Ah My Buddha: The Five Bare Aggregates (Volume 5, Eps. 18-21)

A good harem anime
Ikkou is an average teenager. He is sent to a Buddhist temple to train under his Grandmother to become a priest. It's a lot more difficult than one might think. Ridding himself of his earthly desires will be nearly impossible with 6 pretty girls also training there with him. It's definitely not all bad though. Ikkou is able to awaken his tremendous spiritual powers when he sees a little bit of priestess you know what. When a rival sect sends a cute priestess to awaken his power through earthly desires, it's gonna cause a major problem.

This is a classic harem anime in the tradition of Tenchi and Love Hina. It's really fun. It's rated 13 and up. There are a lot of risque girl shots, but the graphic stuff is mild. It's only got moderate objectionable content I would say. Not like that stuff bothers me anyway. Ikkou is a little less appealing of a character than Tenchi or some of the other harem anime heroes, but he's a bit more realistic. He doesn't act indifferent or...





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Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Battle Dimension, Box 3

"Pokemon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu" - finally!!!!!!
Despite the limited information (and none on Amazon) online, it would only make sense for the skipped two-part Riolu special to be included on this third and final box set for the Pokémon DP Battle Dimension season. Not only does it finish out the season with the remaining 16 episodes, the second disc (volume 6) includes the illusive "Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu" (totaling 18), and this time correctly mentions Hunter J on the back of the box set (unlike Vol. 2). This is undoubtedly the best episode on the entire box set and worth mentioning that this is where you will find it!

Also included are the remaining three Pokémon Summer academy episodes that were first effected by my faulty VCR (see my review of Battle Dimension Vol. 2), and despite how I've always felt about holding out hope for subs, I still wanted the dubbed version! The budding friendship between Ash and Angie (which later continues in "If the Scarf Fits...") makes up some of...

A great season!!!
Great season. Probably one of the best yet. Not the same as the original series, but good. I remember growing up with the original series when it premiered in 1998 in the united states. If I had to name my top favorite Pokemon seasons it would be. Keep up the good work!!!

1. Indigo League.
2. Adventures on the orange islands.
3. The Johto Journeys.
4. The Johto League Champions.
5. Master Quest.
6. Advanced.
7. Advanced Challenge.
8. Advanced Battle.
9. Battle Frontier.
10.Diamond and Pearl.
11.DP Battle Dimension.
and maybe 12. DP Galactic Battles.

Good for my kids
Simply put, my kids are Pokemon Junkies, but being so young they missed some of the DP:BD season so I got them this to help them get caught up and for repeated entertainment value.

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Latin Music USA

Excellent History of the Latinos/Hispanics and their Influence to American Music
First things first. I feel that I need to respond to the previous moron's review. A person named Garcia should really do some deep study, not only on Latin Music but also on his/her own Latin culture. To say that Selena brought Latin music to the awareness of the American and Hispanic people is a travesty and an insult to pioneers like Richie Valens, Desi Arnaz, Celia Cruz, Xavier Cougat, Santana and the list goes on and on. Please Garcia, try to sound somewhat intelligent and don't sound off at all. Thank you!

That off my chest, I give this series 5 stars. It has been presented well with research and documentation. It truly gives the background through the eyes of the artists themselves and those who worked with them. It shows how Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and others influenced the Latino music culture in the U.S. I watched this series on PBS and I highly recommend it whether you are Hispanic, African-American, Anglo or any other culture that wants to find...

Superb Documentary with interviews from ALL the important people
This four-part, four-hour documentary was shown over various PBS stations around the country. In some cities - Philadelphia, for instance - they only aired the last two parts - since these cover rock and roll and the huge crossover artists like Serena and Ricky Martin. But here you get the whole story from the beginning. Actually the series doesn't quite start with the earliest years. In a clever, and successful, effort to draw non-Hispanics into the story, writer/director Daniel McCabe (obviously not Latin) uses Carlos Santa's performance at Woodstock as the opening shot. This episode, titled "Bridges", then takes the viewer back to the artists who came to the US from Puerto Rico and Cuba and planted the seeds of a musical movement which now garners its own Grammy Awards show on prime time TV.

Earlier this year I reviewed an excellent - though much shorter - DVD documentary, "From Mambo to Hip Hop", and gave it five stars. Then this DVD came out and now I've seen two...

2 THUMBS UP.
This dvd covers Latin music in the USA as comprehensive as possible. If there's another documentary that's better they've buried it forever. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

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Blood: The Last Vampire [Blu-ray]

Not the least bit disappointed!
When the animated version of this film first came out on DVD in 2002, I bought it right away. The animation at the time was amazing and beautiful compared to other anime released around the same time. The only gripe I had about it was that it was short, left us with a HUGE cliffhanger at the end and many questions unanswered. For years I had been waiting for them to make at least a sequel. My prayers were answered with the 50-episode series, Blood+. Instead of continuing the movie, Blood+ was revamped to fit a thicker story and plot. Needless to say, I was very happy with it.

So what was going through my mind when I saw a bootleg version of this live-action movie? "Nah, dont expect too much but just watch it since you have nothing better to do today". I'm an anime lover and infatuated with the Japanese culture as a whole, but 95% of their action movies have disappointed me, so I didnt expect much to begin with. As soon as I popped this in and saw the first few minutes, I...

I'm not here for those bottom-feeders
Currently movie vampires are beautiful, seductive, and opulent. Well, most of them, anyway.

Things are a bit different in "Blood: The Last Vampire," adapted from a gorgeously animated, plot-thin anime. It's a fast-moving, gory flick with plenty of vampires and swords, but it also suffers from a cluttered storyline (what's the point of the Elder again?) and a predictable plot twist at the end. Jeon Ji-hyun makes a brilliant dhampiric anti-heroine, though.

As the movie opens, we see a mysterious young girl, Saya (Jun), on a train. When the lights go out, she savagely attacks a man at the other end of the train with a sword. Turns out he's a "bloodsucker."

Half-vampire Saya works for the mysterious Council, and a kindly man-in-black named Michael -- but only until they find the vampire overlord Onigen. When people start dying on an American army base, she has to go undercover at the base high school. Unfortunately the general's daughter Alice (Allison...

3

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom & Chicka Chicka 1 2 3 (Scholastic Storybook Treasures)

Does NOT include Trashy Town
I bought this as a replacement to another Scholastic Treasures DVD which included Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Trashy Town. The DVDs I received did not include Trashy Town. Although my son enjoys all the books on these DVDs, the one we were really purchasing this for was Trashy Town. We were disappointed the DVD was not the same as the original one we had. Following is a list of the titles on each DVD:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
1. Chicka Chicka Boom boom
2. Five Creatures
3. Wild About Books
4. Inch by Inch
5. Blueberries for Sal
6. A Story, A Story
7. Millions of Cats

Chicka Chicka 1-2-3
1. Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3
2. Emily's First 100 Days of School
3. How Much is a Million?
4. If You Made a Million

My daughter LOVES the songs
I found the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Chicka Chicka 123 songs on Youtube, and my 2 1/2 year-old would watch them forever. She even learned which button to click to play the video again. But I wasn't comfortable letting her loose on Youtube, and I didn't want to be sitting there next to her, stuck watching these over and over again either, so I decided to buy them on DVD.
I couldn't tell you if any of the other stories are any good, as she's not interested in seeing them yet. She insists we put the DVD on the menu screen and she chooses whichever Chicka Chicka song is in the disc drive (she watches on a computer) and clicks the image from the menu to watch over and over (and over and over) again. She even tries singing the songs as she jumps around on the neighbor's trampoline!

I don't think these stories teach her numbers or letters, really. For that, try the Leapfrog DVD series. They've done wonders for her letter/number recognition and phonics! In the Chicka Chicka...

Great!
My Down's Syndrome son loves the numbers, alphabets and is a natural when it comes to music. This was a hit!

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Future Earth: Journey To The End Of The World

Brilliant if more ideologically-polished
A simply brilliant work of places hidden and unreachable for the most of travellers recent Afghanistan and Iran are provides a significant amount of information on daily routine and history of areas an author attended.

However, one could say, more modern stories of Kamchatka and Pakistan ought to be approached with practical scepticism towards traditionally gloomy attitude to regions Australian doco-maker's spark of local experience presents.

Interesting, educative, broadening knowledge.





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Monty Python: Almost The Truth - The Lawyer's Cut

MPFC fans will run for this LONG documentary; Casual viewers will probably get bored
Forty Years ago five "silly" (but educated - Oxford and Cambridge) British comic actors joined with one American animators to for what is collectively known as Monty Python's Flying Circus. After the BBC ran a pilot and it worked they got a contract and produced 39 half-hour-long shows. Yes, there were only 39. Of course, the team later made some feature films before disbanding.

This documentary, shown originally in October 2009 on the Independent Film Channel on cable, runs six hours! There also bonus material. This is a serious documentary on comedy. The five living members (Graham Chapman, deceased, is showing with early interview clips) each provide comments on their beginning, career as part of the team and life after Python. None of these members are interviewed together. Though they don't trash one another, you get the feeling, after a while, that they had fun when they were doing it but saw it as a job and its past history. They have gone on to other ventures. Their...

For the Faithful, the Obsessed and our last best hope
Warning: The five stars hold true if and only if you annoy other people with your grasp of Python and quote at length at every opportunity. To only those of you who hold well and truly that all important moments of life has a Python quote at the ready. If you have never been told to "Shut Up", you will have only the four star edition of this review. The rest will be bored to tears.

We are at home as soon as the familiar 17" diagonal TV is exploded. An unfamiliar face fills our screen, but he is just a lawyer, hence the overflight of the Soviet TU-85 dropping a bomb with parachute. Incongruity follows reassuringly, with the atomic detonation on Bikini Atoll. This is the Lawyers' Cut and it cuts both ways. Film is cut and they take their pound of flesh. But this is old business in Python history. All will be made clear.

These short six hours are for us lifers. There is a bonus disk above what was aired, which has a starter sample of the popular skits...

Python in the Pantheon
For the first time ever the members of the comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus are able to provide serious, insightful, meaningful historical information about the formation of a modern entertainment classic. This alone is worth every moment of your attention, and every penny, since getting the members of Python to be serious about anything was a violation of one of Newton's little known laws: "No member of Monty Python, when asked a serious question, can give a serious answer." And this violation of a natural law was possible only because the makers of this documentary were wise enough to prevent any member of the Python group from being in the same room at the same time with any other member. Monty Python was more than just a comedy group inspired by the courageous and intrepid post-WWII comic geniuses like Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, who dared to make the British people laugh after their somber, dour, ordeal, and to do so with the audacity of satirizing their own...

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The Secret Saturdays, Vol. 2

Another Amazing "The Secret Saturdays" DVD!
I've been a huge fan of "The Secret Saturdays" cartoon ever since I saw it premiere last year on October 3rd, 2008! The next DVD is supposed to come out on October 27th of this year and is supposed to have the next five episodes of the series, which are:

6. The King of Kumari Kandem
7. Van Rook's Apprentice
8. Twelve Hundred(or thousand?) Degrees Farenheight
9. The Owlman Feeds at Midnight
10. The Swarm at the Edge of Space

There will probably be more special features, too. The main storyline of the cartoon will still be the same: In almost every episode, the Secret Saturdays fight against V.V. Argost and his servant, Munya, to keep Argost from following the clues on the Kur Stone, unleashing Kur, and ruling the world with an invincible cryptid army, but there are some new characters, new cryptids, and new clues to find Kur, that are revealed in the episodes listed above. I love this DVD and I can't wait to get it when it comes out...

An intelligent cartoon. Who knew?
This is one that should be released as a season set. It has a story line and great characters, and did I mention it has a story line? It's not just a watch-out-of-sequence-show-and-you'll-know-what's-going-on show. There's an actual plot. One of my favorites.

Great show
My best friend n i love love this show and she told me to buy it because I would like it and she was right I loved it

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Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived

Absolutely Fascinating
I just saw this movie last night at the Beloit International Film Festival (BIFF) and I am still reeling. I was six months old when JFK was killed and frankly,embarrassingly,everything I've ever known about him has been related to me through others' opinions and glossy magazine articles discussing conspiracy theories, Camelot and Marilyn Monroe. I feel like I just took an incredibly interesting history course, one that everyone should attend, including most certainly, our current and any future US governments. This film should be shown to every high-schooler, and followed up again, with every college student. What an absolute eye opener.

JFK - a President we need today
This is a great documentary and tells of how JFK prevented war on multiple occasions - in Cuba during Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile crisis, in Laos, in Vietnam in 1961, in Berlin, and withdrawing troops from Vietnam. Then LBJ took over and he was a different type of president. He wasn't the skeptic Kennedy was. He firmly believed that Vietnam could be won, a very costly mistake for America. If JFK had been in office, he would have most likely have negotiated or withdrawn, just like he did in hte case of Laos/Cuba.

If only presidents today were like JFK - President Bush reminds me of LBJ, he went to war in Afghanistan over an attack on the U.S, but then forayed into Iraq, which had nothing to do with the attack. JFK would never had done such a thing. The Iraq War costed billions of dollars, and thousands of American lives. We need more presidents who understand that war is unnecessary and a last resort.

Excellent. For a friend.
I gave this DVD to a friend in Atlanta who was under the impression that JFK was responsible for the tragedy that was the Vietnam war. This documentary proved him wrong. This documentary shows step, by step that Kennedy would not have gotten us involved in this terrible war if he had lived.

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Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure

Surprisingly entertaining
I'm going to be honest here. If you'd come up to me on the street 5 years ago and told me I'd end up owning a bunch of Tinkerbell movies, there would have been trouble. I've always had a problem with Disney's dual tendencies to 1) exploit -- er, "franchise" -- seemingly marginal elements of its classic films (resulting in everything from Cinderella II to the Jungle Book 2), and 2) warehouse/archive its wonderful originals such as Snow White for blocks of time to create additional demand and buying frenzies. It all seemed a little too cold and calculating, particularly for a company that I want to love, and that is responsible for greats like Cinderella as well as underappreciated gems like the Sword in the Stone. Plus I'm, you know, a guy.

Then I had a daughter.

See, a funny thing happens when you have kids. You just want them to be happy -- and to hold onto that childish wonder as long as they can. What seemed like (and may well be) a cynical approach by...

The Granddaughter's Review? Aaaaaa-mazing!!!
My five year old granddaughter loved the first Tinker Bell movie (Tinker Bell (BD Live) [Blu-ray]) and has been anticipating this one with regular updates to me on just how many days still remained until it would be "available in stores everywhere on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc". I picked it up early today and we were able to watch it together this afternoon.

Though my enjoyment of the film could not possibly have matched the pleasure I took in watching my granddaughter's face glow with joy, gasp with dismay and dissolve into laughter as SHE watched the film, I'm happy to admit that I darned well liked it, too.

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure in a genuine delight. Moms, dads and grandparents should be entertained right along with the little ones. The story of friendship, arguments, placing blame and taking responsibility is a very good one for the target audience (and the rest of us as well, for...

Tinker Bell: Even better the 2nd time around!
I had extremely low expectations for the first Tinker Bell (BD Live) [Blu-ray] but was very pleasantly surprised. Still, I wasn't quite sure that this particular "franchise" needed a sequel. So, with trepidation I put this Blu-ray into my player. "Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure" actually blows away its predecessor. Sure, the story is a tad predictable, but with fantastic new characters (including Blaze the firefly, and the two Trolls at the Troll Gate), returning favorites (Garden fairy Rosetta whose bubbly personality is pure Dolly Parton), and top-notch animation, this movie will be a joy to watch for all ages.

The story: Tinker Bell is entrusted with the creation of the scepter for the Autumn Revelry. Her friend Terence offers to help, but his micro-managing of Tink sets her off, and in her anger, she accidentally breaks the precious and rare moonstone, threatening the life of everyone in Pixie...

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Stargate (15th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

Finally a worthy release!
After all the poor releases of this film, Lionsgate has finally stepped up and given the fans the REAL Ultimate Edition. This is a new 1080p VC-1 film-to-disc transfer (~25 Mbps peak), with an all-new 7.1 DTS-HD MA audio track (7 Mbps peak) which literally shakes the floor and sounds more alive and active than I've ever heard. I can't compare this to the 2006 blu-ray since I never purchased it (after reading that it too was subpar), but it's a massive upgrade from my 2003 Artisan disc. Rounding out this release is 4+ hours of bonus content, none of which is contained on the previous blu-ray. The best part of the deal was the fact that I was able to purchase this for $9.99 from a local big box retailer due to some confusion over which version was on sale. If you haven't purchased the 2006 blu-ray (and even if you have!) this is a must-own for fans.

MGM finally got it right!
When MGM first released this film on Blu-ray (see Stargate (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]), I bought it because it claimed to be 1080p picture quality with enhanced sound. The sound on that version was quite good, but the video quality was as if they just copied a VHS tape to Blu-ray: it was grainy, had all kinds of pixelation issues, and had no extras at all. I'm not sure what they did with all the space on the Blu-ray because they certainly didn't use it for the film.

So, I was a little leery purchasing this release because of the bad experience with the previous release. I am so glad to be proven wrong this time.

The video quality on this one is amazing! All of the images are very clear and crisp, the blacks are very black and there is none of the graininess as in the previous release. There is no pixelation that I can find. The audio quality has been boosted as well. They also spent a little...

Director's Cut Is Excellent!
I'm not sure what makes the ultimate edition much different from the special edition, as both include the director's cut and theatrical version. The ultimate edition does include a 'making of' featurette, as well as a 'Is there a stargate' featurette that isn't included on the special edition. These are both interesting, but nothing to write home about. One big difference is the audio. The ult. ed. includes DTS 6.1 audio, as well as dolby digital 5.1.

Good: Being a fan of Stargate SG-1, I wanted to own the original movie as well, and when the ult. ed. was released, knew it was time to buy. I watched the director's cut, and was amazed. There were added scenes, as well as extended existing scenes. These changes really gave me a better understanding of how things in the tv show came to be the way they are, such as the relationship between Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson. In the director's cut, we see more interaction between them. We also get more into the head of Jack, and better...

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Little Snow Fairy Sugar: Collection 1

Cute Fun
It's been a few years since I've seen this, can't believe Amazon still recommends it to me. Me and a friend rented all of them. It was very cute, good for kids (and adults!) The only thing that irked me was the girl Saga. She yells at Sugar all the time, making her very annoying. Yes Sugar can be a bit annoying at times, but I think Saga is plain mean to her at times, even making her run away in a later episode.

Overall the show was very cute and a refresher from many disappointing animes I have sat through. There was no lame sex/love stuff (eechi, dumb "I just met you but I love you" stuff, etc) since it is considered a children's show. The innocent whimsical fun was MUCH appreciated. Though the whole "Twinkle" thing (which you will hear lots about if you watch this) drove me crazy. It's not that I didn't "get" it, however I had many ideas-variations of my ideas on the concept but I prefer concrete answers.

So..Cute Show, has it's minor flaws but worth a go!

error in the posting
This is definately a show to watch, but there is an error in the way it is listed. In the language line of the disc information it is posted as only language being Japanese. This is not true. It is a choice of both Japanese and English with the English sub titles.



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Tales from the Darkside: The Second Season

Kudos to CBS & Paramount!
Tales from the Darkside - Season Two

Kudos to CBS/Paramount for releasing the second season of this anthology series; the following classic five star episodes will now finally be preserved on DVD!

1. The Impressionist (9/29/85) *****
2. Lifebomb (10/6/85)
3. Ring Around the Redhead (10/13/85)
4. Parlor Floor Front (10/20/85)
5. Halloween Candy (10/27/85) *****
6. The Satanic Piano (11/3/85)
7. The Devil's Advocate (11/10/85)
8. Distant Signals (11/17/85) *****
9. The Trouble with Mary Jane (11/24/85)
10. Ursa Minor (12/1/85) *****
11. Effect and Cause (12/8/85)
12. Monsters in My Room (12/22/85) *****
13. Comet Watch (1/12/86)
14. Dream Girl (1/19/86)
15. A New Lease on Life (1/26/86) **** 1/2
16. Printer's Devil (2/2/86)
17. The Shrine (2/9/86) **** 1/2
18. The Old Soft Shoe (2/16/86) **** 1/2
19. The Last Car (2/23/86) *****
20. A Choice of Dreams (5/4/86) *****...

A Great Series From A Great Decade.
Tales From The Darkside, is one of the best series from the 1980's, especially the second season. I thought out of all the seasons, the second is the best, I notice when the SyFy channel carries it they usually air the ones from the second season, I don't know if it's just ransomly done, or if it's planned but before I purchased the DVD's I would try to catch the SyFy airing; because I love the series so much. I thought the DVD's were done well considering it's an old series, the DVD's were clear, cut well, and the layout is great.

Thank You,
-Kris L. CocKayne-

Next time, enjoy the daylight..
I love Tales From The Darkside. It's a little before my time but I grew up watching reruns and now the SyFy channel has brought it back. Thank God for that! But what's even better is that they're releasing it on DVD! If you love The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Night Gallery...etc. You LOVE Tales From The Darkside. And season 2 is just as eerie, creepy and awesome. Since I was a kid and even now, hearing the theme song gives me chills. It's worth every penny. Believe me. :)

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NFL: America's Game - Pittsburgh Steelers: The Story of Six Championships

Great Stuff!--Every Steelers Fan Needs This
"NFL: America's Game--Pittsburgh Steelers: The Story of Six Championships" has a singular distinction for me. It is the FIRST sports-related DVD that I have EVER bought, and nearly the first sports-related item of any kind. I'm not really a sports fan--I don't even have ESPN! However, as a native Pittsburgher, I do watch Steelers games whenever I can. So I happened to be wandering through Sam's Club one day and spotted this DVD on display at the end of an aisle (see, product placement does work). The brilliant yellow-and-black package practically leaped off the shelf at me. I picked one up and read the blurb on the back. It looked pretty interesting--a set of 6 DVDs covering each of the Steelers' Super-Bowl-winning seasons from 1974 through 2008, with game highlights, coach and player interviews, etc. So I ordered it from Amazon (the price was a little better, plus no sales tax--a no-brainer).

All I can say is "Wow!" This is one of the slickest, best-produced, most...

Love, Love, LOVE America's Game!
My husband and I bought the America's Game DVD's after the Steelers won superbowl XL and we just purchased the newest one from Superbowl XLIII and we couldn't be happier. If you are a true Steeler fan and you love the team's history, you will love this DVD. The quality of the films are amazing. There's something about the music and the way that they are shot and edited...it's very dramatic and really get's you pumped up for the season! We love seeing all of the past players and their commentaries. We play it during every season and have never been disappointed.

More NFL films drivel
If you are a long-time Steeler fan, don't waste your money on this re-hash of NFL films clips. Here's what you get: 1) The usual few slow motion clips set to dramatic-sounding orchestral music, 2) Old interviews that have been around for decades and have been sold on other videos. The total package is great for: 1)People who have never seen the many other productions containing this stuff, 2) Hero-worshipping little children. I wish the NFL would realize that there are many longtime football fans who just want to watch the old games (before VCR taping of games was common) in full, rather than this sort of BS. The game really can stand on it's own! The DVD collections "Steelers Road to XL" and "Steelers Road to XLIII" are both great--nothing but the uncut, uninterrupted playoff games from the 2005 and 2008 seasons. However in the age of DVRs, many fans have these games taped already. The same does not hold true for the great games of the 1970s.

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Spin City: The Complete Third Season

City Hall Legislates A Third Great Season!
It's so true, even Rags, Carter's family dog (Dead Dog Talking) knows it! New York's goofy--but ever lovable deputy mayor is back for 26 episodes of a 1998-1999 season.

While trying to toughen New York City's mayor up--the guys get mugged by a young woman. And Stuart at last is matched for love, AND insensitivity in Deidre (Three Men and a Little Lady).

Carter himself has a rough relationship when he dates a gay boxer (Politically Incorrect). He desperately wants to believe that he's at last found `Mr. Right'. But this boyfriend realizes that he thinks and acts differently than what Carter needs for their relationship to work with his job down at City Hall. So they break it off. Meanwhile, Niki discovers that the downside of dating The Boss is that he also has a say when and if their relationship ever goes public. This causes her to break things off with Mike.

Having moved in together originally out of economic convenience, Stuart and Carter don't...

Great, timely delivery. Thanks!
I sent to my sister in law's address in California, I live in Canada, and she has been watching it. Great that it arrived to quickly so she can watch it before I take it away!

Love Michael J Fox
I bought all the DVDs of Spin City with Michael J Fox in them. The show is funny as anything I've seen, but Micheal makes it all the more funnier. Yes the show was funny with Charlie Sheen also just not quite the same.

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Fraggle Rock: The Complete Final Season

Love the show, not the packaging
Love the show hands down! But the packaging was a disappointment. I have the first three seasons and have waited a long time for the final season to be released. I was hoping that the packaging would be the same as the previous 3 but it was not. To be honest I would have paid extra money to have the "extras" that were included in the other seasons. Such as the booklet and the unique way that the others were put together not some plastic case like this one. But all in all the show is what really matters and I am pleased with that.

Great DVD(s), lame packaging
For those eagerly awaiting for the release of the final season of the Fraggles that never came, this is a wish come true: Episodes are as great as ever, DVD transfer at the same quality as the previous releases, closed-captioned as always, and one disc of extras.
Where this release loses the fifth star, is packaging:
Forget the embossed cover, the nice touch of the materials the previous releases had, and, most important, the goodies that awaited you in the inner sleeve of those releases. (You can forget the inner sleeve also)
Instead, imagine a standard DVD plastic case, then make it thicker, so than it can hold five DVDs in there, and that's about it. Not even a leaflet with the titles of the episodes! (so forget the summaries too)
What you must NOT forget, however, is that the previous company did NOT release this at ALL, so, better than nothing, I guess, although definately not a strong collector's item...
The choice, as always, is yours!

Well, you just cannot leave the magic
This long-awaited collection finally arrives on DVD November 3, 2009! All 24 episodes of the fourth and final season are included in this set, along with nearly two hours of bonus features (the same ones included in last year's Complete Series set released by the Jim Henson Company, HIT Entertainment and Lionsgate).

Some of the most touching, sincere and sentimental episodes are found within the final season of this legendary television experience, including a giant wrap-up taking place over the last three. Perfection is the only suitable word. Everything that IS Fraggle Rock is on prominent display over these ninety minutes, forming one of the most beautiful conclusions to any show in the history of the medium.

Many other episodes demonstrate the Henson team at what is probably the highest point of artistic expression the company has ever known, delivering heartfelt storytelling magic in shows including "Uncle Matt's Discovery," "The Perfect Blue Rollie,"...

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G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Season 1.2

son loves it!
I don't know anything about the technicality of videos and editing. but this is a hit with my young sons and not so young husband!

Beware your memory
I should start off with a warning, sometimes the way we remember things are better than they actually are. That can be said for GI Joe. The stories are campy, the artwork decent but nothing special and the dialog runs the gamut of witty and pathetic. All that said I am a GI Joe fan and I am glad to see these released on DVD. The nostalgia for me is better than the memory of waking up early to watch them before school. Don't expect art, expect a cartoon made for 10 year olds, but with a message of patriotism and doing good. I love GI Joe for what they are and I was thrilled with the DVDs. The quality is good and the packaging is high quality. The season also contains some very complex story lines if you read into them, I notice stuff now that I never did as a ten year old sitting on a couch. If you are a real fan you have already ordered these. If you are sitting on the fence its worth it to indulge. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Yo Joe!
Hey, I used to watch this show with my little sister back In the 80's. Now I watch it with my son! Now you know, and knowing is half the battle! Its still good stiff.

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Christmas Town

Another Sub-Par Made-For-TV Christmas Disaster
This review will be a critique of the movie, for those unfamiliar with Christmas Town. Those of you who love the movie, will probably love the DVD, although it's presented as a barebones release with no real special features. The uninitiated, who are searching for a new Christmas classic, can continue searching elsewhere. I have to agree with the other reviewers. This movie is pretty bad. Not in a so-bad-it's-good sense...just plain bad. It's not the worst film ever made, but the story, casting, acting, and even the filming locations are all lackluster.

The story revolves around a ten year old boy named Mason and his workaholic mother who take a trip to visit the boy's Grandfather in a Christmas themed town. The town houses NP (North Pole) Enterprises, which turns out to be a distribution center for the real Santa Claus (bet you didn't see that one coming). The town is also home to the local restaurant owner, who is, of course, the love interest for our single...

Yep I agree, it's cheesy
The acting is absolutely terrible, and the Mom changes her opinion much too fast, even after the horrible people she has to deal with at NP Enterprises. Save your time. This movie sucks, and the ending is completely bad.

cheesy. I had hard time even to finish it
It is so so cheesy. If you want to gather your family to see a fun movie to get you in the mood of Christmas then do not waste your precious time on this movie.
They try to make you think the good people are bad and creepy,, then at the end,,, here is the big surprise! they were not bad after all.. .. the mom did not believe in Christmas or Santa ,,, the kid did.. The kid will do his best to convince mom that Santa is real!! the acting was not that great as well. I am glad I watched it before I get all the family together.

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Sauna

Closer to a Nightmare than the Real Thing
Every once in a while I manage to find a dvd that is absolutely worth viewing-this is one among them. I have watched this dvd six times already, and each time the sense of the horror becomes more and more pronounced. The dvd is in the same meld as Bergman's Hour of the Wolf, or The Serpent's Egg, or The Seventh Seal, (the lead actor, Ville Virtanen, has resemblence to Max Von Sydow.) yet laying out the psychological horror far more explicitly and unrelentingly, finally at the end spilling it forth without restraint in the emotionally raw screams and yells that are totally nightmarish (one thinks of the final revelation in Heart of Darkness, when Kurtz utters his final words, " The horror. The horror!"). This dvd is a the telling of a story with the elements of horrific nightmares - it certainly does clinch the viewer, and by the end, you are left starring at the screen with these screams sinking into your mind. Excellent!!!

I won't spoil it for you; but, the period allegory...

Good creepy atmosphere, but slow
Interesting foreign language film (subtitles) based on a late 1500s storyline of a joint Finnish/Russian expedition working to define the border between their two countries. As they walk the actual disputed line, they commit a few unchoice acts that come back to haunt them, and also discover a village that is not on any map. Eerie things follow (trying to avoid giving a spoiler).

Overall, this was generally enjoyable. The mood maintains a dreary and eerie feeling throughout, but perhaps too much. It almost never lets up, as strange acts continue and the actors engage in several savage acts. This could be a negative; the story unendingly plods through dark territory with interspersed horror moments that more abruptly arise rather than be built up. Also, its kinda slow. The story unfolds somewhat discontinuously (which, at times, is very well done), but generally it moves from one slowly developed scene to another, all of which are more notable for the human-human...

great film!!
Saw this movie trailer on YouTube and it immediately captured my interest!! It took forever to come to stores to buy and I had to really look all over town to find it. Sauna is trully a sinister and gothic movie. Everything is so dark and gloomy as well as the character brothers Eerik and Knut. Even though Eerik looks harmless with his glasses and quiet demeanor, he is unpredictable and dangerous. The other parts that scared me a little were of the woman spirit that would haunt Knut in different parts of the movie. For anyone who enjoys foreign films and doesn't mind the subtitles, I would recommend this film. A.J Annila is like M. Night Shyamalan in the sense of how his films are a little intriguing but interesting and different.

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Food Network: Girlfriends Collection

great gift for the food network following
i do have to admit that when i ordered this item...i thought it was a cook book i did not read the specs. After watching it i like it. The details are great and the recipies are fun. You can see just what your supposed to be doing before hand.

Not as expected
I bought this as a gift, thinking it was an episode per chef and it was only ONE meal. That's it. One of the meals was just a desert. I would not get the 3 chef collection again.

great gift
I gave this to my mom and she loves watching them. She isn't able to get cable and loves cooking shows.

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Chefs A' Field: Season 4

Enhanced with PDFs offering special tips and recipes from the series
Chefs A' Field: Culinary Adventures that Begin on the Farm collects the fourth season of the PBS documentary of culinary adventures across the Americas, from Alaska to Hawaii to Mexico's Yucatan jungle. Of particular note is the emphasis not only on the skills of great chefs, but also on eco-friendly foods. Local farmers and fishermen contribute their wisdom on responsible and sustainable food production, followed by a behind-the-scenes lesson in great cooking (advanced professional cooking techniques are simplified in order to be accessible to viewers of all ages and backgrounds). Enhanced with PDFs offering special tips and recipes from the series, Chefs A' Field is a culinary gourmet's delight, and highly recommended for anyone who loves truly great cooking shows. 6.5 hours, closed captioned, widescreen.

Great DVD
This product was everything I expected and wanted. It arrived on time and in good condition. I would hightly recomemnd this product to a freind.



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A Christmas Proposal

A Christmas Proposal
This a wonderful Christmas movie and very heart warming to watch. Great for families to watch.

One of the worst
Predictable plot, horrible acting, totally formulaic. A total waste of time. The "bad guys" are over the top bad and the "good guys" are so sugar sweet that I felt like I needed some insulin. It's supposedly in the mountains at Christmas time but they apparently used some back lot location for a show set in the summer because there are leaves on all of the trees and summer flowers are blooming all over the place. THe characters don't even bother to pretend it's cold outside and in some scenes one character will be in a t-shirt while another will be in a coat and scarf. And naturally the final scene has the prerequisite cheesy snowfall. It's like a movie put together by a bunch of teenagers for a school project.

There's two hours of my life I'll never get back!

movie review
Good movie. Things work out as they should in the end. Great song, "Are You Coming Home for Christmas?".

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Bajo La Sal

Solid
Our continued fascination with serial killer movies has prompted a constant raising of the bar. While this might not reach the artistic level of "Silence of the Lambs" or "Se7en", It's still a great exercise in craft.

Here's the scoop. The body of a murdered young woman is found in the salt of a salt factory in Mexico. The bodies of other young women have been found over a few year period and the only common factor is that they all went to the same high school. A detective from Northern Mexico, who has a dark cloud overhanging him, begins to investigate the case.

This is a very good movie. The script is well measured with a few very unexpected turns. The characters are written well and the actors handle their roles well. These are not cardboard cutouts. Even the local chief of police, who has a history with the detective, and doesn't get a lot of screen time, gets a couple of scenes worth note. The directing and all other aspects of the production are of a very...

Ongoing Mystery
This film's spoken language is in SPANISH. The subtitle thing does not bother me when it is a good movie. Storyline holds: Mystery, suspense, Love, Sadness, action. With a song from Mariyln Manson and other great bands that now I have started listening to more.

There have been several cases of woman being disapeard in a small town in Mexico (Santa Rosa de La Sal- In English meaning: Saint Rosa of the Salt) where the SALT is cultivated. That is where the investigation starts, the bodies of these missing girls start to emerge from the salt mines. A new detective comes along from another city, in a way running away from certain past actions and decides to come to Santa Rosa de La Sal, Where there he is introduced to the case of missing woman by his long time police friend. He assists in the case and invastigate who is the murderer and trys to stop him before he kills another woman. They have their clues, but will those clues lead them to the right person? The whole movie is...

Good film
Just watched this movie on Netflix streaming. It is a well done (and slightly different) thriller. The acting is good and the plot is okay but somewhat predictable. I gave it 5 stars in comparison to the usual no brain movies produced by Hollywood.

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Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor / Netrebko, Beczala, Kwiecien, Metropolitan Opera

Wow!
I almost didn't purchase this based on some of the negative, nit-picking reviews I've seen here at Amazon. I own many other Lucias including Anna Moffo, Sutherland, Bonfadelli, Devia, Rancatore and Ciofi. Some of these are very good. But Netrebko's performance is something else again. She is indeed a Lucia for the ages. She has youth, vivacity, presence, sparkle, charisma, visually and aurally that delights the senses. This is full blown MET spectacular. Scenery, costumes, direction, sound, everything comes together in a gorgeous, iconic production. Don't let the nit-pickers dissuade you from owning and delighting in this gem!

Loved this
I saw this originally during the Live in HD presentation and loved it. Other people (more experienced than I, probably) may not like it all that much, but I think it was fantastic (much more enjoyable than the Joan Sutherland version I first saw). I loved the update to the Victorian period and the sextet in Act II just gave me chills (not a common experience for me).

Mariusz Kwiecien is now one of my favorite baritones, due to this role (and hopefully will maintain that in the Live in HD's Carmen). His voice, his acting, his looks... I think they fit the role really well, and I can really see him as brother to Netrebko's Lucia.

Anna Netrebko? I think she was wonderful, despite all the criticism she receives. Perhaps not the best ever, but I think she has the talent (and the looks, of course) to really draw new people into opera and get them hooked.

Have real trouble defining this mixed bag...
I am a great fan of Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor', harking back to the late 1950's Dame Joan Sutherland portrayal of Lucia.
I do not care for the Sutherland DVD of the early 1980's, though, and any one who considers that 'that' performance represents Dame Joan's Lucia would simply be way far off the mark.
Of the available DVDs, Jose Carreras/Katia Ricciarelli/Leo Nucci/Gardelli offered a very first rate performance recording in the 1982 Bregenze theatre. Even though Ricciarelli's voice was already on the downhill trend in that performance, she is still the BEST Lucia on DVD in terms of vocal acting, stage presence, and ultra-fine stage acting. I would even say in terms of looks, she had a definite edge over Anna Moffo. The best all-round portrayal of Edgardo, Lucia and Enrico in that Bregenze performance, even if Ricciarelli did not have the high notes to perfection.
This is NOT to mention Maria Callas' 1953 recording with Giuseppi di Stefano under Tullio Serafin,...

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Naruto Shippuden: The Movie

FACTS
First off ignore the reviews from peeps who read a product listing with no clue of the actual product. The dvd comes with English dub and japanese audio, along with subs. If you read between the lines the product description does say dubbed. I am sure Amazon will fix the error in the audio part when enough of you complain. As far as the dvd what can I say its Naruto, so it totally rocks. I like English dub, my daughter likes to watch the Japanese with subs so we are both happy with this release. And yes I gotta love the fact we get new release's early due to family that work in the right places, so enjoy this one when the rest of you get the chance. It totally ROCKS!

Shippuden Excitement
After training with Master Jiraiya for two and a half years, learning to defend himself from those who would harm him for the powers of the Nine Tailed Fox within him, Naruto returns to the Leaf village. Still a Genin while his friends Sakura, Rock Lee and Neji have gone on missions and trained to advance in rank, Naruto joins the new Team Kakashi led by Jonin Neji. Assigned to a mission to protect a priestess from the Land of Demons, the team escorts her to the Land of Swamps where she must perform the binding ritual to bind an escaped demon to prevent him from conquering the five nations and ruling for a thousand years. Fans of the anime series will enjoy Naruto's hijinks, humor and strong determination to succeed. The action and challenges to the team make this an entertaining addition to the Naruto story. The prediction of Naruto's death, with funeral scenes, keeps you on the edge of your seat as the movie unfolds. My whole family enjoyed this movie as a fine tale from the Naruto...

Naruto shippuden movie 1
Movie-Naruto Shippuden This is not a knock on the movie itself. I knew it was engish sub-titled. The case I received that held the dvd looked like someone threw a naruto picture collage together. There were no "special features" and the quality of the video was subpar(like it was downloaded from the internet, burned and mass produced ). If you want to see the movie go ahead and get it, but If you want to watch a quality movie and think you're getting a company produced dvd that you would buy in a store you'll be dis-appointed and paying over $10 for this dvd would be a rip-off

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Average Blasphemy

Awesome band
Great music. Awesome video. Cool. I just recently discovered these guys and have already bought 4 albums! Mix of metal genres. Heavy metal. Death metal. Great stuff. Most lyrics in Japanese... but thats just fine. ; )

average blasphemy dvd
the dvd has 13 videos, but 3 are different versions of songs already on here.
vinushka-- its a restricted version
dozing green
glass skin
agitated screams of maggots-- restricted version- meaning there's blurred out animated freaky creature sex, i'm guessing(i've never seen an unedited version)
grief
ryoujoku no ame
clever sleazoid
red soil
vinushka- promotion edit version
clever sleazoid despair in the wombversion-
agitated screams of maggots despair in the wombversion-
conceived sorrow in weal or woeversion

there was some behind the scenes stuff of filming, pretty much just someone filming bits of the making of the video, no commentary on the few i checked out. the second versions of videos had live stuff.
i saw all the videos online already, so it wasnt really a great purchase for me.



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Monsters, Inc. (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]

Beautiful in Bluray
Before anyone starts saying this has not been released yet and there cannot be a review of the Bluray edition let me tell you this, this movie has been available in Japan and Mexico for quite some time now, and I was able to get a copy of the Mexican edition, which was at one time, identical to the one to be released in the US. It is a 3 disc edition (2 BD plus DVD copy of the movie), this has now been changed to a 4 disc set in the US to include the additional digital copy.

Disc one starts with an intro by director Pete Docter, in which he pretty much explains all the contents in this 'glorious' high definition version of the movie. A mini documentary on the 'Monsters, Inc: Ride & Go Seek ' ride in Disney Japan is also included. The highlight to me was the creators 'Round table' in which they talk about the process of creating the movie, some deleted scenes not included in prior DVD versions are shown here and they finally explained to me why is it so difficult to get a...

Pixar has done it again!
Admittedly, I am a fan of Pixar's work. Their artists have done some incredible animated features over the years. Between the "Toy Story" movies and "A Bug's Life," they have managed in a short time to build an impressive track record. Their shorts are also among the best ever produced. So my expectations going into this movie were very high.

The story concerns the monsters in your closet. The theory being that their world runs of the energy produced by children's screams. Sulley (John Goodman) is number one at getting screams. His main rival (Steve Buschemi) will do anything to gain the top spot. Oh, and they consider the touch of a human child to be toxic.

While not as instantly relatable as "Toy Story," the movie builds on the talents of Goodman and Billy Crystal (Mike) to bring you into this make-believe world as Sulley and Mike try to get little Boo back through the closet door to the safety of her bedroom.

Disney/Pixar has presented this well on DVD. Both Widescreen and...

The best movie I've seen in YEARS!
If you look at my other Amazon[.com] reviews, you will notice that I don't review movies and truth by told, I watch very few movies. Perhaps 2-4 per year, including both in the theater and at home on video or DVD. I'm just not a movie fan.

But tonight, we rented the Monsters Inc DVD and I absolutely loved it! Clever, hilarious, touching, innovative, unique, imaginative - those words don't begin to tell about this movie! You just have to see it.

It's such a pleasure to see a G-rated movie doing so well, both at the box office and also sales of the products for home viewing. This movie is totally free of sex, profanity, and substance abuse. Some of the action could be called violence, but not in the sense we usually define violence in movies! This movie might scare a 4-year-old, however. You need to know your own child to know if he's ready for this action-packed, laugh-a-minute masterpiece!

I watched this with my husband and two of our older kids (ages 19 and 21). We all...

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Food Network Celebrates! Mothers Day

THE BEST COOK'S EVER!!
THIS IS A GREAT DVD.I PURCHASED THIS FOR MY MOTHER. BECAUSE SHE LOVE TO WATCH THEM COOK.THEY ALL COOK SO WONDERFUL.THE FOOD LOOK'S SO GOOD AND SOMETIMES, I WISH I COULD GET INSIDE THE T.V. IN THERE HOMES SO, I CAN SMELL, THE FOOD AND TASTE, THE FOOD AND EAT THE FOOD. MY MOTHER REALLY ENJOYED WATCHING EVERYTHING THEY COOK'S..WE REALLY LOVE COOKING AND WE CAN WATCH AND LEARN FROM THE FOOD NETWORK STARS..THE MORE YOU LEARN THE BETTER YOU BECOME..THANK YOU FOOD NETWORK...





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Christmas Angel

Worth Watching
Though it doesn't seem to be a big budget production, it struck me as being well done, if for the message alone. I would give it 4 1/2 stars if I could, but since I can't I rounded it up to 5 because I felt it did deserve more than 4. The story is outlined in the product description, so I won't repeat it. This was a moving story that made me teary-eyed at times, but in a good way. The ony reason I could see for giving it a PG rating was that it did deal with a death at one point, so I guess that was the "thematic element." There was no foul language, violence or sex. It is all very family appropriate. It teaches a great message about people mattering so much more than things.
My only complaint is that there are a few places in the movie where the characters don't say their lines very clearly and it was difficult to catch the words. This is not the case with Bruce Davison's character--he is excellent, as usual.
The movie presents a much needed reminder about the things that...

Lifts the heart and the spirit
Most Christmas movies have a special place in my heart and I have never felt that there were enough good ones. I was attracted to this by the synopsis of the story and the fact that I think Bruce Davison is a terrific actor.

What I didn't expect was to be watching this the day after my brother passed away after a long, drawn out illness. But I was trying to find something that I thought would occupy my mind for a little while. It gave me a great deal more than I'd bargained for. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone--it says a great deal about renewing the spirit and caring about other people as well as being a great Christmas story. Yes, there are some sad moments, but I had shed so many tears that a few more didn't seem to matter. There were some instances that the acting left a bit to be desired (not Mr. Davison's), but the overall feel and idea of the story should not be missed. In a world where car chases and gratuitous violence seem to rule a large...

Great
We just watched this yesterday and really enjoyed it. It is an interesting story and it is great to see how lives can be changed by just one person. Mystery, romance and lots of Christmas good cheer.

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The Accidental Husband

Very entertaining
I really liked this movie, and I'm a guy. Sure it was improbable but then romantic comedies always are. Great performances all around from a very fine cast. Just one thing had me pulling my hair (again): that scene of the sprinklers in the churchl I wish I had a dollar for every time I have seen a movie scene where someone sets off a single sprinkler head and ALL the heads open up and drench everyone. Folks, sprinklers don't work that way, at least not ordinary sprinklers. Only the sprinkler head that gets the heat opens up; if they all opened most systems would fail due to insufficient water pressure. Okay, enough Fire Protection 101. After all it is a comedy and it makes the plot work. So despite that flaw, which has been repeated a hundred times in film, I loved the movie. We need more romantic movies like this, with beautiful actors and emotional connections, and fewer adolescent comedies with geek-ugly male leads, loads of bathroom jokes and scatological humor. I swear...

Hit the right notes.
I love this movie because it went to an impossible place and still all the actors sold it. It was smart and thoughtful. No actor over did it with over the top hating and crying. Sometime silly but never eye rolling. Light and Fun.

Charming, entertaining and fun! Uma Thurman shines in her first major romantic comedy "The Accidental Husband"
Charming, entertaining and fun! Uma Thurman shines in her first major romantic comedy "The Accidental Husband". A refreshing take on love triangle storyline with the inclusion of South Asian pop culture mixed in. Also, featuring a solid performance from Colin Firth and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. If you enjoy romantic comedies, give this film a chance!

"The Accidental Husband", the romantic comedy directed by actor Griffin Dunne ("Frasier", "After Hours", "Duke of Groove") and features a screenplay by Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor and Bonnie Sikowitz ("Spin City, "Scrubs"), music by composer Andrea Gurrera ("Dada's Dance", "Birdwatchers", "A Perfect Day") and cinematographer William Rexer ("The Devil Came On Horseback", "I Think I Love My Wife", "Fierce People").

The film that had so much potential but unfortunately, similar to the film "The Maiden Heist", was shelved indefinitely after the bankruptcy of the distributor Yari Film Group before it was set to premiere in the...

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The Official World Series Film Collection

A Piece of History for any Baseball fan
Recently ordered and received "The Official World Series Film Collection," from Amazon.com for $90 and I must say WOW!

I am a baseball lifer and enjoy traveling down to watch the Pirates play and when I saw this product advertised on MLB Network I thought there was no way this was affordable. Then I pop up here and its $90. So I figured the set got to be great pick up so I picked it up.

Let me continue to say WOW!

The presentation of this box set is a coffee table format. It is really well made and its something that my friends and family over the past few days have marveled over. The foreward has been written by Bob Costas who anyone knows loves the game. Followed in the Coffee Table box is a pictorial essay of the biggest moments in Series history dating from the first WS between Pittsburgh and Boston in 1903 to the Phillies in 2008. Woven in this "scrap book" is the DVDs. One improvement is they put the discs in pockets on top of the pages and its...

Missing footage!!!!
I just got this set and began watching some of the oldest films, which I enjoyed. Since I had the Yankee set of 13 films I skipped those, but just to make sure it was OK I popped in the 1949-1953 disk. While watching the 1953 film I decided to watch Mantle's grand slam. To my surprise, they showed the bases being loaded, showed Russ Meyer come to the mound and then suddenly went to the next inning. I fast forwarded to the end and lo and behold they didn't show Billy Martin's game 6 game and series winning hit, just jumped to the end of the film wrapup.

So I got out my Yankee set and began comparing timings series by series. Well, folks, in order to cram as many as 6 films on a disk A&E, the producer of both sets, heavily edited many of the films. Remember, these are only the ones I can verify, the Yankee victories.

1943 is missing 21 seconds.
1947 has no difference.
1949 is missing 11 seconds.
1950 is missing over 9 minutes.
1951 has no...

Finally, all of the films released on DVD
Over the past few years, A&E has released numerous collections of World Series films that have left a few of them out. Most notably, 1955, 1957, 1960, 1971, 1979 and 1995 were never rereleased on DVD. They are finally out in this Book/DVD combo. The book itself, while very short, is a great coffee table book. The 20 discs sit comfortably inside the book. Another huge improvement, especially for those that had the previous World Series film DVDs is that all of the films themselves have chapters so it is easy to navigate between the different games. These are all of the films that were originally released immediately after each World Series, so the 1946 film is in black and white with very little graphics and no interviews while the 2008 film is much longer with interviews, extensive highlights, etc. I would highly recommend this set, even though it is rather pricey.

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Dora the Explorer: Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure

A DIfferent--And Well-Done Dora.
I must admit that I am usually not the first to review a Dora DVD, mainly because I find her usual format a little boring and repetitive. However, this one intrigued me because Dora was attmpting something she never had before: time travel. And, seeing as how "A Christmas Carol" is one of my favorite stories, I decided to check this out. I was pleased to discover that the creators had raised the bar considerable for this holiday outing.
As we join Dora and her friends for their Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) bash, Swiper arrives to do what he does best: take everything away. Santa arrives to stop him--and also to tell him he's landed himself on the naughty list. Dora, moved by Swiper's plight, offers to get him back on Santa's good side. Using magical "travel capes" they journey into the past and future to see if Swiper can learn the true meaning of Christmas. Will they succeed, or will Swiper remain presentless?

What I like about this episode is that it breaks...

Dora's Christmas Carol a hit for my 3 and 6 yr olds
We rented this DVD first, and sure enough, it's a major hit with both my 3 yr and 6 yr olds. They have watched it several times the past 2 days (rainy).

Way too short1
I have 4 year old twin girl and while they like this movie it is too short compared to the other Dora dvds we have bought for the same price. It only has the Christmas episode and nothing more.

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The Pelican Brief (Keepcase)

Fasten Your Seatbelts.......
This review refers to the Warner Bros 1997 DVD edition of "The Pelican Brief".....

"The Pelican Brief" is a poltical thriller that will keep you invovled from beginning to end. It teams legendary Director Alan J Pakula("Klute"/All the President's Men") with equally legendary mystery writer John Grisham("The Firm"/"The Client"). Then add these names into the mix...Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Hume Cronyn, Sam Shepard, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and a score by James Horner, and you've got yourself a great recipe for a well made film. And although I did not find it as compelling as "All the President's Men" or as suspenseful as "Klute" or "The Firm", I did find myself, thanks to the great acting, becoming totally involved with the characters and the storyline.

Here's the story...Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. Brillant law student Darby Shaw(Roberts), who has a passion for constitutional law, decides to start do a little investigating of her own concerning...

The Pelican Brief
This is a movie full of intrigue and suspense. Denzel Washington turns in one of his best performances as Gray Grantham. Julia Roberts is equally as exciting as Darby Shaw a Tulane law student. Together they work to expose a criminal conspiracy that involves many high officials that include the White House. When attempts are made on their lives, it becomes a race to see if they can solve the case before they forfeit their lives in pursuit of justice.

Problem with DVD
The only objection I have to this DVD is that you have to turn it over half way through the movie to see it all!

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Food, Inc.

Essential viewing---you need to look under the veil
"Food, Inc." does more than serve as an exposé on the United States food industry--it connects the dots between the nefarious, contemptuous business practices of multinational corporations and their best friends, the compromised government regulatory agencies such as the USDA, FDA, and EPA, who have in the past been led by folks well connected within the very industries they are supposed to regulate.

But let's hold on a minute. Filmmaker Robert Kenner's documentary could have been just a dour, paranoid investigative piece and still told the truth. Instead, Mr. Kenner has made a colorful, fast-paced, and well-documented account of the state of the food supply in our country; the unintended consequences of the efficiencies, short-cuts, and technological methods inherent in factory farming; the insidious insider relationship between the meat industry and the agencies that should be regulating it; and the health effects, including diabetes, of consuming processed foods...

A food monoculture
Robert Kenner's movie is a perfect illustration of F. William Engdahl's book `Seeds of Destruction', which explains how international agribusinesses are trying to monopolize vertically and horizontally (and profit from) food production on a world scale.

The world's food chain is built mainly on heavily subsidized and, therefore, cheap corn. In fact, all humans chew corn the whole day long from bread over meat (all animals are fed with corn) to deserts and drinks. Transnational corporations are even trying to learn fish to eat corn. Corn becomes nearly a food monoculture.
A particular transnational company even developed through genetic engineering highly efficient corn seed which it patented, thereby creating a nearly seed monopoly. Buyers cannot use the produce of the seeds as plant seed for future harvests. The company's own inspection force controls with hawk eyes that its clients buy new genetically modified seed every year. Some of the company's supporters and...

Do you still want that $1 hamburger?
How many times do we have to see horror stories about how our food, the food we eat, the food that goes into our bodies is handled, before we stand up and do something about it? Apparently, many because we still haven't done anything.

"Food, Inc.", directed by Robert Kenner, and co-produced by Eric Schlosser (writer of "Fast Food Nation") and Michael Pollan (writer of "The Omnivore's Dilemma), takes an in depth view at a handful of various problems with the food industry in our country. Presented in "Chapters", Schlosser or Pollan introduce the various segments leading into a series of graphics, interviews, archival and hidden camera footage and more all of which illustrates the problems we are facing.

Did you know that Chickens have been engineered to grow faster and larger, in order to produce more breast meat? The companies who provide us with chicken realized a while back that we prefer white meat. When a customer prefers something, it is more efficient to...

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It's a Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector's Gift Set And Limited Edition Ornament)

Why is this the BEST release of "It's A Wonderful Life" in DVD history?
Rather than review the content of this almost universally beloved film, I'm just going to comment about the quality of the 2006 60th Anniversary Edition DVD itself. I've since written an updated review about a new edition of this title, now available in a "Two-Disc Collector's Set." Please find that review -- which was posted on December 13, 2008. (Amazon has posted my 2006 review in both places -- even though the "60th Anniversary Edition" DVD is DIFFERENT from the "Two-Disc Collector's Set". Read my write-up for the "Two-Disc Collector's Set" -- again, it's DATED 2008 and too early to rank among the "most helpful" reviews -- to better decide which product you prefer.)

I've owned nearly...

Why is the Two-Disc Collector's Set of "It's A Wonderful Life" special? It has the best "color" hues to date!
On November 4, 2006, I posted a review noting the side-by-side differences between the "60th Anniversary Edition of It's A Wonderful Life" - vs. all other editions of this film released on home video during the past 25 years. I still stand by that review.

The "Two-Disc Collector's Set" is a different product. While it contains the same 60th Anniversary DVD in pristine black-and-white - is ALSO includes a second DVD - a colorized version of "It's A Wonderful Life" that boasts the best color hues I've seen to date!

If you're like me -- and you prefer black-and-white films to stay black-and-white - fine. But I bought this 2-disc set because I was curious about how FAR digital image technology has come - since the controversial practice of colorizing black-and-white films began more than two decades ago. In short, the colorization here is spectacular.

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DISC ONE --...

It's A Wonderful Blu-Ray
If you are reading this review you likely already know and love this movie. For me, it is the epitome of holiday movies with great acting along with a terrific script and tight direction. If you have never seen it in some ways I envy you - just buy it and enjoy!

As I was growing up this film was shown repeatedly on television as it had lapsed into the public domain. Somehow, it was retrieved from public domain with some legal wrangling - and though at first I thought of that as a bad thing the quality of the film has benefited now that there is money to be made on this old classic. The initial DVDs available for this film from the public domain era were very poor quality and only recently were better scans completed. That process has been taken to "the nth degree" for the blu-ray release.

For this review I did watch the first few minutes of the Republic Pictures DVD version which last time I checked into this was the best transfer available. I recall when first...

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American Virgin

Not bad. Better than you might think
Considering movies like "Sex Drive", "Fired Up!", "She's Out of My League", and a bunch of other teen sex comedies, this movie could've came out in the theaters and easily done much better than most of those. You look at it and see Rob Schneider's in it and immeadially think how bad this movie must be. But it's really better than one might think. It's the tale of a college student (Jenna Dewan) in college on a full abstinence scholarship, who is tricked into getting drunk one night and winds up topless on a soon-to-be-released topless college co-eds tape. Now begins the hunt to track down the incriminating tape and to clear Priscilla's name before her scholarship, her good name, and entire future, goes down the drain.

Rob Schneider works well as, basically, Joe Francis, the guy behind Girls Gone Wild. His character really is despicable in this. I really enjoyed Priscilla White's 'descent into sinfulness' they show throughout the movie, as her madcap adventure makes her less...

This is really funny!
The critics trashed it. Not a big box office hit. They said it was nothing but a cheap skin movie. So, I got a copy :-)

It's really funny! I've watched it 4 times already. It hits on a number of social issues and how ridiculous people can be on both sides. The cast fits the parts. The pace is fast so it'll keep your attention.

It's rated "R" so not for general family viewing. But, it's comedy subject R, not sex & violence R.

Personally, I think it's one of the best movies of the past 5 years. I know that's not saying much considering what's in the theaters, but I liked it.

Do chickens have lips?
Why yes Virgina chickens do have lips, but they display them only once a year during the "Great Cluck" gathering at Red Rock Arizona.

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The Shield: Complete Series

Dark, gritty, and powerful
I recently finished all 7 seasons of The Shield. This series has to be in my top 5 TV series of all time.

The show is very character driven. Each one usually has a typical "cop show" subplot, but the broad arcs are about the characters. Make no mistake, this is a very dark show. I would find my moods affected by watching it often times. I like how "real" the characters are. Even the moral centers of the show do bad things and have human failings. In my view a large part of the series is a meditation on morality. Vic Mackey does some horrible things but is also in many ways a good and sometimes even heroic character. It embraces the shades of gray that real people are made up of.

If you have any attraction to action dramas then watch this show. After the first episode you will know if you like it or not. As a testament to how much I liked the series, after I finished it I went online and watched the videos F/X hosted of conversations with the cast and...

Hate the packaging, love the series
I am a fan of The Shield and I am guessing that you are at least familiar with it or you wouldn't be looking at the box set. Since you are here to decide to buy the box set or not, I want to warn you that they have created something that looks like a picture book which has the discs squeezed between the pages. The problem is that every time you take a disc out or put it in, the disc is scraping across the surface of the cardboard pages in which it is sandwiched. The book is nice looking so I did give it 3 stars for that reason and of course the series itself is as the other reviewers have mentioned well worth your time if you like the cop genre. If this is the only DVD series you own, it would look nice on your coffee table, but if you have a DVD case it is awkward because of the shape and size of the box. I suppose they create these cardboard box set holders to save money or to get you to buy the series in the boxes that you get with individual seasons. I had the same problem...

They fixed it!
I just got my replacement set today and there is now a protective sleeve for each disc. Haven't checked them all yet, but so far they are totally mint! A stunningly beautiful series set for the most compelling drama ever. Amazing value.

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Empire Records (Remix! Special Fan Edition)

NOT FOR DIE-HARD FANS!!
If you are a fan of the ORIGINAL Empire Records, DON'T buy the Re-Mixed Fan version... it's a big dissappointment. There are added scenes in the movie, and some of the BEST lines are changed. Example: When Rex is leaving the store and says "Why don't you all just fade away." Yeah, he doesn't say that in this version. I was very dissappointed when I saw this, b/c die-hard Empire fans DON'T want the best lines changed, so this really isn't a "fan re-mix" b/c it changes stuff the fans LOVE!!! Definitely just buy the regular DVD or VHS version... it's much better as an original, not a re-mix!!!!

A fun romp
This film got terrible reviews...plain and simple. Why? Because it wasn't aimed at film critics ...at all. The film is an experiment in teen flicks along the lines of "The Breakfast Club" it chronicles the lives of a bunch of angsty, depressed, manic teens over the course of a single day, finding odd little ways to tell each of their stories. It definitely accomplishes this goal, using "Rex Manning Day" as the vehicle for delivering half a dozen life stories without telling a boring narrative. Granted, it's doesn't have the most original plot, or Oscar caliber acting, but it the film does what it sets out to do, and for this reason, earned its cult following. Watch this film and you will find yourself quoting lines and recalling scenes. If you're looking for a fun romp with a story that will neither bore you, nor tax your mental reserves, this is a great flick--lots of fun, quotable dialogue, and of course, great music. Both Cochrane and Embry...

Empire Records Remix
Could Empire Records have been any better than it was before? Nope, it was perfect. But with this new Fan Remix edition given to us by Warner Bros., there is a lot more to enjoy. Sixteen minutes of additional footage, 4 deleted scenes, and 3 music videos to enjoy, in fact.

If you're here, you obviously know the story that is Empire Records. It's a great actual coming-of-age film that has the ability to touch on subject that is relatable to any person between the ages ... well, of any age. There are great performances (Liv Tyler, Renee Zellwegger, Robin Tunney, Ethan Embry, the whole cast!), the film's many subplots never run into each other, and the soundtrack has got to be near one of the best and biggest of any movie.

The additional 16 minutes added into the movie gives more character development to certain characters, new little scenes obviously edited out for they supplied only minimum yet effective humor, and some stuff that would have rallied the actual storyline. There...

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The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 7: 1952-1954

3-D 3 Stooges! YES "Spooks" & "Pardon My Backfire" are in 3-D
Sony has confirmed that, with the current popularity of 3-D movies, they are going to include 3-D versions of "SPOOKS" and "PARDON MY BACKFIRE" in this set.

This will make up for the fact that 1953 brings about the sad cost-cutting practice of re-releasing an older short with a few minutes of new footage and giving it a new name.

Disc 1
1952
A MISSED FORTUNE - a weak re-working of a weak Curly short Healthy, Wealthy & Dumb. The Stooges live the high life on an inheritance.
LISTEN JUDGE - One of my favorites from this period. Three electricians are hired to find a short in the Judge's house.
CORNY CASANOVAS - The Stooges are all engaged to the same gold-digging girl. Told mostly as three seperate stories.
HE COOKED HIS GOOSE - One of their first off-the-mark solo offerings. Larry is a petshop dealer who's seeing Moe's wife while at the same time trying to steal Shemp's fiancée.
GENTS IN A JAM - Shemp's rich Uncle Phineas...

The last volume with Shemp in all of the shorts
This two disc set contains the following shorts:

1952
A Missed Fortune
Listen, Judge
Corny Casanovas
He Cooked His Goose
Gents in a Jam
Three Dark Horses
Cuckoo on a Choo Choo

1953
Up in Daisy's Penthouse
Boo ty and the Beast
Loose Loot
Tricky Dic ks
Spo oks
Pardon My Backfire
Rip, Sew and Stitch
Bubble Trouble
Goof on the Roof

1954
Income Tax Sappy
Musty Musketeers
Pals and Gals
Knutzy Knights
Shot in the Frontier
Scotched in Scotland

The shorts Spo oks and Pardon My Backfire will be presented in their original 3D format with a pair of 3D glasses provided in the set.

At this point the Columbia shorts department was really feeling the heat from the competition with television, and the recycling from earlier Stooges comedies became more pronounced as Columbia sought ways to cut the cost of production. However, recycled or...

SHEMP !
unlike most fans, my favorite Stooge isnt Curly or Moe or Larry...or Joe or Curly Joe...but SHEMP....thats right I said Shemp! So whatcha gonna do about it? Why you! I outta! Ruff Ruff.
The DVD volume has great Shemp shorts and is pretty much to the very end of Shemp.
Great stuff...a must own.

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