Ace Ventura: Pet Detective [HD]

good, but I'd like a director's cut, please!!!
Ace Ventura, for the most part, is a perfect vehicle for Jim Carrey. I was pleased with the film the first time I saw it. I have, however, seen it on network TV, and have found out that there are many more scenes present in the TV version not shown on the DVD. These scenes not only make the film better, but also more undestandable.

If at all possible, could we see a WIDESCREEN EXTENDED CUT, Mr. Shadyac???

Thank you very much.

Jim Carrey Hits a Home Run of Comedy with "Ace"
"Ace Ventura - Pet Detective" is a vehicle that is tailor-made for the comedy genuis of Jim Carrey. In his first major comedy, Carrey absolutely carries this picture on top of his broad and very funny shoulders! Carrey will tickle your funny bone in this riotous picture.

Carrey plays "Ace" a pet detective, who gets involved in solving the missing case of a dolphin from the Miami Dolphin's training camp. Co-starring the gorgeous Courtney Cox and believe it or not, Dan Marino, the plot has so many funny moments that I cannot begin to list them all. The jokes fly at you about every second minute, so if you don't like one, just wait for the next! I guarantee you will laugh out loud several times and give your tummy muscles a good workout in doing so.

Carry is a genius in facial expressions that will tie your funny bone in knots. His physical comedy ranks with that of Lucille Ball. Carry establishes his comedic "star" in this flick.

If you want to...

A great breakout role...
Jim Carrey's work in Pet Detective is just short of Brilliant. Funny thing was, he was mostly being himself. Don't let the movie premise fool you. The character of Ace Ventura is not a bumbling detective who lucks out in his cases, he is actually smart and knows what he's doing. This is what I most liked about this movie. He outwits the police at many turns, staying far ahead of them on the case of the missing mascot for the Miami Dolphins, a field goal kicking Bottlenose. In his efforts he befriends, and beds, pre-friends fame, Courtney Cox (say that ten times fast). Even stranger, they seem to have great chemistry. Sean Young plays the hard-nosed Police Lt. I couldn't tell if she was hamming up her reputation as a difficult actress or just over playing the part really well, it was obvious that she wasn't taking this movie very seriously. In any case, this movie can't be taken too seriously anyway, although it does on some levels, but it works. This film marked the first in...

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Monkey Trouble (1994) [HD]

Fun family movie with a cute star
This is a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy together. The star is a monkey named Dodger who is amazingly well trained. He is not really bad- he's just been trained to do bad things by his gypsy owner (Harvey Keitel who has a lot of fun with the villan role). The kids in this movie are cute, especially the younger brother, and the locations around the L.A. area are beautiful. There's also some interesting comparisons between the monkey's family unit and the little girls.

EXCELLENT!! You'll LOVE this movie!! Its my Fave!
About a young girl name Eva, Who badly wants a dog or any pet of her own to love, But her parents say no.So as she walks home from school she comes face to face with the cutest monkey and names him Dodger and secretly takes him home, even though her step-dad is allergic to fur!!! But Eva has no idea Dodger belongs to a Bum who makes money on the boardwalk using Dodger to steal people's stuff!! A AWESOME movie you'll watch again and again!! GET IT NOW!!

I love this movie!!!!
this is that kind of movie where you could sit there all weekend watching it over and over and over again!

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Play Piano In A Flash 3 Steps To Piano Success Dvd

Play Piano With Two Hands In 3 Easy Steps
I am retired, 71 years old and never played a note. I purchased
both Scott Houston's DVDs - Play Piano In A Flash and Play Piano
In A Flash 3. If I can learn how to play the piano then so can you.
You will be pleasantly surprised as to what a little practice can
do and before long you will be playing your first tune.

Do you want to learn how to play piano like classic style music -
Both DVDs are not for you.

Do you want to learn how to play the piano and have fun
at the same time then continue to read below.

This review will be used for both DVDs. Both DVDs are informative
and contain much duplicate references. I found Play Piano In A
Flash to concentrate more on the technical aspect of piano playing.
Play Piano In A Flash 3 seems to highlight the "fun" aspect of
learning how to play in 3 easy steps. Step 1 is Learn Chords To
Your Song, Step 2 is Learn Melody Line and Step 3 is Put Your...

Great Tool
To begin with, I had zero piano experience before purchasing Scotts book and "3-steps..." DVD and in just 2 weeks i could play 4 songs including Elton John, Bob Dylan and the theme from "Cheers". Now, understand that these products are just tools you use to get started. It takes a real passion and desire to play to make them effective, but if you stick to the basics (learn the chords, learn the melody, put them together) you WILL start playing quickly.

I found that the DVD had more actual instruction, where the book seemed more motivational, but hey, what's wrong with motivation if it gets the job done.

Long story short, I would recommend Scotts program (book and DVD) to anybody starting out.

PS... my DVD had full pause, fwd & rwd capabilities with chapters and menus. if yours didn't, its either your player or you have a bootleg copy.

Not A Good Book Learner?
Bought this for my wife who was studying piano on the internet at some free web site. She is a complete novice and was doing well at first until the text and pages of learning got a little overwhelming and confusion and discouragement set in. You know what? Some people can learn things easier and quicker when they are being talked to and are observing demonstrations before there eyes. Some people don't learn as easily from written text...but DO learn easier when being verbally instructed. If this is you, then this is for you. Just play the DVD with a simple keyboard nearby to follow the instructor as he demonstrates, and you, my friend, are on your way to piano playing success. You will be pleased with his pleasant, friendly demeanor and his "let's get down to brass tacks" approach to learning this piano playing thing. Concert piano, Liberace style, getting a job at a piano bar...no, not with this course. Learning chords, some note reading, fingering techniques and how to have fun...

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Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls [HD]

Ace Ventura When Nature Calls VHS
Ace Ventura When Nature Calls VHS- Hilarious Movie, Just as funny but NOT funnier than the First. Chi-ca-ca! Chicago! Outrageous moments, making you want to Laugh hard, Jim Doesn't Disappoint. This movie along with Part 1 are Great Classics. I can watch them All the time. They are that funny!

Bumblebee Tuna
If there was to be just one pop-culture character with 'franchise' written all over it, it would be Ace Ventura. After the sleeper hit that was the original, Ace is shipped off to Africa, via Tibet, to find the missing sacred animal of the peaceful Wachati tribe. It is supposed to be a wedding gift to the savage Wachutu tribe, marking the congregation of their people.

Ace is the best there is (the only there is) surely sending him to find the sacred bat (his most hated creature) is the 'right' thing to do. No matter how crazy he is. And how crazy indeed! This time around Jim Carrey goes completely wild as Ace. Any trace of an actual human that we saw before is surrendered to complete insanity. You can tell that Carrey is having the time of his life just ad-libbing and winging it. You can almost hear director Steve Oedekerk struggle to contain his laughter off-camera. There are even a few moments when Carrey himself almost cracks-up.

I prefer the sequel to the...

Ace Ventura When Nature Calls... Very Funny.1st one is better.
Good Movie. NOT GREAT. the first one is way better. still worth some laughs. The monopoly Man! Guano! Interesting and cool monster truck scene.
Worth a couple laughs.Could have been better.

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Diabolique (1996) [HD]

Thumbs Up For Diabolique
Despite criticism that the film is monotonous and boring, I rented the video and was pleasantly surprised. Sharon Stone seems to be getting better every film she does. The chemistry between Stone and Isabelle Adjani is great. Chaz Palminteri is the perfect bad guy and Kathy Bates was a great detective. Listen close, Bates has some of the best lines. I really enjoyed my first viewing. I liked it enough to watch a second and third time!! Big thumbs up to the entire cast for a job well done. I would recommend this movie to anyone.

This movie was awesome, awesome , awesome!
This movie totally rocked! I rented it while I was in Florida on vacation. I thought it was very well laid out and acted. I usually don't like Sharon Stone, but in this movie she was great. She and Kathy Bates had the best lines. And her wardrobe was totally to die for. Everything I read about this movie said it sucked, but I think the stupid critics who were supposed to be watching this movie were actually sleeping! I liked it so much I ordered my own copy of it. Diabolique is a definite must-rent, folks!

Chechik's Diabolique diabolically useless
Hollywood version of the french masterpiece 'Les Diaboliques' is a disaster. Both actors and production are awful, the movie is full of cliches and Chechik tries to save something from the wreckage by a useless bloody end. There is no suspense of psychological tension in it, Clouzot's version was built on a subtle climate of anxiety and terror. Here there is only a bad mixing between buffoons characters (like the female inspector) and sentimental situations that could fit into a Reader's Digest dramatic story. This movie (can we really call it like that ?) is representative of the Hollywood (Holy-money) remake industry trying to make money on classics masterpieces (the remake of Psycho is another example). Don't even waste your time to see it, go directly to the original version of Henri-Georges Clouzot. 'Ce film est un vrai navet !'

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Chill Factor [HD]

Good Action Factor
This is one of those movies that often gets overlooked because it was not a big hit at the box office. Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Peter Firth, and the rest the cast turn in great performances. I always like Gooding but I think this is one of his best roles. To me much better than "Jerry McGuire" or "Pearl Harbor". The story is good, the sets are great, and the music nicely adds to the action/drama. If you enjoyed "Broken Arrow", "Outbreak", or "The Rock" you should enjoy this movie. It is a rollercoaster ride as Gooding and Ulrich try to stop terrorist from using a nerve gas (ELVIS) on the public and deliver it to a military base. Cuba drives an ice cream delivery truck and Skeet works in a diner.

When a scientist drops this biohazardous weapon in their lap at the diner with terrorist hot on his trail it takes off running. As they try to keep it from the terrorist they must maintain it at a temperature no warmer than 50 degrees. Ever try to defend an ice cream truck...

Chill out!
Well don't expect an intelligent plot and good actors when you rent or buy this movie but sometimes, the most stupid movies are the most entertaining of them all.... The story mixes "Speed" with "Lethal Weapon". Two ordinary guys have to transport an extremely dangerous weapon that sets off if its temperature reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Off course some bad guys are after that weapon which Cuba and Skeet are driving through the state ina an icecream-truck... There are some very decent action scenes that'll put you to the edge of your seat. So forget logic and let yourself be chillled by an entertainig and fast-paced movie that doesn't want to be more than that. Now we all now that Cuba Gooding Jr. is an excellent actor but unfortunetly his two-dimensional character doesn't leave him any space to do so. Skeet Ulrich... well did you expect him to do anything elkse than just trying to look good with his big dark eyes? So just take out the Popcorn and...

full of action and laughs
This movie was great. Skeet Ulrich and Cuba Gooding Jr are so funny together. This movie is worth seeing, it really keeps you on the edge of your seat and biting your nails at the end. The beginning of the movie is not to good but dont turn it off cause it gets alot better

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China's Century of Humiliation

In Depth and Balanced
This film has arrayed an impressive cast of experts and his film provides a wonderfully informative exploration of Chinese history, politics, and culture. One gets a real sense of how Chinese philosophy and religion have shaped a culture imbued with a sense of reverence for stability and collective life. In addition the film's deft contrast of China with Western development and philosophy offers a respectful and informative view of both cultures and traditions. Overall, his film provides a deep foundation for understanding East/West interaction today and, as such, it is a must see if one cares about the future of world affairs.

Fascinating documentary
"China's Century of Humiliation" is a fascinating account of Chinese history and in particular Chinese-Western relations. A sensible combination of Western and Chinese expert analysis, animation and film documents make Mitch Anderson's work a must-see film for everybody dealing with China these days. Mitch Anderson is certainly a master of his craft and he is able to tell a rather complex story without losing the thread.

This film helps Westerners to see China with different eyes and creates understanding at a much deeper level. It will be a valuable source for cross-cultural trainers and managers working in and with China and I can only highly recommend it.

Excellent Survey - Only Covers Half of China's "Century of Humiliation"
Overall, this is a good documentary for individuals without much background on China's modern history. The most insightful portion of the video is the first half which juxtaposes the development of intellectual thought in both China and the West. A clear understanding of these points of origin is imperative for anyone interested in China, as is a firm grasp of how our two civilizations have developed throughout history.

While the documentary provides a good survey of the period, it did not exhaustively explore the full "Century of Humiliation" (i.e. 1839 - 1943; the first Opium War through the Cairo Conference--arguably you could extend this to the founding of the PRC in 1949). In fact, a bit more than half of the movie is spent on the aforementioned developments of Eastern and Western intellectualism, and the other 35 minutes or so on China's history from 1840 to the end of the first Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895).

It does not cover the second half of this...

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Ending on a High Note: Final Concert [Blu-ray]

The best concert DVD I have ever seen!
I received my BluRay copy of a-ha's "Ending on a High Note" last week, and have watched it straight through multiple times now. As a life long fan, this has been a long time coming. It is such a breath of fresh air to find a region free a-ha DVD here in the states.

This beautifully filmed concert experience is a must for any music lover. It looks and sounds amazing! The band have never sounded better- which is sad, considering this is their last outting as such. I was fortunate enough to see them in NYC last May, and this DVD really brought much of that experience back to me.

Every song is a gem- from The Sun Always Shines on TV, to Take On Me. For those of you to whom the rest are unfamiliar, you will not be disappointed. This is truly a concert experience. If you thought that these guys were a "one hit wonder", your jaw will drop at the throngs of adoring fans that descended upon Oslo for this show from all over the globe. It is heartwarming...

25 YEARS: a-ha farewell concert AMAZING!
A-ha's final concert in Oslo is beautifully shot and sounds amazing. The band never sounded better and Morten's voice is just beautiful, he absolutely sounds amazing on this! I am so sad the band is coming to an end... it seems to early! Their albums in the 00's-10's were their best and what a shame the US only knows Take On Me!
Get this! It plays perfectly on U.S. blu-ray players ::))

SET LIST
ltd. Deluxe (2CD mit kompletten Konzert + 1 DVD mit Konzert + 25 Min. Making Of)

Das Konzert spiegelt die komplette Karriere der Band mit allen Hits wieder: "Take On Me", "Hunting High And Low", "Living Daylight", "Stay On These Roads", "Foot Of The Mountain" und alle anderen Hits.

Kurzbeschreibung
Live at Oslo Spektrum December 4th 2010

01 The Sun Always Shines On TV
02 Move To Memphis
03 The Blood That Moves the Body
04 Scoundrel Days
05 The Swing of Things
06 Forever Not Yours
07 Stay On These Roads
08 Manhattan Skyline
09 Hunting High And Low
10 We're Looking For The Whales
11 Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)
12 Crying In The Rain
13 Minor Earth Major Sky
14 Summer Moved On
15 I've Been Losing You
16 Foot Of The Mountain
17 Cry Wolf
18 Analogue
19 The Living Daylights
20 Take On Me

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The Greatest Flight

The Greatest Flight Critique
National Geographic's The Greatest Flight [VHS]
Given the significance of the flight I am disapointed that documentary is only 54 minutes. Having said that it is a very interesting and well put together documentary.





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Acupressure for Fertility

It helps!
It is a very easy to follow video and the moves are all easy as well nothing technical. Some of the moves I like to sit down I feel it help relax more she stands up most of the time. But overall I feel great after doing it like I have better blood flow and stretched. Not sure of the benefits yet I can't say I got pregnant because pushing on some acupressure points because my fertility goes beyond that. But it helps you feel better during this crazy time. The DVD is very slow and takes a half hour to get threw it's the only thing that keeps my butt dragging to turn it on every night.





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Journey to Italy - Viaggo in Italia

For adults (in the good sense) or those who are becoming
Take it like it wasn't a movie. See no stars here. Imagine this was your grandma and grandpa in those old times traveling thru Italy to sell their enchanting house in Napoli. What a collection of wonderful, captivating views! You can see the valley of the Vesubio, houses that must have been built on top of other ruined houses, again and again. It's like you traveling those places.

Now what really astonished me is not the sense of reality I got watching those locations, it was the real characters of the husband and wife. They weren't playing any roles. Their critical situation just developed normally, the way it develops in real life. It's not acting. The married couple has been drifting apart since a long time ago, and now come to a breaking point. There are no histrionics. It's just a regular couple like any other. If you don't get it, you just ain't grown up yet. I think this is one of the best films I've ever seen, but I'm still wondering why, because there's nothing...

A gift to posterity
Though considered one of Roberto Rossellini's greatest works, this film is actually a lesser-known film of both Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman, which is a pity because it is an intriguing film, and like most art films, possessed of more real quality than most commercial releases, past or present.

Aside from its story, the film itself is a gift to posterity in exhibiting authentic street scenes, countryside, and Mediterranean landscapes and renowned destinations of Naples, Pompeii, and Capri. These real-life scenes are cinematic treasures that no vintage travelogue would ever show, living tableaus of a postwar Southern Italy that is gone forever but here captured through the eyes and lens of one of Italy's native artists who is also gone forever.

What makes the film so enchanting is that the rare and uniquely filmed scenery is metaphorical with the story, for the "journey" (voyage) of the film's title is not just a physical journey but an emotional and...

"Journey to Italy" from S.Korea IS in ENGLISH
This excellent film is mis-labeled on the back cover of the DVD case: It is not in Italian~The whole original dialog is in English, with an additional track of really good commentary that provides a wealth of information, also in English. The Korean subtitles are removable, from the interactive DVD Menu. Sound is excellent, and so is the Black and White picture quality.

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a not so still life

absolutely fabulous
The essence of this extraordinary woman is soo captured in this riveting documentary. There is so much here! You will love her family in S. .Carolina so much!
And you will love her work. And you will admire her spirit. And the colors!

Creative Grit
This woman is a magnificent example of finding a way through the dark night, allowing family and friends to help and continuing to create, despite hugely daunting challenges, beautiful and unique art that inspires others. I am a poet who had not written much in a long time and after watching the film, I leaped up and ran to my writing materials with words popping like popcorn on a hot skillet.

Ruffner's art is her life and her life is her art
An amazing film about her art and her recovery from an accident that doctors were convinced she would not recover from.
A story that there is always hope even in the darkest time

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Trash Becomes Treasure

Informative but repetitive
This clip is informative but repeats the same information a few times. It could elaborate more on the specific benefits of composting; i.e. compare foods grown with compost vs. no compost. Also, it would be useful to know what other alternatives are to composting: limited space for composting, or other equipment available for composting.

VERY informative and great for all ages
This video was very helpful and entertaining. I've seen a few composting videos at the library that were old or bad quality, but this was fun and up to date. It gave way more information on composting than I expected, and it really speaks well to kids. I'd recommend it for family activities or schools. Seriously, well done!



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Overnight Delivery [HD]

The actors make this one great!
Let's just forget that "Road Trip" completely ripped-off this film and focus on the fact that the choice of actors and the way they do thier job makes this movie just as freakin funny as any Bill Murray movie. Pay attention to the way they say their lines and how they interact with each other--you'll laugh your butt off! This is a great movie, any price you pay for it will be worth the viewing, 100% !

Surprisingly Good Movie
I first caught this movie on Late night cable somewhere. Wouldn't have kept it on but Reese Witherspoon was in it. The more I watched, the more I enjoyed it. Since then I have purchased the movie and watch it every so often, usually with friends who haven't seen it. They too find it's quirky humor addicting. Amazing the similarities between this and another cross country "road trip". I will always prefer this, the original

Hilarious Movie!
This is a great movie. It never has a dull moment! Reese Witherspoon is excellent as Ivy and Paul Rudd is great as Wyett! I just love the comedy in this movie! Evryone should see it!!!

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Baby of Macon

A real curiousity
Director Peter Greenaway, no stranger to making films with an OTT content made this - The Baby Of Macon in 1994. It was slammed by many critics for being too OTT (even by Greenaway's standards) and indeed many of the audience who did show up to watch it, tended to walk out in disgust at some of the sequences. The film faded quietly away in cinemas and its subsequent releases on both vhs and dvd tended to do the same... That is a shame because while the film has its flaws, it has strengths which propel it into 4 star territory.

The film is of the recreation of a stage play put on for a bloated aristocrat. The play is about the lurid events that happened in the French town of Macon during Medieval times. However, reality and what is being played blur and soon the audience find themselves participants in the events which become increasingly (and at times disgustingly) real.
The story sees a hideously overweight and ageing woman give birth to a beautiful baby. The...

Greenaway's Incredible Vision...
*
Greenaway's Incredible Vision...

If one can imagine a moving fusion-synthesis of Van Eyck's Ghent Polyptych with Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 and Sade's Misfortunes of Virtue, stretched to a mind-bending cinematographic time-scale, then ye may have some idea of Peter Greenaway's Baby of M

Cultures Of Resistance [HD]

Not only a film but a movement please see this for the sake of all.
The first thing I have to say is about the last thing in the film, the credits. The film ends with a democratic alphabetical lists of the "Hundreds that made this film possible." This is releasing all sense of role and ego connected with the production of the film. The film is about the human revolution that happens on an individual level. A film about war, rape, hatred and greed would seem to be a downer but music and hope carries the film forward in a way, dare I say, you can dance to it. This is a rare task that I have only seen in ABC Africa, an incredible Abbas Kiarostami film about the Aids crisis in Africa that also manages to be uplifting. It was the death of a great hero of independent film Goerge Gund, that cause me to watch this as a way of celebrating his life. He and Iara Lee although only listing within the Hundreds of credits are visionaries that will always live on in the legacy of hope.





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Budrus

Budrus is exceptional!!!
Budrus is exceptional!!! I feel that this film showed both sides, the Israeli soldiers and the Palestinians. This film taught me that it's governments and political factions that create the Israel/Palestine conflict, not the people themselves. Israelis and Palestinians know that they are each other's brothers and sisters. It is the governments and political/religious factions on both sides that create violence and hate. The real people who live in these places just want to live their lives and have the same basic rights to live as anyone else. This film stands above other films I have seen on this subject. It seems to shed light by calling on humanity's consciousness to do what is right in their hearts. I found Budrus to be an accurate portrayal of a nonviolent resistance movement.

I was really impressed how the different factions had to come together to make anything really happen. It was inspiring to see Palestinian, Israeli and international activists all together in...

Inspiring film about Israelis and Palestinians working together.
In this inspiring documentary, the viewer follows the people of Budrus (A village in the West Bank) from the timeless beauty of their olive groves into the line of Israeli fire, as tension builds and culminates in dramatic conflict between a steadily growing group of unarmed protesters, and the bulldozing Israeli Defense Force.
Although it would be justifiable to tell this story solely from a Palestinian vantage point, the filmmakers lend even more credibility to the voice of Ayed Morrar, the film's Palestinian protagonist, by respectfully and thoroughly presenting Israeli points of view throughout the film. Soldiers, captains, newscasters and politicians weigh in from the other side of the "wall-in-progress", while back in Budrus - a heroine emerges. Morrar's 15 year old daughter Iltezam is caught on camera jumping into a bulldozer's newly dug pit, to prevent the uprooting of yet another olive tree, as her voice-over describes what was going through her head: "what can one...

Excellent Documentary on Plight of Palestinians
The outstanding documentary film "Budrus" illustrates the power of non-violent Palestinian resistance to the illegal Israeli occupation and the often brutal security policies of the Israeli army. The Israeli government decided to put a security fence/wall right through a Palestinian olive grove, thereby depriving Palestinian farmers of the right to harvest and earn a living. The locals are organized and decide to non-violently confront the Israeli army in its illegal land grab; the Palestinians are joined by a small group of Israeli protesters and other international observers. Parallels are made between the plight of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation and the treatment of blacks in apartheid South Africa. Due to the persistence and iron will of the Palestinian protesters, the Israeli government eventually relents and decides to construct their "essential" wall away from Budrus and the olive groves. Could non-violent Palestinian resistance lead to freedom and independence...

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The Usual Suspects [Blu-ray Book]

A must-see.
"Round up the usual suspects." And so they do - and ending up in the lineup are career criminals Michael McManus, Fred Fenster and Todd Hockney (Stephen Baldwin, Benicio del Toro and Kevin Pollack), ex-cop gone bad gone good again Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) and small-time con man Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey).

Wait a minute ... five criminals in one lineup? There's something wrong here, right? Right ...

In "The Usual Suspects," not only every line but every gesture, every facial expression and every camera cut counts. Even if you distrust the story being told, you can't exactly pin down everything that's wrong with it. The plot unfolds through the tale extracted from Kint, one of two survivors of a massacre and subsequent explosion on a boat docked in San Pedro Harbor, by U.S. Customs agent David Kujan (Chazz Palminteri). And at the same time as Kint is spinning his yarn, in a nearby hospital the other survivor (badly injured and fresh out of a coma) helps a...

Intriguing and Suspenseful! Bryan Singer's Masterpiece!
The Usual Suspects is one of the finest films I've ever seen. It is peppered with magnificent performances, excellent direction, and a brilliant script(Which incidentally won the Oscar for Best Screenplay). Director Bryan Singer molds a tight and entertaining tale of five men, falsely brought in on charges of a stolen vehicle, then deciding to join forces and commit more crimes. What transgresses is a story of deceit, corruption and murder. Not only is the tale incredibly gripping, it is also downright hilarious at some points, making it such an enjoyable film. Kevin Spacey delivers an amazing performance as Verbal Kint, a scam artist cripple. Gabriel Byrne is great as the tough but compassionate Dean Keaton. Kevin Pollack delivers a strong and razor sharp comic relief role as Todd Hockney. One of the most surprisingly fantastic performances comes from Stephen Baldwin, who really packs a punch in this one. Benicio Del Toro gained rave reviews for his role as Fenster in this film ,...

The perfect film?
Sometimes a movie really surprises you, really blows you away for some reason. I saw "The Usual Suspects" not really expecting anything interesting. Well, I was wrong. Instead I got to see a terrifically exciting movie featuring outstanding acting and a plot twist that actually caught me by surprise.

The plot? Following a bloody shoot-out aboard a ship moored at a Santa Monica pier, the police question a hood by the name of Verbal Kint in an attempt to learn about what happened. We see several different possibilities and the final answer we get is a real surprise.

Typically movies rely upon special effects, left-field plot twists, and brand-name casting to get the job done. "The Usual Suspects" relies on an excellent script, good direction and wonderful acting from people who might not necessarily be household names. Look at this cast- Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollack, Benicio Del Toro, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri, Dan Hedaya, and...

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Shigurui: Death Frenzy - The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

The Beauty of the kill
Firstly, I must note that Shigurui is NOT for kids. There is nudity, though not in excess, and there is quite a bit of gore. With that out of the way, I must say that I personally consider Shigurui to be the best anime that I have ever seen. The visual rendition is quite unique and very intense at times. The music is mystifying and captivating, often entailing sporadic drumming and dark humming with a pleasant touch of the biju. Some say Shigurui is too slow paced, but they miss the point. This anime is not about mindless sword swinging,it's about people who dedicate their lives to mastering their arts to the point of obsession. The show showcases true swordplay and battles are often decided with one swing of the blade.

Now the major problem people site in the series is the cliffhanger ending. It stems from the fact that the series only adapts the first part of the manga (the anime was done before the manga was completed) and chooses to include a scene from the final part...

It says 'complete' but it was never finished
This anime is a prime good example of making a good manga into good anime.

[Good]

The visuals - They are really nice.

Storyline is very good - It's more common to have good or great visuals, especially for Japanese anime. Visuals are usually just icing. Having a great storyline is another thing that is rare. The underlying themes, metaphors, and criticism of feudal Japan is very good. (Unfortunately you won't be able to fully appreciate it until you read the full story through the comic books.) Unlike other anime, there is no corniness or segments that are randomly thrown in to cater to socially awkward adolescents. It is just solid and brutal: violence with purpose.

[Bad]

The visuals - It tries to stay true to the manga, which is just too violent for my tastes. Even though I don't like it, I don't think it would be the same if you removed it. I feel that it's meant to be uncomfortable.

Not 'complete' - This anime...

Beautiful but flawed ultraviolent samurai drama, not for the mainstream
I'm reviewing this because I thought people might like to know what the show is like!

Shigurui is an historical samurai drama, but it's not exactly comfort TV. The style is extremely arty, especially during the first few episodes - many many shots of dead cicadas, etc. The pace is also extremely slow, and the ending won't make much sense unless you paid attention to one particular line from the narrator in the middle of the series. You should also take care not to be confused by the flashback near the beginning (it might be more accurate to say the show starts with a flashforward).

At the same time, this show is extremely violent and depraved. Apart from various people having their guts spilled and many different body parts chopped off, there are sex scenes, including a senile old man trying to seduce his daughter, and, laughably, one instance of autofellatio. There is a serious point to the shock value, which is that the absolute obedience demanded of dojo...

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Journey to Mecca [Blu-ray]

Journey to Mecca
Watched twice and loved the cinematography. Remembered of times when people travel to Mecca for 4-5 months to reach there.Excellent movie.

Not quite what was expected
We were very interested in this DVD because we hoped for a fascinating tale of that intrepid traveler--Ibn Battuta. It starts off well enough but then only gives a brief glimpse into his journey to Mecca. The story drifts from the past to the present and seems to just drop off leaving the viewers disappointed. Some of the scenery is very nice and well-photographed of that dramatic landscape but the story line is quite disappointing. From the interviews at the end of the DVD, it seems that creating a film there was not without its challenges so the producers, directors and artists do have to be given some credit for the attempt and credit must also go to the authorities, who have only a small film industry, for working with the filmmakers. If you do buy it, just know that it isn't a robust story of his journey.

Very Informative of the past
A somber yet interesting movie into the past. It shows the difference of the pilgrimage from the past compared with today. It also shows how difficult it used to be back in the days and how we take advantage of the situation today.

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Guitar Artistry of Guy Davis - Teller of Tales DVD

Guy Davis
This is a great video and music ed tool. Talented story teller and guitarist. The blues has been revived by Guy Davis.





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Kiddy Grade: The Complete Series

Enjoyable Enough Sci-Fi Anime But If You Already Have The Previous Box Set No Need To Get This One
While I bought the complete 2006 set a couple of weeks ago one of the disk had a crack in it that became to enlarged for the dvd player to read the disc so I now had a choice, buy a single dvd for about $15.00 dollars or buy this re-release so for myself it was a no brainier choice. After getting the set the one thing I wanted to check out is if there was a noticeable difference in the video and audio quality between this release and the previous earlier ones, and the audio seems to have been indeed cleaned up and sounds better with this set also unlike the earlier release set this one comes in only 5.1 English audio or 2.0 Japanese audio as they have tossed away the 2.0 English audio that was with the earlier set releases. The video quality though is pretty much the same so you won't see any difference in picture though the frame rate is a little better so it looks like the animation runs a little smoother but not by much from the earlier set. The extras are also here as well if...

You Don't Want to Miss Out On This!
I first came across Kiddy Grade on TV. I thought it was really cool. I think that both genders should like watching this series. The graphics are good, the picture clear and the sound is grate. There is a total of 24 episodes, English and Japanese languages and the usual kind of extras. This is a sci-fi anime with very cool fight scenes, drama, suspense a good story line and some pretty neat robots. The story revolves around Éclair and Lumiere who are ES Force members of the Global Union, a shadow force that serves as the primary law enforcement for the Galaxy. Éclair and Lumiere go through quite a few exciting adventures and through out them you'll fall in love with both characters. Éclair begins to remember bits and pieces from her past and during a tedious mission the situation escalates to the point where Éclair can't take anymore and losses it which results in her and her partner being hunted down by their fellow Es members some of whom where friends...

Very Cool
I had been seeing the trailers for this since the early 2000's. It always looked pretty interesting. I finally came across it at an anime shop when I was on vacation. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I actually have the anime classics DVD set. This viridian collection collection is a better deal. The animation in this series is very good, and so is the voice acting. It's very solid sci-fi/adventure. I really think you will enjoy this series. It's a lot of fun.

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Cast Alaska

Cast Alaska Trailer


Alaska's Rainbows: Kenai & Mat-Su Areas
This superbly filmed and edited movie depicts rainbow trout fly fishing as it's done on the Kenai River and a smaller river in the Mat-Su area of Alaska. Although anglers not familiar with this kind of fishing might pick up a tip or two about indicator fishing with beads (egg patterns) and flesh flies, this film isn't about how the fish are being caught. Rather, it's about why people fish. To this end, the most compelling segment of the film is the opening story featuring husband and wife Dave and Bobbie Holsman, avid anglers whose fishing lifestyle allows them to build and share a reservoir of experiences and memories. Other stories in the film feature Dave Holsman teaming up with angling friends to pursue the fish of a lifetime: an elusive 30" Kenai River rainbow. These are stories that will resonate with most anglers--and the cinematography, complete with soaring eagles, swans, bears, moose, big trout and lovely water filmed under autumn skies is sure to give viewers an itch to...

Great video
Very good & informative video,great fishing shots,great information on the how comes,& why they made the video,loved the outdoor shots.

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Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars DVD ThinPak Collection

Nice and Clean
Nice and Clean DVD, so you can watch it with your kids. Nice and smooth anime. The artist did a great job on making this. And it gives the sense of trying to teaching kids someth.ing as well while watching it

Great Story
Great story, not your usual anime. It is not full of action or cute girls, but it keeps you interested in the story. I have actually seen this a few times all ready and every time i seem to find new details/story to it.

An obscure little gem
Shingu is one of those amazing anime that no one knows about. High school hijinks meet Twin Peaks meet the X-Files, all packed in a fine wrapper of nostalgia and humor. It may seem to start slow, but every moment in the story is important, and a second viewing leaves you going, "HOW did I miss all of that?" The show plays completely fair with you.

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Pure Barre: 16th Street Volume 2 - Lift, Tone and Burn

More of a challenge than you'd think.
I purchased Pure Barre 16th Street more out of curiosity than anything else. I have been doing Barre/Fusion workouts for the past year or so and thought that the 35 minute Pure Barre workout would be good for days on which I couldn't commit a full hour to working out. The Pure Barre workout is surprisingly challenging. I began doing Pure Barre just as I also was beginning a low carbohydrate diet, so when I found the Pure Barre workout to be more of a challenge than I was used to, I attributed it to the lower energy that usually accompanies the early days of low carb eating. I no longer think that was the case. When I went back to doing my other Barre/Fusion workouts after doing the Pure Barre series for a couple of weeks, I found those other workouts to be easier for me than they had been before. So despite its shorter length, I think the Pure Barre workout is challenging and worth adding to your workout rotation.

Pure Barre
I did the introduction classes at the studio and oh my goodness, in jsut a couple classes I could tell there
are muscles I hadn't used in a long time. Great for Toning, lifting.

My passion
Thank you for having the extensive selection of ballet DVDs. Ballet has always been my passion and love that I can practice at home on my barre.

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Guitar Artistry of Bert Jansch Conundrum in

A Great Glimpse of "Younger" Bert
This film gives you a great perspective on Bert while still in his 30's. There are also several bonus songs (3) recorded in Stockholm in 1978, and a bonus documentary, released in 1985 that has some excellent interview footage of Bert that gives very good insight into Bert as a person (not a singer).

The sound was not supposed to be super surround, Hollywood style technology. The sound, though is just fine.

This film is a good contrast to the several films (BBC and other) that show Bert toward the end of his life. It is just wonderful. Bert at his peak.

Great music, Bad recording
This session was recorded in Ohio in 1980. I don't know what kind of recording equipment was used, but the sound is terrible!



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The Illusionist [HD]

One of the Best Animated Films of 2010
The latest animated film by Sylvain Chomet is based on a script by the late Jacques Tati, who intended the film to be live-action but ended up never bringing the film to fruition. Tati died in 1982 and the script was passed to Chomet by Tati's daughter Sophie Tatischeff, who died before Chomet's debut feature-length, animated film The Triplets of Belleville was released. Since The Illusionist debuted it has been criticized by family members of Tati for straying from his original vision, as well as his original intention for writing the script in the first place. Since Tati is credited with writing the original script and Chomet is credited with adapting it, it is unknown how significantly Chomet altered the original script. Whether Chomet strayed from Tati's script or not becomes irrelevant as we can't judge a film based on what it could've been but for what it is. The fact is, the film exists in its current form...

Beautiful, sweet and achingly sad
The Illusionist is a beautifully-rendered animated story about a French stage magician, Tatischeff, and his relationship with a young Scottish girl named Alice, at a time when his kind of entertainment is being displaced by the onset of television and rock-and-roll.

Stylistically, The Illusionist will be immediately familiar to fans of Chomet's best-known film, The Triplets of Belleville. The animation is gorgeously detailed, the characters unique, and the story presented with virtually no dialogue, relying on an occasional comprehensible word or two emerging from deliberately garbled bursts of psuedo-language, French or Scottish-English depending on the setting.

Storywise though, The Illusionist is distinctly different from Triplets. While Triplets was imbued with a manic glee, The Illusionist is instead tinged throughout with a mix of sweetness and sadness. The film begins with Tatischeff's stage magician having to deal with a changing world in which his style...

Gentle, thoughtful, melancholy, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Sylvain Chomet's "L'Illusioniste," based on an unproduced screenplay by Jacques Tati, is a worthy follow-up to his Oscar-winning "Triplets of Belleville," even if it is a gentler, less flamboyant work than its predecessor. "L'Illusioniste" is the story of Tatischeff (Tati's real name), a magician in 1959 Paris, who finds his old-fashioned hat-and-rabbit tricks in ever-diminishing demand. Forced to take a gig on a remote Scottish island, he entrances Alice, a young scullery maid who believes his tricks are real. When Tatischeff leaves to accept an engagement in Edinburgh, Alice stows away on the boat. The bulk of the movie is about the chaste, father-daughter relationship between Tatischeff and Alice, and their inevitable estrangement as Alice discovers the bigger world on her own.

Because "L'Illusioniste" is based on a screenplay that was meant to be a live-action film, Chomet's animation doesn't take Disneyesque liberties with the laws of gravity and physics. There are...

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The Rose Garden (Aka The Rosegarden)

A crime should not prescribe !
All the possible judicial obstacles allowed to the real SS officer who followed the rules and murder dozens of innocent children on April 20 1945 to be exonerated of being found guilty.

Fons Rodenmaker , the famous Dutch film maker elaborated a meticulous script with superb performances of all the cast . The poignant encounter between Ruthie and his brother in the Court was magnificently convincing.

Liv Ullman once more shows she is still a radiant actress in this exigent role . And Maximilain Shell is in the top too .

A real surprise
This is a movie that most people have not heard of or seen. However, great story line and great acting. I watch it over and over again. Lots to learn from this story based on real facts.

Wonderful
A story based on a true events of WW2. This brings the horror of that time back to real life

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Oklahoma Territory

OKLAHOMA TERRITORY
This movie was first released in 1959(2011), in widescreen 1.85.1, B/W and runs 67 minutes. The sound and picture quality are very good. There are no extras on this DVD. The film starts in 1872, when Oklahoma Territory belonged to 5 Indian tribes, living across the border with white man and divided by FORT SMITH. Temple Houston(BILL WILLIAMS)District Attorney, hears gunshots while riding his horse and on arrival finds Indians and Cowman in gun battle. He finds Cherokee Chief Buffalo Horn (TED-DE-CORSIA) there saying he and his braves were surprised by these gunmen. When Temple stops the fighting, he finds that the gunmen are legal posse come to arrest Buffalo Horn for the murder of Indian Commissioner, Alan Barbee. Buffalo Horn agrees to go with Temple, but denies murder. In Town, Larkan, who had actually killed Barbee, reports to his boss Bigelow (GRANT RICHARDS). Later Buffalo Horn's Daughter Ruth Red Hawk (GLORIA TALBOTT) and his son Running Cloud (X BRANDS), ride into town. Ruth...

Jeffrey Hunter - Where were you?
Another of those rare "Limited Edition" MGM DVD releases, of which I now have many, and none have so far let me down. An excellent B/W widescreen print, a cracking plot, (tho lacking in any mystery element), and a good western cast - Bill Williams being his usual sturdy self, Gloria Talbot as a (beautuful) Indian maid Was there any other kind? and Gloria was lovely if unusual in her looks, shame she never made it really big time). If ever there was a glorious piece of miscasting it's Ted De Corsia as an Indian chief! Admittedly not as excrutiating as his perf in "Mohawk" which has to be seen to be believed, but he is pretty bad here. Darn it - he was New York street gangster -! There are good perfs from Walters Baldwin and Sande, and strangely unbilled John Cliff who is good (perhaps in the role De Corsia should have had) in an important part - why no billing? Also Kenne Duncan, Charlie Stevens and a very (very) brief cough and a spit from Boyd Morgan. Plenty of action, lots of...



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Something Wild (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Criterion Goes Wild--A Needed, But Ultimately Unsatisfying, Upgrade Of A Terrific Comedy/Romance/Thriller
An interesting choice for the Criterion label, I have hoped desperately that Jonathan Demme's 1986 madcap road picture "Something Wild" would get a deserving upgrade from its rather drab earlier DVD presentation. I actually went to a theater and saw this film twice and it is easily one of my favorite Demme pictures. With his eclectic resume, Demme will perhaps always be known best for "The Silence of the Lambs" but his legacy has several terrific screwball comedies (Married to the Mob) and understated masterpieces (Melvin and Howard) prior to him being anointed an Academy Award winner. "Something Wild" fits comfortably into the screwball comedy category--but what makes it so unorthodox and refreshing is that it has both heart and edge. A lot has changed since 1986. Back then, Jeff Daniels was still a leading man as opposed to a character actor. Melanie Griffith was sexy, surprising, and a blossoming talent. And a relatively unknown Ray Liotta was trying to break into a big...

Why has time forgotten this classic?
I thought Demme walked on water after seeing this movie (and its follow-ups, Married to the Mob and Silence of the Lambs). I love the layers of texture to this movie--there's always some set decoration I never noticed before, and the performances he wrings out of his stable of actors is great. This movie defined "alternative" when it was released, and deftly pulled off the seemingly impossible feat of starting out screwball comedy and turning violent halfway thru without losing its voice. All three leads have never done better than they did here (okay, maybe Liotta in Goodfellas). So why is SW subjected to the basement of video VHS? This movie made tons of critics top 10 lists for the Eighties (sadly not much of a challenge, but still...) and yet can't even get a DVD date to prom. Wild...

High Def
I remember seeing this waaaay back when it was in theaters. One of those incredibly under-rated cinematic gems. What I liked most about it was the transition from a seemingly lighthearted Indie-ish goofball romantic comedy, to dead on noir. I caught this recently on a High-Def channel on cable. All I can say is WOW ! It was like I was seeing it for the first time, Déjà vu all over again. This film deserves a Blu-ray release, preferably packed with extra features, commentaries etc.

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7 Days CAPPADOCIA

Stunning
What an extraordinary place - and a wonder of nature. I can't wait to see it for real - and WILL end of October. The video was superbly filmed and narrated.





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Sango Olukoso

Good Job
I found the presentation to be a good depiction of the happenings at the Sango festival. This was very insightful.

sango orisa dancer-the king.
sango orisa-the king.*sango the king the master orisa of his great dance and powerful movements of steps that shake the earth.with fire in his step.who rule his people and his kingdom that change the history of africa.from nigeria west africa.to the new world call america-with africans being brought to the america shores as slaves who brought the culture and religion to the america.that how powerful and strong this king of old oyo was.a dance who still dance in america and sing his name in praise.sango oba koso.frederick taylor,african dancer who livel in africa a long time ago.studying african dance and african drumming thank you -modupe o-mean thank you.*sango olukoso.



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Call Me Salome

Oscar Wilde Would Approve
The legend of Salome and John the Baptist gets a modern day overhaul in this excellent adaptation based on an idea by Oscar Wilde. Director Claudio Sestieri pulls out all the stops but never goes for the grossout gore and excessive sex like Director Tinto Brass's 'CALIGULA'. The film takes place in a warehouse atmosphere resembling a Disco nightclub and King Herod is portrayed like a Mafia crime boss who has John held prisoner on site. Salome is smitten with him(or is she) and manages to seduce everyone into her power. After her legendary dance, she naturally asks for the token head of John with disastrous results for the realm. Director Ken Russell attempted the same premise with his 'SALOME'S LAST DANCE'-1988 but it plunged into sheer farce. Director Sestieri gives his version a serious tone and the production values will remind you of Director Federico Fellini's 'SATYRICON'-1970 and Julie Taymor's Shakesperian adaptations 'TITUS'- 2000 and 'THE TEMPEST'-2009. The scene...

Salome Meets the Sopranos
'Call Me Salome' is the latest entry in a substantial list of DVDs that are based on the Biblical story of King Herod, his step daughter Salome (whom he lusts after), and John the Baptist (who Salome lusts after) - and particularly based on the 'notorious' turn of the century play 'Salome' penned by Victorian libertine; Oscar Wilde. For some obscure reason I got real interested in this play and subsequently sought out and purchased a goodly sampling of the different versions that are available on Amazon) to check them out. The oldest version was lensed in 1923 with silent film actress Nazimova in the lead role and features sets & costumes inspired by the infamous drawings of Art Nouveau master Aubrey Beardsley - it is a decidedly surreal film experience. There are a bunch of DVDs based on the operatic version of Wilde's play written by Richard Strauss, all of which set the story to music & song to relatively good effect. Acclaimed British actor Steven Berkoff directed & starred in...

Salome Relieves Herself in the Pool
Born in 1948, writer/director Claudio Sestieri has only eight movie and tv productions (1980-2005) listed on IMDb. The Salome film is a modernization of the Oscar Wilde play. Sestieri is creative but restrained, limiting the impact that prolific composer Luigi Ceccarelli (43 titles on IMDb, 1982-2005) might have added to the film, especially in The Dance.

Herod is a bantam-sized criminal supremo. Herodias is a lanky worn fashion-model type. Salome is thin, unembellished pretty, with a 20-year-old face and the budding chest of a 13-year-old. The combination set is laid out on one sound stage, and is mostly un-ostentatious, except for a swimming pool with colored lights. Notably, the major entrance to this "club" complex is spanned by an English name: The Last Emperor. (In the dialog, America is besmirched a few times as a criminal paradise.)

Though the Wilde play, and the Strauss opera therefrom, are usually obligated to be lurid, psychotic, shocking, actually...

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Tiger on Beat [Blu-ray]

Chow Yun Fat in Comedy Shocker!
Outside of Kowloon, Chow Yun Fat is seen as an action star, and who could be blamed for thinking so. Given the popularity of "The Killer" and the "Better Tomorrow" series, it seems that you couldn't watch Fat unless he was racking up a body count. So, you can imagine how much of a departure "Tiger On The Beat" may seem for him.

In all actuality, Chow is an actor with a broad range, with most of his recent Hong Kong films more drama-based than anything else. Still, he doesn't let you down with this one.

Paired with a straight-laced cop (Conan Lee) Chow is the Jim Belushi to Lee's Schwarznegger. Tracking a drug ring in Hong Kong, the action comes at the right moments and the comedy is enough to tide you over until the high-speed ending.

When compared to his more well known work, this doesn't rank as high a body count, but with the comedic edge, this is worth adding to any hard-boiled Woo fan's collection. Oh, and is there anything cooler...

Chainsaw fight!
This movie is a cool buddy cop action comedy with the best (and only?) chainsaw fight ever! I got this movie just to see that fight, because up until I bought it, I had only heard about it. The story is ok and the dubbing isn't the worst, but the action is what I think typical chinese gunplay.......which is awesome! I could watch this movie over and over again. It just has a happier feel to it. The only time is seems to get gloomy is during action scenes which I don't think are at all a disappointment. This is one you shouldn't pass up if you like Chow Yun Fat, chines gunplay, or just plain old action movies with a chainsaw fight! I loved it!

Action Comedy Worth Seeing!!
Chow Yun Fat plays an experienced & some what arrogant cop to Conan Lee's rookie cop. The movie does have some Lethal Weapon themes, but I don't remember Danny Glover getting scared enough to wet his pants. If you are a Hong Kong cinema fan you won't be disappointed.

If Conan Lee looks familar to you Jet Li fans, its because he played Mr. Li's brother in LW 4.

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Take A Giant Step

A Rare View
Whoa, teen rebellion on steroids plus African-American family conflicts in an Anglo-American neighborhood during late 1950's, early 1960's, America. Memories of injustices past and present clash with the expectations of participation in the present (1960's) American lifestyle amid backward peceptions reinforced by choice.

A young black teen comes home angry from school after storming out of class at the teacher's remarks--plus a few words, because the teacher reinforced to the students (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) the idea that the slaves were too lazy to free themselves. Grandma tries to convince the young man that he should not have behaved that way. After he tells her what else has been happening she understands his position. The young man thinks that he needs to get away to get his head together as to which direction to take his life. He takes a few of his things and grandma gives him a couple of bucks (late '50's, early '60's money) and he leaves his suburban home...





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Building Your AR-15 From Scratch

The How and Why of Building Your AR-15
If you're looking to build your first AR-15 or even if you've already built one, this video will provide you valuable tips, tricks and insight into the How and Why of building and maintaining your AR-15. I scoured the web - forums, YouTube and major retailers for info, and there is tons of it out there. The only problem is that you'll spend lots of time trying to figure out what is good or bad practice, especially if you're new at all this AR-15 building business. Well, look no further, because this DVD puts it all together for you using a Master AR-15 Armorer as your instructor. Unlike a major web retailer that offers free videos and trying to sell you tools and gadgets, this instructional DVD spends more time on the How and Why you need to do the things you do when building your AR-15. I highly recommend you give this DVD a chance - you'll be glad you did. You may also want to pick up a copy of the "M4 Carbine-M16A2 W/E Armorer's Guide" by Desert Publications as a reference resource...

Good Stuff!
Finally a video that has included ALL the tips necessary to work on and add accessories without damaging the finish of the rifles. It is NOT a "DRY" boring video, it is a two person conversation with explanations and questions being asked. He shares the tools that are necessary to complete the task at hand but will not cost you a fortune to acquire. I have seen MANY Ar 15s come in that have scratches because of improper tools being added.
This video is hosted by a master armorer and it is quickly obvious he knows what he is doing! You will not be disappointed with this product. Don't let the 3 hr lenght detour your purchase. It is set up in "chapters" allowing the opportunity to stop and start over without loosing your place. VERY satisfied.

Good Video
This video is well made on the content side. It is, however, poorly made on the video quality side. The work area seems to be a room in a factory. During the video one can hear the banging of machinery running. At times one can hear workers talking in the background. The backdrop of the movie is a piece of cloth that seems as though it could fall at any time.

Now for the gun content. The video is very informative. I enjoyed the person that continously asked questions off the screen. Many were the exact questions that I had. The knowledge if the person actually doing the work was exceptional. He took the time to point out the parts that were being discussed, usually with a punch as a pointer.

Overall, I would buy it again, and would recomend it.

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Bike-O-Vision Cycling Journey- Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (Widescreen DVD #12)

More fantastic landscapes!
I had no idea there were such alien landscapes in the USA! Amazing volcanic structures, as well as dream-like landscapes, and plenty of diverse species of plants along the way. Plus the usual well-paced music and fantastic camera work keeps me enthralled for my morning spinning routine. So many great rides! Keep up the great work Bike-o-Vision!!!





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Me & Orson Welles [HD]

A stunning performance!
Orson Welles was a genius in many, many areas. He was an incredible actor, a brilliant director and a showman of the first order. He was also, from many accounts, a major jerk; obsessive and controlling, manipulative and unpleasant. Someone who at least as nasty to his friends as to his enemies. He was, to lift a quote from a certain movie, not a brutal man, but a man who did brutal things.

All these elements of his considerable personality are on display in Richard Linkletter's newest film, Me and Orson Welles. The movie tells the story of a seventeen-year-old boy named Richard (though he's mostly referred to as "Junior"). He's played by Zac Efron (looking sexier than ever), in his finest role to date, which isn't saying a lot.

Richard is a reasonably naive boy who winds up meeting Welles as the great man is preparing for his 1937 stage production of Julius Caesar, a ground-breaking presentation that moved the story into modern times, dressing the cast in...

It's Welles' World and Everyone Else Just Exists in It Thanks to McKay's Masterful Turn
I wish this small-scale 2009 indie focused far more on the most charismatic person in the cast. Foreboding with a glaring certainty and a penchant for spewing venom at anyone he deems unworthy of his attention, Christian McKay makes the young Orson Welles come alive as the intimidating megalomaniac he had to have been to create a masterpiece like Citizen Kane. In 1937, he was only 22 when he mounted a contemporary version of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" with his legendary troupe, the Mercury Theater, which showcased his prodigious theatrical genius, and his idiosyncratic blend of swagger and insight transcended the backstage chaos that would yield a stage triumph. Welles was the type of man who would shower his cast with hyperbolic praise and then just as suddenly, crush them with harsh criticism.

However, director Richard Linklater (...

A tour de force by Christian Mckay
Richard Linklater has always been one with an ear for the gab. In his movies dialogues don't just exist to fill in the silent moments, but they are there because it reflects the feel of the movie and the ethos of the character. This movie is no exception. It reminds you of the 50s and 60s where the banter and repartee was a marked characterstic of Bogart movies.

Christian Mckay is a revelation. As Orson Welles, he brings every bit of the gravitas, arrogance and brilliance that the role demands. He moves effortlessly among the various skins of Orson Welles - from the stubborn artist to the brilliant actor and everything in between.

Apart from McKay, Claire Danes is wonderful as the career minded icequeen. Zac Efron is passable as the rookie.

Definitely worth a watch

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Sango Timi vol 1

a great learning of african history.
both video are a great history of learning.of the west african culture and religion of nigeria.a history that specks to the world.of those who wish to study and learn-thought the musical tradition.of a people history of some of the most magnificene drumms and drumming and exciting and sacred drumms that belong to sango orisa.lineage-of ayan agalu.the sacred dundun talking drums - from heaven.the king of all drumms and drummer.with the saworo basse bells-the king.and the sacred bata drumms of sango.all -3-vol are great video.,1- sango olukoso.-2 sango-timi.vol-1 and sango timi-vol 2, enjoy..frederick taylor african dancer.i salut five african star*****.slt.





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Shorts (2009) [HD]

Awesome Family Fun!!!
I thought this was a really good and very funny movie that the whole family will love! It has an awesome plot, funny situations, and lovable characters. The movie is told out of order in a series of 'short' episodes! In the town of Black Falls, all the adults work for Black Box Unlimited Worldwide Industries Incorporated. Toby Thompson is a lonely kid who gets picked on gets picked on by Mr. Black's kids, until Toby finds a Rainbow colored wishing rock that will grant his every wish. Toby is just one of the many kids who have found the rock, like Nose Noseworthy, Loogie, Cole, and Helvetica Black. When Mr. Black gets ahold of the rock, he uses it for world domination. Can the kids of Black Falls stop him before he becomes mad with power? I highly recommend SHORTS!!!

Shorts......
A cute family movie geared towards the younger generation! It was fun to watch with the children though.Mostly clean with a little crudeness.

Really funny stuff!
This movie really made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and would see it again.

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Don't Know Why Piano Guy 1-On-1 Series

Really Knows How To Teach
Scott Houston is a phenomenal teacher and is very engaging. His 1-on-1 Series in general, and this DVD in particular, show this. Instructions are clear, easy-to-follow and comprehensive. The whole process of learning a song this way - one set of very detailed lessons per song - is perfect for a self-taught person like me. The tips he gives are very transferable to other songs. Every time I work through one of these (this is my 4th 1-on-1 DVD), my overall playing gets better. As far as the DVD itself, quality is good, camera angles are good, the menus are logical. More specifically, the menus make it productive and easy to later go back to the product after study is complete for a "brush-up" on certain selected sections.

Great learning experience
Scott Houston explains all the fancy nuances of playing piano in a manner that's very easy to grasp. I know I should learn all the foo-foo stuff, BUT I REALLY just want to learn how to play tunes from a practical perspective, for my own satisfaction and gratification.
I was skeptical to try and learn from a DVD but the way the material is organized, and the way Scott explains EVERY detail in very understandable terms, has been a great learning experience for me and has truly helped me learn how to play piano!!
This is my third of his DVD's and plan to buy more. I look at it this way, for less than the cost of a local lesson, I get to learn a lot and replay my "lesson" over and over again!



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Do Not Disturb [HD]

Fun Anthology Film!
Wow! First, Diva Zappa gave an amazing performance. She definitely has the "Zappa" genes in her face. She looks just like good old Frank. The movie... I will give no spoilers. Just watch it. A lot I was NOT expecting. This movie had me belly laughing, and weirded out in parts. There is HOT young boys (a gay cutie for you gay guys), and, Jason Alan Smith in his underwear for a scene or two (dang he's hot!). Jason Alan Smith, had me backing up the video to see that hot package of a man that he is, and those hot underwear he fills out soooo well. Mmm mmm mmm. The stories were AMAZING, music by Danny Elfman. Mali Elfman gave a fantastic performance! Just watch it!





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Laughter Yoga

Delighted
Even though the photography is a little on the home movie quality, the content and the interesting program was fun to watch and exercise.





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7 Days CAPPADOCIA

Stunning
What an extraordinary place - and a wonder of nature. I can't wait to see it for real - and WILL end of October. The video was superbly filmed and narrated.





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Circles of Deceit

SUSPENSE, SPIES, INTRIGUE, MYSTERY, & surprisingly, COMPASSION
Compelling feature-length stories of the world of spies. John is widowed because of his undercover fight against terrorism. Now he pays with a haunting memory and a compelling life-style that keeps him in danger's snare through Circles of Deceit. Dennis Waterman (`New Tricks') plays reluctant but obedient agent Neil who just can't say not when another call is made to his hideaway home. Is it justice or revenge that caused him to continue putting his life in jeopardy? Can he make a difference? A retrieval of a 1990s spy thriller series that is relevant today.

The equivalent of 4 films, each story is a different mix of plots, with Neil often left to his own instinct for survival when his leaders have decided he is expendable. But this is one spy with a conscience, with spirit, with a nightmare past, but also with a heart for compassion and love. Plenty of action too. A reminder of good intrigue comparable to another British series "A Mind to Kill" but without as much...

IGNORE COVER. SUPER PLOTS AND CHARACTERS
I read a great deal for work, so high quality visual materials are desert. This is a top quality drama series, and its only flaw is the box looks old and cheesy. Ignore the box. It is a wonderful escape and joy.

I only logged on to see if more sessions, and will always get this series as soon as more come out.

It was with a dash of sadness that I realized this is the first set on DVD in N. America.

The first reviewer did a fine job as I skimmed his review.

This is a spy drama that is addicting, touching, romantic in a way both genders should enjoy, fascinating and with quality stories that grab you. The actors and all involved should be praised for such a gift.

Engrossing British Contemporay Detective Series
Really enjoyed this series and the realism of the characters. For those of you have may have a problem with various British dialects, the DVDs are Closed Captioned. The detective is grumpy, moody and suffering grief because of the loss of his family. This grief underscores his approach to solving extremely difficult convoluted crimes.

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Human Traffic

Brett Fetzer is a dolt
If you have half a brain, you'd ignore the editiorial review. The man obviously has no heart and any sense of humor. Whatever he mentioned, go with the opposite. The writing? Wickedly funny. Attitudes? None whatsoever. In fact, the whole premise of the film is to show how alienated young people are made to feel these days and that the only means of making sense of it all is the love and support of their peer group. The only attitude they have is that they're trying to make sense of everyday reality and when you're in your early 20's, things are not always peachy keen. Brett is the epitome of what these 4 friends are trying to escape from. Free your mind Brett. Have you ever gone out to a club and felt absolutely carried away by the music? Have you ever danced for 4 hours straight? Have you ever experienced the beauty and stillness of a sunrise with your closet friends? Have you ever fallen in love with your best friend? Obviously not, otherwise the movie would have touched you...

Americans stuff it up
As of this evening I have seen both versions; the UK version and the US version. The former absolutely rocks. It is the closest to a great night out clubbing that you are likely to see on the screen.
Anyone who has ever gone out clubbing will appreciate the UK version of this film. For example, the scene where Felix is chatting with another spaced out clubber about how it is not as good as it used to be. I found this scene hilarious and the flashback to 1991 even more so. On the whole Human Traffic is one of the best "rave" (read: not completely anti-drugs) movies ever.
Now the bad news. This flashback scene, and many more like it, are completely MISSING from the US version. I dont know why the distributors think that the US audience are so tender and impressionable that they cannot handle such satire and wit. Regardless, US audiences are sadly deprived from a great piece of cinema. The edit has, in my opinion, spoiled the flow of the movie.
I'm not bitter,...

Amazon reviewer doesn't get it
Clubs, drugs, pubs, and parties... if you've been there, done that, you will get a huge kick out of this film, it is basically a coming of age story set in the lives of working class teenagers from Cardiff, and since it the late 1990s, they are into the rave scene. And why not? It's as well done of a film of this genre as I've ever seen, loads of slapstick humor, dream sequences, true-to-life dialogue & problems, etc. And it captures all of the frantic energy & buzz of an altered nite out on the town, as well as the inevitable comedown, without moralizing or judging its characters, emerging as a romantic comedy in the end! I loved it!

Some people don't seem to realize that a lot of people actually have or do live(d) like the characters in this film at some point in their lives, just because it stars British people and drugs are part of the plot doesn't mean it is a ripoff of Trainspotting, if Hollywood were honest then there would actually be Amercian films like this too...

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Voices of Mongolia

Not just about culture - not just about the environment
Cody Sheehy has an eye for both beauty and an appreciation for culture. This film has a strong voice for the environment. Showing first hand how the desert and the grasslands are being depleted of water. This film will be used as a catalyst for conservation efforts. Watch it because it is a good and entertaining film but use it to teach young people to have a passion for their surroundings and their culture. In the end I wanted to be a part of the trek - break downs and all.





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Achieving Kicking Excellence: Footwork for Kicking

Excellence Indeed!
The title of the series is "Acheiving Kicking Excellence: Footwork for Kicking" by Shawn Kovacich. The production quality of this DVD is considerably higher than most martial arts DVDs. In this DVD Mr Kovachich breaks down kicking footwork into very clear and concise steps and points that should help almost anyone who wants to improve their kicking technique. As I am always telling my students, improving technique is the key to increasing power.

Shawn teaches the viewer many ways to improve their fighting with Footwork, including how to control distance, how to setup various kicks effectively, how to counter various techniques with footwork, and how to obtain a dominant angle to obtain an opening to attack.

Although footwork is arguably the first part of kicking technique that should be learned, it is rarely taught with any competency at all. The student and teacher, by using this DVD, can open up a much deeper conversation about kicking footwork which can only...

Basic information that everyone, martial artists or self-defense enthusiasts, should know
I am a martial artist (2nd degree black belt) and I have all the books of the series and two of the three DVDs made by the author. I find the amount and the quality of the material offered by the author is so important that every martial artist, or anyone who is interested in MMA fighting or self-defense, should know.

Footwork is so important in both martial arts and self-defense and too often, attention is given on the way kicks are supposed to be executed at the expense of proper footwork. I always had the impression that instructors assume that a fighter will learn footwork as they advance in their skills. This may be true for some few but for many, good instruction on the subject is really fundamental. This DVD is what we all need, regardless of the level of skill.

The DVD follows a basic format: each segment is first presented "in real life situation," then, Mr Kovacich explains in great details - even using diagrams - and applies it again to life...

Shawn Did It Again LOL!!!!!
This is a MUST if you want to learn self-defense or sparring technquies. I've been looking for a system like this for years. My opinion there are three types of fighters learn by experiment, by instinct and by having a plan. Shawn shows you how to have fun and be learning at the same time. This Man ain't nothing but the truth. No foundation you will not stand. And I'm a 3rd degree and I will receive from any style to help myself and others to protect themselves. Thanks again Master Kovacich you give the arts a very good name. And I also like to thank your Teachers for all their help. You all should be very proud. I will be buying your others products. Great Success Sir.

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