical message of true wisdom.

A biblical and morally safe movie for your kids
This is a must see movie. My husband and I watched this and it was amazingly good. The acting was questionable on some parts but what a great morally sound movie for your younger (ages 5-12) movie.

There is one part in there that does show magic, so just beware of that if you have convictions in that area and want to fast forward. Other than this it's clean as a whistle. Enjoy!

Great Christian family movie
Everyone in the family enjoyed this movie. It is not a high budget movie, but it has a great message and a good story line.

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Little White Lies

Similar to a French Big Chill
Since I have an all-region DVD player, I was able to enjoy this exquisite movie about a group of friends who decide to take a previously planned vacation after one of them (played by Academy Award winner, Jean Dujardin) gets seriously injured in an accident. This character-driven movie deals with lies we tell ourselves, lies we tell others to keep face, and the consequences, positive or negative, for sometimes telling the truth. At the heart of it is the acceptance of friends for who they are, with their human frailties exposed. The ending, like the coming together of a complex tapestry, is extremely powerful and emotionally moving. There's not a false note in the fine ensemble cast. I sincerely hope that a Region 1 version will be released in the near future for North American consumption.

`The one thing friends can't escape is a few home truths.'
Guillaume Canet creates films (Tell No One, Whatever You Say, J'peux pas dormir..., Je taim) that though they are about love, loss and life, they probe more deeply into the human condition than the glossy entertaining surface can conceal. In the end all of his films demand that the viewer connects to his concept of the flow of life and death and those aspects of living that make a difference. Les petits mouchoirs AKA Little White Lies magnifies these attributes. The story is so conversationally written that for a while it is difficult to pull together where the film is going, but by the end of the film the audience is so choked by the discoveries revealed that tears and a stunned afterburn are inevitable.

Every year, Max Cantara (Fran