The Scary Godmother, Vol. 2: The Revenge of Jimmy (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I saw this movie on the Cartoon Network..(I have kids what can I say)....they loved it...and I did too...it's colorful...and has alot of action going on...even the ending is funny....take my word for this you will love it.....even if you're not a kid;)

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Halloween is coming, and Scary Godmother is making big plans for another spectacular spook house party! Unfortunately, Jimmy still hasn't recovered from last year and has come up with a dastardly plan to put a stop to Halloween for good – complete with monster traps, smashed pumpkins and more!Now it's up to his little cousin Hannah and her monster friends to put the tricks and treats back into Halloween. It's an adventure full of wild surprises, spooky times and a whole lot of laughs. Join Scary Godmother, Bug-a-Boo, Harry the Werewolf, and more in this all-new ride to the Fright Side based on the best-selling books by Jill Thompson

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The Man Who Could Work Miracles Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Man Who Could Work Miracles" is a marvelous humorous fantasy the screenplay of which was both written by and based on a short story by the great early science fiction writer H. G. Wells of "Time Machine" and "The War of the Worlds" fame.
"Miracles" tells of a Mr. Fotheringay, a simple dry goods clerk in early 20th England who is given the power to work miracles by a god who wants to see what use he will make of it. Starring Roland Young (best known in this country as the original "Cosmo Topper" in the film "Topper." The film is highly entertaining as it depicts Mr. Fotheringay's adventures and also raises some genuine moral and philosophical issues about how power should be used and its limits. The FILM is highly recommended.
On the other hand, this is a lousy transfer of the film to DVD, blurry and with a constant annoying flicker. True, the film is nearly 70 years old, but I have a transfer that I made from a laserdisc copy I owned to a DVD-R which is still far superior in quality to this one. In this case, the name of the publisher "Cheezy Flicks" is, I'm afraid, merely a case of truth in advertising!

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Queer as Folk - The Complete Second Season (Showtime) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)QUEER AS FOLK is still one of the most amazing TV Shows ever and is a landmark as the show for the new millennium. This New Queer As Folk Season 2 DVD Box Set has all 20 episodes of the second season of one of the most controversial and bravest series on television today. The BOX SET includes Bonus features such as: behind the scenes outtakes, deleted scenes, special edition episodes, a Photo Gallery, DVD rom extras, and much more. Queer As Folk shows the life of a group of gay guys and a lesbian couple living in Pittsburgh. I feel the first season of QUEER AS FOLK is better, but this second season is very good as well and shows the growth of the characters. I have seen all 20 episodes of Season 2 and it is slower paced than the first season, and I sometimes find myself looking at my watch which rarely ever happened with season 1. I am still amazed at how honest this show is on dealing with gay life. Queer As Folk makes no apologies and thats what is so great about this series. From the graphic sex scenes to the drama of dealing with the prejudice that still haunts America, this show is so brave and I give Showtime a big thumbs up for having the balls to take on such a big risk as Queer As Folk. This show is as close as it gets to real life. This is not a show just for gay people, but for ALL people. It deals with human emotion and thats something we can all relate to whether we be straight, gay, bisexual, black, white, brown or in between. I have since signed up for Showtime just for this show. I encourage anyone who has a open mind and a open heart to BUY this amazing DVD collection as it will inspire you and if nothing else open your mind to a lifestyle not as uncommon as you may think. Watch more than one episode before you judge this amazing series. I will be in line when they release Season 2 of Queer As Folk on DVD.

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Last Tango in Paris (1973) Review

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(More customer reviews)Marlon Brando's recent death affected me deeply. He has always been one of my favorite actors and I truly admire him for his extraordinary talent. During the last few weeks I have rented many of Brando's films and am still amazed, after all these years, at the force of his acting in "Last Tango In Paris." I believe that some of his best work was done in this film.
Paul, (Brando), an aging American expatriate in Paris, comes home to discover that his marriage has ended. His French wife, Rosa, had slit her veins, leaving bloody bath water and spattered walls behind. She didn't leave much else - no good-bye note or explanation for her husband, parents or lover, a guest in the fleabag hotel she owned and managed. She did bequeath the hotel, and it's seedy occupants, to Paul. Overwhelmed with grief, Paul walks the streets and finds himself looking at an apartment for rent. He finds Jeanne, (Maria Schneider), a girl-woman, barely out of her teens, looking at the same apartment. She is to be married in a few weeks to her bourgeois, filmmaker fiancee. Paul and Jeanne circle each other warily in the empty flat, each contemplating the rental, (and each other), and wondering who will take it. Suddenly, they grab each other and have hard, fast sex against the apartment wall. Thus begins a most bizarre relationship.
Paul makes the rules. Jeanne must follow them or she will not see him again. Their purely carnal relationship must remain anonymous, emotionless, and exist only within the walls of the apartment, which Paul rents for this purpose. There are to be no sexual taboos between them. He does not want to know her name or anything about her and refuses to give her any information about himself. They are not to see each other outside the apartment confines, nor even leave together. It seems as if Paul wants to bury his pain, his sense of betrayal and hurt in the mindless, sometimes brutal, act of sex. Director Bernardo Bertolucci's camera perfectly captures the impersonal nature of their coupling. The shots are blunt, without sensuality or eroticism, but an enormous sexual energy is captured. I think Jeanne is fascinated by the mystery that is Paul. She is bored, perhaps, and looking for something, maybe excitement. She is certainly intrigued by Paul's dominant role, and seems to enjoy playing the passive partner most of the time. She is clearly not happy with her boyfriend, who relates to her as the object of his latest film. He talks at her, not to her. And he does not listen. However, I do not see Jeanne as merely an object here, as do some others. The film focuses on Paul, not Jeanne.
It is unfortunate that Ms. Schneider's career fizzled after this movie. She is excellent as Jeanne and perfectly captures her character's capriciousness, playfulness, bewilderment, vulnerability, anger, frustration, seductiveness and curiosity. Brando is simply superb. There are times, when he and Jeanne are together, that it appears as if he is extemporizing. He acts as if there is no camera filming him - as if he is not acting at all. There is one scene, where he is alone with his wife's body - she is layed-out in a coffin. Brando begins to speak to her and just loses it. His remarkable outpouring of guilt and grief is probably the best acting I have ever seen.
Towards the end of the film there is a surreal ballroom scene where couples are dancing the tango. It is both haunting and memorable. The end is a bit of a letdown, but in a Brandoesque moment the actor comes to the rescue.
Bertolucci was very effected by the work of painter Frances Bacon, considered to be one of the best artists of the 20th century. He chose Brando after seeing a Bacon painting "of a man in great despair who had the air of total disillusionment." The "Last Tango In Paris," defined as "the most controversial film of an era," brought Bertolucci to international attention. It was nominated for two Academy Awards. Vittorio Storaro's cinematography adds to the cold, remote ambiance. His camera pans the colorless apartment and makes the viewing experience as impersonal as the couple's relationship.
This is obviously not a film for everyone. It has been called obscene, and worse. However, there are many, like myself, who think it is a great film. For fans of Marlon Brando, it doesn't get better than this. Bravo!
JANA

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Stan Lee Presents - Mosaic (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Stan Lee sets up a new super heroine, with a bit of a twist on one of his older character premises -- that of one of Spider Man's old villains, the Chameleon -- by creating a new character, Maggie; an up and coming actress and college student, who finds herself thrust into a situation that leads to an unexpected adventure.
I won't spoil this too much, but it involves a search for ancient artifacts, a race of shape-shifters and a freak accident that gives Maggie her newly-acquired abilities (seems to be a classic Stan Lee approach to how a normal person becomes a super-human, but it really never gets old).
Anna Paquin does great, as do the rest of the voice cast (notable is Gary Chalk, from recent TRANSFORMERS fame).
The film does do some conventions that you don't normally see in animation (blood and broken bones, to name a few), so I really don't recommend this for younger kids. A few jaded comic book fans may just yawn at the story, but the writing is classic Marvel (Scott Lobdell did the screenplay, based on Stan Lee's story). I only recommend this for any true collector of Lee's work and animation in general, but aside from that I enjoyed this DVD.
- SRS

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Fight Club (Collector's Edition Steelbook) (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)When I'm looking at the Top Ten list's of America's critics and the nominations of the DGA,WGA and all the other guilds and press associations, I terribly miss David Fincher's outstanding film "Fight Club", which is possibly the best film of 1999.
Not only is the film visualy stunning, it is also very thought-provoking, wickedly funny and, above all, extremely entertaining. Only few films managed to be so many things at once. David Fincher, in my opinion one of the most exciting directors of the decade, fills his movie with so many ideas that it would be sufficient for three more movies, and they are not just gimmicks for their own sake, they all mean something. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are brilliant in the leads and the soundtrack by the Dust Brothers fits perfectly to the images.
Many reviewers thought the film was fascist. I think you can only call this ridiculous, since that assumes Fincher sympathizes with Tyler Durden's project mayhem. In fact, he invites us to form our own opinion, like Stanley Kubrick did in "A Clockwork Orange". "Fight Club" hands over the resposibility to the viewer. This may be uncomfortable to some, others (like myself) will embrace this.

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"'Fight Club' pulls you in, challenges your prejudices, rocks your world and leaves you laughing" (Rolling Stone). Brad Pitt ("12 Monkeys", "Seven"), Edward Norton ("Primal Fear," "American History X") and Helena Bonham Carter ("Mighty Aphrodite," "A Room With A View") turn in powerful "performances of which movie legends are made" (Chicago Tribune) in this action-packed hit. A ticking-time-bomb insomniac (Norton) and a slippery soap salesman (Pitt) channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until a sensuous eccentric (Bonham Carter) gets in the way and ignites an out-of control spiral toward oblivion.

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Great Religions of the World DVD (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Juvenile, low budget, over-priced DVD. Stick with anything from a major documentary producer or channel - like The History Channel or Discovery, etc.
I'm going to try and return it.

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Birds of a Feather - Season Two - 3-DVD Set ( Birds of a Feather - Entire Season 2 ) Review

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(More customer reviews)At long last, and after what literally seemed an eternity waiting, the entire series of the classic BBC sitcom Birds Of A Feather has been released on DVD. Running for nine years (1989-98) and spanning over 100 episodes, Birds Of A Feather remains a refreshingly funny show, containing an earthy quality that is positively timeless. The sparkling chemistry shared between Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson as two Essex girls, Sharon and Tracey, is totally natural, having been virtually life-long friends in real life. In that fact, it makes it easy to believe in their on-screen relationship as two close sisters.
Blending in beautifully, and arguably the icing on the cake, is the always impeccably-timed Lesley Joseph as the 'birds' nosy, man-mad neighbour Dorian Green. Much of the comedy between Sharon, Tracey and Dorian stems from the class difference between them with Dorian firmly seeing herself as infinitely superior to the two working-class sisters. Welcomingly, this second series finds the character of Dorian drawn upon a touch more than as in the first series. She comes into her own and often makes the perfect foil for Sharon and Traceys earthy, and often razor-sharp, wit.
This 3-disc collection comprises all fifteen episodes of the Series 2, originally screened on BBC.1 in a prime-time slot circa late 1990, plus the feature-length Christmas special of that year. On Disc One the second season surprisingly doesn't exactly kick off with a bang in 'Getting A Grip'. Tracey recieves several overdue bills, leaving her frantic with worry and when the heating system breaks down she's left on the brink of dispair. There are a few laughs but overall it's a bit of a limp start.
Thankfully the series gets back in full swing, and back to the high standard of the first series in 'Sweet Smell Of Success' where Tracey and Sharon try their hands at flogging cheap perfume. To help make ends meet following a serious cash-flow problem, Tracey reluctantly decides to sell Darryls beloved Jag - with disastorous consequences.
In 'Young Guns', Tracey questions Garths sexuality when he brings home an older boy to stay with him during the school holidays. In typical Dorian-style, she decides there's only one way to find out if the pair are actually gay! Then in 'Muesli', Darryl sinks into a deep depression when a fellow inmate is released. So Tracey decides to test her own resilience and in order to try and understand exactly how it feels for Darryl to be locked away in prison, she converts the box room into a cell. Sharon gets in on the act too, proving she has as much will-power as Tracey. The girls are locked away by Dorian, who delights in playing the warder. Meanwhile Darryl ironically ends up having a fun weekend thanks to the efforts of a sympathetic fellow inmate.
In 'Keep Off The Grass' Tracey and Sharon find themselves questioning whether or not they should turn in a local villian who had commited an armed robbery, during which a pensioner had been injured, while 'Mice' is one of my own personal favourites of this season. Tracey is horrified to discover the ghastly state of Sharons bedroom (including an uneaten kebab, left in a drawer to rot for several weeks!!) and is absolutley livid when she finds out her house is crawling with mice. Then in 'Brief Encounter', Sharon starts seeing an older man whom she had helped after he was mugged while Dorian feels humiliated by her new outer-London dialling code, insisting that it states the area she lives in will be perceived as "down market".
Moving onto Disc Two, 'You Pays Yer Money' sees Sharon in dismay when she can not vote for the by-election since she is not registered on the electorial roll. Darryl offers to sell his vote at £350 much to Sharons fury, but determined to raise the cash, she starts selling off some of the stolen goods that her old dodgy friend Fat Stan had been storing in her Edmonton flat.
in 'Trust', Tracey desperately trys in vein to quit smoking, leaving her nerves on the edge (and taking her moods out on Sharon) and feeling vulnreable she begins to fall in lust with her gentle, mild-mannered therapist. 'Thirty Something' is where Sharons 30 birthday looms closer and she finds herself reflecting on her life and all of the lost opportunities. She also considers buying her Edmonton flat as an investment and takes a less-than-impressed Dorian along to the property for some advice.
'Love On The Run' is another personal favourite of mine. During a stint in hospital, Darryl hatches a cunning plan to spend a night in a hotel with Tracey. Once at the hotel, Darryl contemplates going on the run. Meanwhile Sharon has a spot of fun of her own with Tracey safely out the way! 'Old Friends' is one of the weaker episodes of this series. An already insecure Sharon worries when Tracey renews her friendship with Trish, who was her best friend at school. It soon seems, though, that it's actually Sharon and Trish that have far more in common.
'Parting' is an episode which strikes a winning balance of comedy and drama, which is always what made Birds Of A Feather so great to watch. Sharon is refusing point blank to visit her husband Chris in prison and tells him outright that she plans to sell her wedding ring and forget they'd ever met. But she is forced to have second thoughts when Chris tells her is seriously ill.
'Jobs For The Girls' is good fun where Sharon sets up her own pet-sitting business and encounters a young rival determined to outdo her. Tracey is hired by Dorian to type up her new steamy, romantic novel but it becomes all too apparent that Dorian has resoted to plagiarism. In the last episode of Series 2, 'Someone Else's Baby', the formula reverts to the comedy-drama elements that had made the first series such an instant success, although, of course, there are still plenty of laughs to enjoy. The BBC Antiques Roadshow is coming to Chigwell and Sharon, Tracey and Dorian are all determined to make an appearance. When Sharon and Tracey start rummaging through all their old junk in the attic they discover an old writing box which contains a startling letter that opens up a can of worms. Had Sharon and Tracey been adopted and are they infact real sisters? It's up to their rather batty old Aunt Sylvie to set the record straight.
The 1990 Christmas Special 'Falling In Love Again' is a treat, clocking in at 80 minutes long. In the 1990's, Birds Of A Feather, as most will fondly remember, was a Christmas tv favourite. After Sharon wins a tv dating show, she and Tracey fly off to Berlin where Tracey finds herself falling in love with a dashing German mechanic, Manfred. Meanwhile Dorians husband Marcus is caught cheating on her so Dorian moves into Tracey's while she's away in Berlin. Over in Berlin Sharon tries to clear off some old debts to save her husband from the dreaded McCarthy brothers.
All told, this second series is a must-have for any fan of Birds Of A Feather. These episodes are over 20 years old but still flow remarkably well. The scripts are sharp and punchy, the stories and situations are fun, and most of all, the show brims with more than memroable comic performances by the three leading stars.
Ian Phillips
March 2011


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Moby Dick (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)Once again Patrick Stewart shows us there is more to him than Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation. An excellent performance equal in caliber to the 1956 movie with Greg Peck (which is also on DVD now as I write this). By the way important note to Amazon staff and all other previous reviewers and anyone looking to buy this disc. When this disc originally got released soon after the telecast in 1998 on USA Network, it was packaged and labed at 145 minutes (that's 2 hours and 25 minutes) which gave the hint that the disc was edited. I just played mine in my player last night. When I hit the display button on my remote, I get a screen which counts the time on the disc up from 0 and next to it counts it down from the total time. The combined time of these countdowns is 3 HOURS. Which is what should be since it ran 4 hours on USA Network. That means the manufacturer made a mistake in announcing it at 145 minutes, so for those who are concerned that it was cut, relax it hasn't been.

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Gilmore Girls - The Complete First Five Seasons (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)The quick, witty dialogue of Gilmore Girls is an homage to screwball comedy films like His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby. It works surprising well, largely because there are different levels of speed talking: Some characters can keep up, others get lost, and some try on certain days and prefer to be normal people on other days. References and allusions abound as well. Some of the cultural references are highly obscure - that is, even with your ability to pause and rewind the world of Gilmore Girls, there are times when even the viewer can't keep up. This is all part of the fun of a dialogue-driven comedy that serves its main characters far too much coffee and a hilarious amount of food.
When the plot turns serious and the dialogue slows down, the sparkling planned community shimmers away as the stuff of real life creates drama. I appreciate that the writers understand the need to feel drama slowly. You can't banter through it, because only happy people relish in clever games.
It's hard to explain how a show about mostly white, middle class people living in a crime-free fantasy has become so popular, especially on the WB, which has been one of the few channels to embrace all of America's cultures, races, classes, and so on. I think the answer is that the relationship between a single mother and her daughter and an absentee father is highly translatable to many Americans. There are many conversations detailing Lorelai's struggles to provide for her daughter. Viewers also empathize with the weird and uncomfortable encounters with rich, elitist people, namely, Lorelai's parents.
The DVDs are somewhat lacking in extras - a making-of video and some extended or extra scenes are all you get. I think fans of the show would enjoy a dialogue dictionary of all of the references the characters make, a list of the books Rory and Jess are always reading, a map of Stars Hollow, a coffee cup, and Sookie's recipes.

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Helen of Troy (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having enjoyed Homer's 'The Iliad' and Virgil's 'Aeneid' and as a long time fan of Greek mythology, I was looking forward with great anticipation to this mini-series. 'Helen of Troy' is a creditable follow-up to greek myth-based offerings such as 'The Odyssey' (starring Armand Assante), 'Clash of the Titans' and 'Jason and the Argonauts' (both versions) and is brought to us by USA Networks, which recently released the acclaimed mini-series 'Attila' (starring Gerard Butler).
The first half of the story centers on Helen of Sparta (Sienna Guillory) and Paris of Troy (Matthew Marsden). It introduces us to Helen's family - King Tyndareus, her sister Clytemnestra and brother Pollux (though his twin Castor is nowhere to be found) and shows the abduction of Helen by Thesseus, King of Athens (Stellan Skarsgard). We are also introduced to Paris/Alexandros who is fated to cause the destruction of Troy should he live. On his birth, Prince Alexandros is therefore left on top of Mount Aida to die but is taken in by a shepherd and raised as his own son (hence, re-named Paris).
As a young man, Paris discovers his true heritage and is reconciled with his family - namely, King Priam (John Rhys-Davies), Queen Hecuba (Maryam d'Abo), Prince Hector (Daniel Lapaine) and Princess Cassandra (Emilia Fox). Helen marries King Menelaus (James Callis) of Sparta, younger brother to the power-hungry and vicious King Agammemnon (Rufus Sewell), whose thirst for power is so great that he makes the ultimate sacrifice in his quest to become king of the Aegean. When Helen and Paris meet, fall in love and elope, the stage is set for Agammemnon to use the elopement as an excuse to declare war on Troy. Those of us who are familiar with tales of ancient Greece know how it all ends, but this adaptation does provide a few surprises and some notable changes to Homer and Virgil's tales.
Highlights of this mini-series are the memorable performances, attractive cast, high production values and outstanding special effects. Rufus Sewell ('Cold Comfort Farm,' 'The Very Thought of You' and BBC's 'Middlemarch'), newcomer Matthew Marsden ('Black Hawk Down'), Emilia Fox ('Pride and Prejudice,' 'The Round Tower') and veteran John Rhys-Davies ('The Lord of the Rings,' 'Indiana Jones') provide great performances. Kudos goes to Rufus Sewell for his fantastic performance as the hard-hearted and villainous Agammemnon. Matthew Marsden and Daniel Lapaine (Prince Hector - though sadly in a much reduced role) are likeable, handsome, charismatic heroes. The locations in Malta are believable and realistic. The story itself is compelling and provides a great introduction to those who are unfamiliar with the Trojan War.
The mini-series does have its shortcomings. For one, I was not impressed with Sienna Guillory's performance as Helen. To be true, anyone who takes on the role of Helen carries a great deal of weight on her shoulders. After all, very few women can live up to being called 'the most beautiful woman in the world.' Though pretty, Seinna's beauty and talent fall a little short of the demands of the role and she sometimes plays Helen as a pouty, simpering little brat. I was also disappointed at the treatment of Menelaus and Hector. While Menelaus (who barely fights in the book) is treated as this 'kick ...' warrior, the 'mighty' Hector (who is the equivalent of 'Gladiator's' Maximus and is one of the greatest warriors in classic literature) actually takes a good beating from his enemies! Achilles is, at best, a one-dimensional 'he man' who is all brawn but no brains.
All these grievances aside, this is an enjoyable mini-series that deserves to be seen. I will most likely purchase this when it comes out on DVD. Those who enjoy a good dose of mythology and ancient/classic tales will no doubt enjoy this. I am now looking forward even more to the upcoming film version of the Trojan War - 'Troy' (starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Sean Bean and Orlando Bloom) - and hope to see a slightly different take on this classic story of love, hate, greed, revenge and honor.

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Open Season 2 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had high hopes for this one as animation can look so pristine in BD, but I was in for a shock. Sony Animation was behind this, but it had the whole Cartoon Network look to it instead. The main voice talents from the first film did not come over,nor did any of the writing/production staff (and it shows).
The story is just ok, entailing friends helping and rescuing each other with plenty of adventure and rabbit abuse. One of the main characters is a dachshund so apparently the "wiener" humor is what passes for hilarity these days. While it has been playing in the store kids of all ages are entranced by it but the parents haven't been thrilled with the parts they have seen. The "..that lady pulled my wiener.." and "..my beautiful rack.." lines raise a few parent's eyebrows so it hasn't exactly been a hit like I had hoped.
The BD supplements are painful, including "deleted scenes" which were hand sketched and not worth the time. The "Weenie Arcade" has a horribly spliced "Who Let the Dogs Out" video by the Baha Men, a how to draw the animals tutorial, and a featurette about the faces behind the voices.
I loved Hoodwinked, even with that style of animation, and OS2 looks similar in nature (no pun meant) but is much less of a quality film. I have read where people say this an ideal family film, which nothing really offends me so I would watch it with my kids, but needless to say I lost a few rentals playing it in the store. And for a BD, not one of the memorable ones.

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Boog and Elliot are back for more crazy adventures. After falling head over hooves in love with Giselle, Elliot's road to the altar takes a slight detour when Mr. Weenie is kidnapped by a group of pampered pets determined to return him to his owners. Boog, Elliot, McSquizzy, Buddy and the rest of ?the woodland creatures launch a full-scale rescue mission for their sausage-shaped friend and soon find themselves in enemy camp: the world of the pets. Led by a toy poodle named Fifi, the pets do not plan to let Mr. Weenie go without a fight. Can a toy poodle REALLY bring down an 900-pound grizzly bear? Will Elliot ever marry Giselle? Find out in Open Season 2.

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Cats Don't Dance (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)When this film released in 1997, nobody paid attention to it, because Disney's Hercules was the animated feature film everyone assumed to be better. Many animators would prefer Cats Don't Dance over Hercules, why? It is a tap dancing musical that really plays with the art of animation. The movie is directed by Mark Dindal (Emperor's New Groove) and the choreography is by the famous broadway dancing veteran Gene Kelley! It is also the last film involves Gene Kelley. Overall, the animation is wonderful, loveable characters, and unforgettable songs. This is a movie for all ages of animation or musical fan.

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The rags-to-riches story of Danny, a talented cat whose lifelong goal of movie stardom is sidetracked when he discovers only humans get the good roles in Hollywood. On the big screen, animals can bark, meow or moo, but cats don't dance. Danny vows to break through the "species barrier" and prove that dreams really can come true.

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Five Summer Stories (1972) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've heard so much about Jim Freeman and Greg MacGillivray's (the founder of IMAX) film "Five Summer Stories" (and "Sunshine Sea ") many times from fellow surfers and before it was released in DVD, I'll admit seeing the VHS at various surf shop for years but I always found myself using the money towards surf wax or new boardshorts because what people were selling were these expensive limited edition signed sets and so I passed.
Flash forward many years later and it's been gnawing in the back of my mind that I still haven't seen the film yet and so, I drove to my local surf shop and picked up "Five Summer Stories" on DVD.
I've heard about how this film was one of the first major budget films as it was the first film on stereo, it was the first film that paid a surfer (Gerry Lopez) for appearing in the film and how this film literally packed theaters who just loved the surfing, seeing popular surfers from the '70s and also from the past just showing off their passion and also music by the Beach Boys and Honk.
Having watched the DVD again for I don't know how many times since I bought it, I figured that I might as well type up a review on my thoughts of the film.
The film is titled "Five Summer Stories" and features various stories somewhat broken down in five categories. The first story titled " A Hawaiian Odyssey" featuring Hawaii in 1972 and various surfers in Hawaii at various locations such as the North Shore, Sunset, Waikiki. From shots of the various activities in the 1970's, from people in Hawaii at events, to ladies in bikinis and even a young Laird Hamilton at the age of 10.
Chapter 1 3/8 would feature the surfing scene in the 1950's and 1960's with the popularity of surf films, surf shops, knee boarding, Duke and the big surfers at that time. Micky Dora, Nat Young, Midget Farrelly, Corky Carroll, David Nuuhiwa and more.
Chapter 2 titled "Different Drummers" features major surfers commenting on up and coming surfers of the early 70s. Also, an interesting segment with Corky Carrol with a mic taped to his body while surfing.
Chapter 2 1/2 is titled "Magic Rolling Board" and this featured the popularity of skateboarding during the '70s. This was pretty fun to see the various stunts that people would pull off and the crazy fandom at that time.
Chapter 2 3/4 is titled "Contest Weight". This would focus on various surfing competitions in the '70s.
Chapter 3 titled "Women in Motion" features popular women surfing from 1958 through the early 1970s. It was great to see women such as Lynne Boyer, Linda Benson, Joyce Hoffman and others who revolutionized surfing.
Chapter 3 1/4 features Shaun Tomson and 3 1/2 is titled "Bright Stars" and features two surfers.
Chapter 4 features a combination of surfing and old school animation. Chapter 4 3/4 titled "Is Surfing Closed Out" and this one features popular surf breaks and its changes from the 60's to 1995 (new footage).
Chapter 5 is titled "Heaven's Gift to Man: Tunnel of Love" which features a combination of surfing and animation. Focusing on surfers riding the tube.
VIDEO:
Considering the film was released in 1972, many scenes looked pretty well done and the video looks like it held up quite well through the years. The problem is that I don't know how much was added in newer footage versus what was shown in the 1970's. But all in all, the older footage looks pretty good on DVD.
AUDIO:
A lot of music and narration. A lot of people who grew up in the 70's have always talked about the awesome soundtrack and people who have seen the original film have said the film version of the DVD has its music replaced (half of the Beach Boys music replaced). So, again...not having seen the original '70s film, I don't know how much music was changed from the original to this present DVD version.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There are no special features but there is a 1:29 minute prologue asking people "What were you doing in 1972?". Prologue was misspelled as prologe but very minor quirp.
JUDGMENT CALL:
Personally, I can see why this movie is a classic and I definitely agree it is a time capsule for surfing past. There are so many cutscenes, surfing and a bit of humor and fun included in this film and for a film created in 1972, I can tell you that the footage looks much better than a lot of surfing DVD's and VHS I own from the 80s and 90s.
For me, I enjoy watching legends like Gerry Lopez and even seeing Corky Carroll just ripping and just having fun on the waves. There are so many legendary surfers on this film and of course, many of them were in their teens or twenties at the time, so it was cool to see them surf.
I actually enjoy humorous cut scenes and footage that may not seem as much to others but yeah, sing Bill Hamilton and little Laird surfing at the age of 10 and 11 was pretty cool because that little kid has grown up to become one of the best big wave surfers of all time.
I've read some reviews about how the DVD version of the film does not have the original music as the original film and it truly was a bummer to them. I have not seen the original film with the original Beach Boys soundtrack, so I am not affected. But I supposed I can understand in someways when I watch a DVD for a television show and the music was changed because they don't have the music rights for the DVD releases and yeah, if you don't like the music which replaced the original, yeah, I can see that really dampening the experience for some.
Also, I noticed that the original film clocks in at 94 minutes, while this DVD version clocks in at 89:38. So, five minutes maybe were cut? Not sure. I do know that near the end, we see 1995 footage, so not sure if the film was re-edited to celebrate its 25th Anniversary or what.
But all in all, this film is one of the few surfing DVD's that I can say is worth owning.
I enjoyed watching the classic 70s footage and the fact that the film tried to introduced so many parts to it, all in all, it was fun. Was it better than "Endless Summer", I'm more biased towards "Endless Summer" but overall, "Five Summer Stories" was just fun to watch and having it in my collection definitely has me stoked!

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Barbie Presents Thumbelina (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)This movie is drastically different from the other Barbie movies. They are trying to do their good deed by making a movie with an environmental message. This appears to be a calculated move from a marketing standpoint, rather than genuine concern for the environment since the only effort Mattel has made is with the items associated with this movie (recylced packaging for the toys, etc.). Nothing makes blatant commercialism stand out like a sore thumb like trying to package it as anti-commercialism. We all know that the Barbie movies are commercials for their toys (like the TV cartoons we grew up with), but as parents we've tolerated it with the Barbie movies because they've so far done alright at putting good moral lessons into them and making them relatively entertaining. This movie is not on the same level as the previous movies in a few ways. The writing, particularly in the dialog department, is very weak and stilted. They have built everything around their obviously half-hearted attempt at "doing a good deed for the environment" and it shows in that every element involved in the "green theme" is poorly executed. The dialog in these parts is atrocious, cringe-worthy jargon. It sounds more like a cheap PSA than movie dialog. The premise is horribly flawed that they would be trying to build a factory so far out of the way that they have to attack a field of flowers that nobody ever goes to. That they transplant a section of the flowers from the field to Makena's room using an excavator (and apparently so quickly and cleanly that the twillerbees inside have no idea where they are or what has happened) is positively laughable. I've had more to explain to my daughters of how things wouldn't happen the way they depicted in this movie than any other Barbie movie, and we have all but the Diaries and Fairytopia ones.
The animation is not up to par on this movie either, and I suspect it is because they are trying to churn out more movies this year than any previous year. They seem to have caught on that the movies are very effective at selling toys, so they're trying to hit us with a non-stop barrage. What happens then is that they are trying to slap these things together in maybe a quarter of the amount of time they used to have. Thus now the lifelike characters move like hollow rubber tubes, and the main characters aren't even attempted to look lifelike. Oddly enough, they look like the Sweet Streets dolls from Fisher Price... I also noticed several times during the movie that the image will pixellate and become grainy, so the finish is seriously lacking. Also noteworthy is the small role Kelly Sheridan has been playing lately. She got to mostly sit out of Mariposa, Christmas Carol, and Thumbelina and only had a starring role in the Diamond Castle movie.
I guess I've been lucky about the brattiness of the girls in this movie, as my daughters have not tried to emulate them. In fact the only comment I've received so far is my oldest asking "Why doesn't she say anything other than 'Ch-ya'?" which has given me the opportunity to point out that she doesn't have anything valuable to add so she just says something stupid. I also point out at the end that her part was so insignificant that nobody is credited for her. Frankly I thought the part was hillarious as a representation of the stupid things snobby people will say when they can't just be silent, but that is beside the point since I'm old enough to not be influenced by cartoons.
All of this aside, I will say that the weird looking characters can grow on you. Usually I like the villain characters in the Barbie movies because they tend to ham things up and totally upstage the heroic characters (particularly Martin Short's Preminger- classic!), but in this one, I think Thumbelina's ditzy friend, Chrysella steals a lot of scenes. Also the construction workers (not counting the crazy foreman) provided a few good laughs, although they would have a hard time keeping a job with the way they spend most of their time eating lunch and smelling the flowers. A good crew would have had the job of blading the ground done before lunch on the first day. Poor little pixies would never have known what hit them... All in all, the depiction of construction workers was pretty bad showing them to be lazy and more than a little weak in the head, and the foreman was the primary villain. In that respect, the environmental message skews the story into the very turbulent waters of over-generalization. It reminded me of a book that was just banned from the schools for trying to generalize Loggers as evil polluting critter killers. They tried to soften it by making it only the foreman who is really trying to tear the place up, but by doing that they made doofuses out of the workers. Way to go guys. Some kids watching this may have parents who work in construction, or other relatives, and now they are going to have to explain to these kids that they don't go around trying to destroy pixie homes... Does it also need to be pointed out that there is plenty of good that can be said in favor of green practices and environmental causes without having to involve magic and make-believe situations (which only dillute the message)? Since there aren't any pixies in the homeless shelters, trying to save their habitat is kind of pointless, you think?
This movie is mildly amusing and my daughters enjoy it immensely, but I think it has the worst dumbed-down plot of all of them. The parts about understanding what true friendship is are good, and that goes back to what most of the Barbie movies are good at, self-esteem stories. They need to stick to those motifs if they're going to do rush jobs on these movies.
And if you think this one was bad, the next one features four Barbies riding horses in mini-skirts waving swords around. That ought to get all of us parents up in arms!

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Frank Herbert's Dune (Sci-Fi TV Miniseries) (Special Edition Director's Cut) (3-Disc DVD Set) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)After seeing this miniseries and the original David Lynch theatrical release, I felt compelled to read the book and settle some plot inconsistencies (i.e. where did the weirding weapons go and where the heck was Duncan Idaho really supposed to die? In the Atreides compound during the initial Harkonnen attack or blown to bits by Harkonnen patrols in the desert spiriting Paul and his mother to safety?). The Sci-Fi series got it right.
I did not find Allec Newman annoying as some people did. Sure, he was wooden, but Paul was schooled in the controlling of his own emotions by his mother so that they did not betray him. After the Harkonnen attack his ruthless, unemotional behavior became more pronounced as he was immersed in the grim Fremen culture.
In terms of following the original story, the Sci-Fi Channel series is superior to Lynch's version. Sure, nobody seems to be able to get the fact that Paul Atreides is supposed to be 14-15 when the story starts and that he is described as being much darker complected than either actor who has played him in the past, but things actually happened in the sequence they were supposed to in the miniseries. People die where they are supposed to and events take place in the proper sequence.
Another nice element of the miniseries was the use of knives. Everybody has knives in the miniseries, just like in the book, where knives play an important part of Fremen culture. In the miniseries, characters are more likely to duke it out up close with knives than shoot blasts from weirding modules (which aren't even in the book).
Karel Dobry's Dr. Kynes and P.H. Moriarty's Gurney Halleck (characters who, despite their importance to Herbert's original story, were glossed over in Lynch's version of "Dune") are both given the attention they deserve in the miniseries. I thought both actors did well, as did the actor who played Stilgar (Uwe Ochsenknecht). I liked both Ochsenknecht and Dobry's quiet, understated menace. Despite their lack of emotion and stoic demeanor, you could instantly recognize them as the most dangerous men in the room. In the miniseries Gurney Halleck looks and feels like the battle-hardened ex-slave who would die for his Duke. If anything, Patrick Stewart's portrayal in the movie (when his character was on screen) was too "clean" to be Gurney Halleck.
Hey, Raban even had some dialogue in the miniseries (like he did in the book) instead of wandering around and giggling perversely while eating some indescribable meat product like he did in Lynch's movie. Feyd even gets to do things in the miniseries besides offering Sting's characteristic leer of the Lynch interpretation. Sure, his clothes stunk in the miniseries, but he was shown as being much more dangerous (both physically and mentally) in the miniseries than Sting was in the movie version. Stepping out of a steam-bath and cocking on eyebrow on cue don't concern me as much as the man who looks harmless and has terrible fashion sense, but is a cold-blooded killer. Ian McNiece surprised me as Baron Harknonnen, since I'm used to him in more effeminate, comedic roles. I thought he did a fine job as the Baron, mixing the vicious with the pathetic (now if only I hadn't seen quite so much of him wearing nothing but his suspensor harness...).
The miniseries does have its weaknesses. Once again, the actor who played Yueh fell short. I never once saw the tattoo Yueh had on his forehead that signified his imperial conditioning. How many times is this blasted tattoo mentioned in the book? William Hurt has as much intensity as a corpse. I do think that Lynch's movie made the Bene Gesserit more menacing with their bald heads and black gowns. The Bene Gesserit attire of the miniseries was laughable. In fact, hats were pretty terrible throughout the series. I also like Lynch's interpretation of guild navigators and Harkonnen "garbage bags with green eyeholes" shock troops. However, other visual elements, like the stillsuits (the primary wardrobe of the second half of the story) and vehicles, are more accurate in the Sci-Fi miniseries.
Is it perfect? No. Was it enough to cause me to buy a copy of the book to find out if they did a better/worse job? Yes. Is it more faithful to the original story? Yes.

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Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent.Release Date: 07/08/2005

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Vol. 2 (Microseries) (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Finally, the second volume of the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars by the Samurai Jack production team. Director Genndy Tartakovsky, obviously a fan of the Star Wars Saga, fills this series with more scenes that fans have waited for that even George Lucas hasn't delivered, for example: The "Knighting" of a Jedi, Windu fighting airborne, while Yoda fights an overwhelming invasion force on Coruscant, much more. The angular stylized animation is a visual feast for all generations. This volume continues where the first left off, with General Grievous, while the war continues, Anakin Skywalker undergoes his final rite of passage, while Master Shaak Ti and other Jedi try to defend the Supreme Chancellor from the General. Clone Wars Vol. II. aired just before the release of Episode III., the series efficiently bridges the Episode II/III. gap, the events in the final chapters (21-25) leading directly to the opening of the movie. Unseen events from the opening crawl are elaborated on like how the Chancellor is kidnapped, how Coruscant strike happens and C-3PO, voiced by the "real deal" (Anthony Daniels), revealing his new "suit." After the 3 minute chapters of "season one" the extended 12 minute chapters are better suited to the more envolved story-line(s).
A must-have for Star Wars and animation fans. Clone Wars Vol.II., like it's predecessor, is an excellent vehicle to introduce the uninitiated to "the Saga."


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The Emmy Award-winning animated series continues with Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume Two, available for the first time on DVD. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, this series captures George Lucas' vision in a dynamic animated style that is a visual delight for all ages. As seen on Cartoon Network, Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume Two concludes the epic adventures that bridge the story between Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Witness firsthand the trials of Anakin Skywalker and the secret ceremony in which he becomes a Jedi Knight. Then, follow the Jedi as they attempt to repel a surprise attack by General Grievous, on the galactic capital, Coruscant. Clone Wars Volume Two is filled with exciting galactic battles that lead directly to the beginning of Revenge of the Sith.

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