Inside a Steam Locomotive

A Lewis Carroll journey into a steam engine
For those who like to ask questions, Lewis Carroll Epstein favors you with a journey 'down the smoke stack' into the bowels of a 19th century steam engine. You descend with him into the cavities of the firebox and the smokebox, places you've barely imagined, and behold the boiler between them. Only the curious need to take his hand on this trip for the details are rich and thorough. If you've ever marveled at one of these behemoths, this is for you.

Happy to find this. Covers the basics with a few surprises
There are so few videos that get into the specifics of how to run a steam locomotive that this find was a very pleasant surprise. Much of the information was basic with a few surprises sprinkled in. They give you a nice look inside of the fire box, boiler, and smoke box. My only problem was that it would not play on my computer even though it meets the system requirements and all software was up to date. But, I was able to watch it on my phone with their free app. I'll watch it again but will avoid longer videos until the issues with showing on my computer are resolved.

Okay but dry
This video was okay, but dry. In all senses of the word. Unfortunately, while there is much detail regarding the nuts and bolts (literally) of Steam Locomotives, the engine was static-- not fired. That said, it was still interesting. My kid liked it a lot too. He watched it three times.

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Proud and the Damned - Digitally Remastered

Western Classic
Another western classic starring Chuck Connors. They just do not make movies like this anymore. Recommend to all fans of the old westerns.

Great Story
The acting was extra good. It was a true to life adventure of times long ago in Old Mexico. The story pulled no punches about the warring factions in Mexico over 100 years ago. While watching the story, please pay attention to the music, it paints an authentic audio background. I highly reccomend the film.

Horrible video quality
"Digitally remastered," my, um, butt. Either the source was horrible or whoever remastered it did so by pointing a 10-year-old webcam at a 20-year-old TV set on which the film was playing. I can't comment on plot and so forth because I watched for less than a minute before giving up.

Click to Editorial Reviews

Titanic

"...I'm Sorry I Didn't Build You A Better Ship Rose..." - TITANIC in 3D
*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE "TITANIC in 3D" MOVIE on BLU RAY ***

Holidaying in Ireland, I happened on the preview day of James Cameron's "Titanic in 3D" at the new Odeon Cinema in The Point Area of Dublin's refurbished docklands (or "The Quays" as they're known locally). We caught the first showing on 5 April 2012 - debuting on their all-bells-and-whistles "iSense Screen". "iSense" features razor sharp Real-3D imaging on a gigantic screen with state-of-the-art surround sound. So myself and the two kids popped along - donned the crazy specs - and started to watch. The sheer spectacle of what came next has prompted me to write this review...

I've seen about 10 films in 3D - some like "Despicable Me" have impressed and actually met the hype - the rest have either felt gimmicky or a downright hindrance - or worse a crass monetary exploitation. Even the new Aardman Animation feature film "The Pirates..." - which we'd seen some days earlier - is not great in 3D...

3D and Blu Ray quality
We all know the story so my review is for the quality of the blu ray (image quality) and 3D. The quality of the image is very impressive. The colors are vivid, a lot of contrast, very clear picture. It's hard to believe that this movie was converted from 2D to 3D because the 3D effect is one of the best I've ever seen. There was no noticeable ghosting. I had seen the 3D version of this movie in the theatre and thought it was good. However, it is even more impressive on my 3D TV (47 inch LG). The characters often appear to be with me in the room, they pop out of the screen. There is a lot of depth throughout the movie, which is also visable in darker scenes. The picture is amazing. You get the feeling that you are in the movie...when the boat sinks, you feel as if you're part of the action. I was very impressed with the quality of the 3D. I would recommend this to anyone who owns a 3D TV...worth every penny!

FINALLY..... THE DVD TREATMENT TITANIC ALWAYS DESERVED!!!
Finally, the most successful film in the film history gets the dvd treatment it deserves, bringing much respite to the fans all the over the world. Previously available barebones edition dvd has been replaced with a 3disc collector's edition dvd set, loaded with all those great never before seen stuff.

Here's what one can look forward to in this edition:

New high definition digital transfer with the main feature spread over two discs to get the highest possible picture and sound quality...and thankfully it does include DTS6.1 ES track!!!

Never before seen footage (approximately 58 minutes, alongwith the main film but it will be available through branching option on the disc unlike LOTR EXTENDED editions!!)

All-new making-of featurettes which will include time lapse footage of the massive set and studio construction.

Incredible Alternate Ending - "Brock's Epiphany"

29 Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes with Optional...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Salmon Poet

the poet
Strange movie. Strange guy. I really liked to woman poet in the film though. I would not recommend you spend your money on this one though.





Click to Editorial Reviews

Roadside Massacre

Fun little horror movie. Good find.
I bought this cause it's not available on Netflix. Pretty good movie overall. Didn't have much blood,b ut the end is actually quite creepy. Once you discover the big "secret" at the end, it really plays with your head. Acting was good and the music was really unsettling. Chuck D.

I don't see why all the good ratings?
Maybe, I missed something? I looked at the reviews on Amazon and I really thought I had purchased a great, scary movie. I was so surprised at how bad the acing was. I was a poled at how stupid it was. The people being turned into walking idiots and people eating human flesh at a dinner. Come on. It was so bad that I put my copy into the garbage. I wish I had my money back. I just HATED this movie.

liked this movie for reasons different than what i expected
i got this movie cause of the girl on the front. there's no nudity in the movie, some sex, but no nudity. sex scenes are with a different but very hot girl. on the horror there's not much blood but there is some freaky parts. i was expecting this to be more ruanchy and funny, but it was actually a well made movie and i really got into it. once the creepy stuff starts happening i really got into it and really liked how crazy it got. its slow at the beginning but its really good. the bad guys say some hilarious stuff too. its worth the purchase.

Click to Editorial Reviews

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving, Told by Graham Greene with Music by Paul McCandless

A Wonderful and Fun Way to Teach American History to Children
I bought this for my grandchildren to watch during the Thanksgiving Holiday, and they LOVED it. They watched it over and over and ended up asking all sorts of questions that started great family discussions. Highly recommended!

Different from the book
Loved the story but my daughter would say it wasn't like the book. Of the the book is always better but I think for a little movie it is worth seeing and educational.

Good
Good teaching tone...but monotone voice is a little boring. Very slow moving. If you could play in FF would make it much better.

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Ugly Duckling, Told by Cher

Like this...
it reminds me of the the book I read when I was a kid. And Cher reads/tells this story well. The graphics are good.

Great to share with the little ones
Beautiful illustrations and nicely voiced by Cher. A wonderful bedtime treat for youngsters. I would recommend it highly. Thanks again to Amazon Prime for making quality viewing available.



Click to Editorial Reviews

The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Told by Jeremy Irons with Music by Mark Isham

Brilliant
I have had a copy of this for nearly 20 years, originally on video but the tape has worn out, i have now purchased the dvd, the music by Mark Isham is lovely and the storey told by Jeremy Irons is great. This is not a cartoon but a picture book brought to life. It is a love storey between a one legged soldier and his ballerina. FANTASTIC if your an old romantic. 10/10.

Love this
I teach Fantasia 2000 and 1940 to music appreciation classes. Sometimes there are too many student to gather around the book as I read it to them. This helps with the larger classes because the art work and the story are the same as the book I have, and everyone and see and hear it.



Click to Editorial Reviews

Finn McCoul, Told by Catherine O'Hara with Music by Boys of the Lough

Finn McCoul -Irish legends
This is a rare and hard to find story...and it is told with an authentic Irish accent, an excellent tale. The best version we have found and in our opinion, the true story of Finn himself. Great music too!

Very Enjoyable Story
My two little ones loved this story and asked for more like it. It is nice to see something classic and simple that is enjoyable for all ages of children. Please bring more like it!



Click to Editorial Reviews

Thumbelina, Told by Kelly McGillis with Music by Mark Isham

Another classic . . .
Grandchildren beside me, we follow the adventures of this very tiny magical being. A loving gift to a mother who desperately wishes for a child. Enter the enchanted world of fairy tales with Kelly McGillis as narrator. Once again , art and music only add to the ambience! Take the time to share with children, grandchildren or just the young at heart . . .





Click to Editorial Reviews

The Elephant's Child, Told by Jack Nicholson with Music by Bobby McFerrin

I still enjoy having a story read
Jack Nicholson did a great job narrating. And I certainly enjoyed the story, it's nice to hear how things could have happened.

Great story
This is a great Rudyard Kipling story and the music for the story is infectious. I wish I could get just the audio.

This is the best Audio version.
My boys loved listening to this version of The Elephants Child. Jack Nicholson really tell the story dramatically and with humor.
I wish I could buy this version on CD. But it is now out of print and is a collectors item.

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Fisherman and His Wife, Told by Jodie Foster

For the love of grandchildren
A story of greed and the results. What a fun way to tell the story and perhaps a lesson learned. Definitely a tale to share with my grandchildren. Add a quilt and a snack for another interesting venture to the land of enchantment.

It was OK
Watching VOD was OK...the movie stuttered the whole time when watching it. I thought it might be my system, so I rebooted my Google TV and my router and when I started the video again it was still stuttering. Other than that the quality was fine. and the ease of ordering it was great.



Click to Editorial Reviews

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Told by Glenn Close with Music by Tim Story

Simply, SLEEPY HOLLOW at it's element!
Glenn Close does a FLAWLESS narration of Irving's classic spooky tale! Truly, Rabbit Ears brings the actual story to it's full glory with stunning images, music, and timeless storytelling. I have watched this video annually every October. Perfect for a windy Fall evening or a Halloween party! Woderful, I can't say enough about it! So enchanting, you will be drawn as much into the story as your kids!

Fantastic creepy fun!
This is one of my favorite Rabbit Ears stories. Glenn Close gives a masterful dramatic reading of the story and the music and sound effects add to the sheer creepiness. Great for Halloween. The illustrations by Robert Van Nutt are incredibly rich in color and have a kind of period style that fit perfectly with the story's setting. There is a companion CD that has the exact same narration by Close and music by Tim Story (Audible.com) and a Kindle eBook version so you could listen and "turn the pages" at the same time.

Simply, THE BEST telling of "SLEEPY HOLLOW"
Glenn Close... A name sinonymous with talent in the performing arts. "Sleepy Hollow"... That chilling tale about a decapitated demon horseman, perfect for a windy fall evening.

The Rabbit Ears production of "THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW" is superb in all it's tastes. It combines the vivid imagery present in the actual W. Irving story, strong music, and Glenn Closes' wonderful narration. I have annually watched this 30 minute show EVERY October just around twilight on a windy evening. So spooky, it's wonderful, and there's no doubt that, just as it captures adults, but children's attention as well.

Make this video a part of your Halloween collection! IT'S PERFECT!

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Three Billy Goats Gruff / The Three Little Pigs, Told by Holly Hunter

A story my mother read to my sister and I
No tv when this story was read to us.Now on Amazon here it is. thanks for all the good ones.





Click to Editorial Reviews

Red Riding Hood/Goldilocks, Told by Meg Ryan with Music by Art Lande

Stories I heard when I was a child
These were stories I first heard when I was a chid. They wer tastefully done, and fun to hear again.





Click to Editorial Reviews

Doggie B

Great modern tribute to Wizard of OZ that my kids love
Doggie B throws a big bone to the Wizard of Oz. My daughters absolutely love this movie. A great must see family film and I loved all the San Francisco locations, very creative stand-in for the Emerald City. Best tribute to the Wizard of Oz yet and certainly the first Wizard of Oz for dogs, Toto would be proud. Can understand why it won the audience favorite award out of 70 features at Sonoma and now it is playing at Landmark Opera Plaza here in San Francisco and I think Landmark in some other cities. It will be a cult classic as well as a beloved children's movie all in one, a first. This guy is a master of cheese, camp and family fun so hope he makes more as I never imagined a G-rated John Waters in the making, unthinkable! We saw it at Landmark but my kids wanted to see it again so we got the download for purchase.

Such A Cute Movie Dancing Dogs
I Loved The Film . Tickled me so much all the different little pooches the fanciful story line of teenager and her dog helping her to come into her own . Costumes were a riot. Fun all ages film

Great family fun
This well made independent film will make your whole family smile. A must see for sure. You can tell the people involved must have been having a blast.

Click to Editorial Reviews

Sedona

The Perfect Place to Live
This film shows the immense beauty and the magical atmosphere of Sedona. A lighthearted drama - comedy, it climaxes with the perfect ending. The film amazingly captures the essence of many of the human characters who inhabit Sedona. As many of my friends said, "It is so-o-o Sedona!" I enjoyed the film tremendously and bought copies for everyone in my family.

Mountain Kat
I live here, and I get tired of people calling this the woo-woo capital of the world. There is more woo-woo going on in California than this little slice of heaven. People who actually live here have an afinity for the gorgeous red mountains, Oak Creek Canyon, zillions of stars at night,the lack of walled-in housing tracks and malls, the wildlife, the plethora of art, and the sound of wind in the trees at night along the canyon. We do have folks from the New Age community who try to explain all this beauty with the latest mumbo-jumbo du jour, but just watch the opening scenes from Sedona The Movie, and it will take your breath away. It does that every day when you live here. The movie was charming at first viewing, but much deeper and satisfying when you watch it again. My office is the building that was used as the salon where Frances has her Spiritual Pedicure, and I was expecting the movie to dissolve into Heebee JeeBee hijinks and farce after that, but it takes a turn into...

A lovely, lovely surprise
Being one of those killjoy skeptics, I mostly went to snicker -- I mean, this is SEDONA, Arizona, woo-woo capital of the known universe and parts beyond. C'mon now!

I am so very glad I did.

Was there woo-wooery? Some, and mostly played for fun, as our harried, no-nonsense heroine is confronted by one .... um, "colorful" character after another. And of course there are there-is-no-such-thing-as-coincidence coincidences, but without those, would there be any movies at all?

The script was fun, the direction spot-on, the actors well-cast and charming, and the cinematography...well, this is SEDONA Arizona after all. The visuals are just stunning.

All appendages up; the world needs more indie films like this one.

Click to Editorial Reviews

Believe: The Misfit Pawn

Needed some tweaks but an OK story.
This was a nice storyline. Unfortunately it takes more than a good plot to make an endearing movie. With a few improvements, this could have been a decent flick. There is a rule that a story should also show not tell. This movie did both in a two scene sequence. We saw the scene then listened to the hero relate the story of what happened in that scene to another character. Not good for a type A personality like me. Then there was a song played and shots of the characters - shots from earlier in the movie. I don't understand why they'd need to repeat images. If a film is going to take a break to play a relevant song with lyrics that speak to the situation, I would like to see scenes that show new things happening - small things that don't need dialogue but allow me insight into what is going on to get characters from point A to point B. The ending came up like a freight train. I had no idea the movie was on the verge of the closing credits when the hero tells us in a speech how the...





Click to Editorial Reviews

Son Of Terror - Directors Cut 2012

Son Of Terror - gorey
As a Horror fan, I thought I'd like this movie, but it wasn't as good as I had expected. Too much of everything.





Click to Editorial Reviews

How the Rhino Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump, Told by Jack Nicholson; Music-Bobby McFerrin

How the Rhino Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump
We saw these videos when our children were very young. As a family, we loved watching them together, and now that we have a grandbaby, we decided to get the dvd for him, so we can continue our family tradition :) The narration by Jack Nicholson, and music and sound effects by Bobby McFerrin are wonderful. I would recommend this video to everyone!

Just as good as I remembered it from my childhood!
Recently searched for this and was delighted that this was available on Amazon. I loved this as a child. Combine Kipling's imaginative story with McFerrin's sounds and Nicholson's voice and "presto"!



Click to Editorial Reviews

Ink

NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING
I bought Ink on one single recommendation from a stranger on a forum here on Amazon. I've never been so pleasantly surprised by a blind movie purchase in my life!
Ink is an independent film, not with an enormous budget, but it doesn't stop it from being an incredible film with gorgeous visuals. You can see how much work went into every single second of this film. This movie stands out among everything else I've seen in a long time. Absolutely unique. The acting was fantastic, especially the acting from the young girl Quinn Hunchar, playing the character Emma. The ideas were original, the characters interesting, and the plot was engaging. And the ending... prepare for one hell of an ending. And some of you will need to keep some tissues close... A description on the back of the package compares the movie to Brazil, Donnie Darko, The Matrix, Dark City, and Pan's Labyrinth. I would definitely group it in with those films, although it is not a ripoff of any of those films at...

Unlike Anythign You've Seen
I read in Joblo that this was "absolutely one of the best movies of 2009" and I am always on the lookout for good fantasy so I had to see it. Th trailers were great and the reviews were great, but none of them capture how good this movie is. I watched it hoping for a good scifi flick, and ended up with tears in my eyes. It's brilliantly edited, visually incomparable, and well acted. It's the kind of movie you will watch multiple times and continue to uncover new elements of the story. Yet it's still amazing on the first viewing. Get this movie and be prepared to be confused AND entertained! Hahah. DEFINITELY, one of the best moves of 2009. One of my favorite fantasy flicks ever.

A remarkable, moving Independent film
I saw Ink at a film festival in Annapolis, MD. I was unprepared for both the power and the originality of this independent film. It is the story of a young girl who lives in a dark dangerous world where different forces having fantastic powers try to influence dreams for good or for evil. The girl is being raised by dysfunctional parents and is put into danger by a creature nicknamed, "Ink". The effects are fantastic for a film made without the benefit of traditional industry funding. The suspense and fully realized characters are the equal of any "Hollywood" film and it was the best film I have seen in years.

Ink is filled with unique, original characters and you will fall in love with the character of the little girl. I literally could not take my eyes off the screen due to the fact that I really cared about what was going to happen to these people. This is a film I guarantee you will never forget. Don't miss it!

I hope the success of Ink propels Jamin and...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Beginner's Yoga for Stress Relief

Do Not Buy
I received this product yesterday and ashamed at Gaiam. Not only the cheap; what appears to be grainy quality of the video.

There is no intro, they jump right into the sequences. The practice by Patricia Walden appears to reference in speaking, grab the left leg when you see her grabbing the opposite. It appears to be a throw together video. It would be nice if you could preview a yoga video before purchasing. I wish I could get my money back.

Stress Relief
Have enjoyed doing this dvd . It is very relaxing!!! Have never done yoga but have enjoyed this dvd. Give it a try!!!

Gaiam classic
I've tried literally everything by Patricia Walden and Suzanne Deason. In general, I just find them always rushing through the poses and instructing only superficially. This video is no exception. I really wish they'd make their yoga more deliberate and higher quality! Maybe a yoga expert could find this video relaxing?

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Emperor and The Nightingale, Told by Glenn Close with Music by Mark Isham

Best storytelling ever
I have watched this since I was young, and enjoy the story more and more with each viewing. Close is a marvelous storyteller and the illustrations are stunning. Perfect story for children and adults alike, keeping dreams alive and teaching the importance of difference over similarity.





Click to Editorial Reviews

Shots Fired

Horrible
This was bad acting and it had no plot and there was tons of cursing. The worst movie I have ever seen.

Great Indie Film
This movie was a great Indie film. very entertaining and fun. This movie was refreshing and enjoyable
Check out this review that I found [...]



Click to Editorial Reviews

The Eye of the Storm [HD]

A Powerful but Difficult Story to Capture on Film
THE EYE OF THE STORM has so much going for it that it seems a shame that it likely will not draw audiences in the theaters now that it has been released in this country. Thanks to Amazon's Video on Demand it can be watched in the home without the usual distractions of the theater audience more interested in texting and eating than in being willing to follow a strong story for two hours. It is another jewel of a film from Australia and perhaps in art houses it will be appreciated.
The story is adapted by Judy Morris from the Nobel Prize winning novel by Patrick White (1912 -1990), an Australian author who is widely regarded as one of the most important English-language novelists of the 20th century. White's fiction employs humor, florid prose, shifting narrative vantage points and a stream of consciousness technique. In 1973, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the only Australian to have been awarded the prize. `The Eye of the Storm' is the ninth published novel by...

"Have We Been Called Here For A Public Execution?"--Dorothy
Widowed Elizabeth Hunter (Charlotte Rampling) is lying ill in bed adorning herself and awaiting the arrival of her two children Basil (Geoffrey Rush) and Dorothy (Judy Davis), who do not show up on time for good reason: Their dysfunctional childhood and bitter feelings toward their mother.

The cast is acerbically directed by Fred Schepisi from the adapted screenplay of Judy Morris from the Nobel Prize winning novel penned by Patrick White. This picture provides arresting photography along with an occasional, almost poetic narrative interjected from an in character Geoffrey Rush.

Dorothy is the first to arrive late at the estate in Sydney Australia. She is immediately uncomfortable with her mother as Elizabeth begins to censure her in a berating manner. Dorothy is now divorced from her aristocratic French husband who left her without anything from the marriage but for her official title of `Princess'.

Discernibly flagrant Basil arrives fashionably...

Brilliant
The Eye of the Storm is one of the best films. A stellar cast that deserves accolades. I'm quite stunned that it did not receive an Oscar nod for best picture. A must see...add it to your collection.

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Tailor of Gloucester, Told by Meryl Streep with Music by The Chieftains

Engaging
My four-year-old was disappointed at first that this was not a movie, just a "story," but she was soon entranced and moved to tears because Simpkin had no dinner. I enjoyed the music.

charming
I enjoy reading aloud to my family and being read to, and Maryl Streep does a great job of reading the story. I watched it when I didn't feel well and found it very soothing. The artwork contained little vivid color, but the washed out effect accurately portrayed the tailor's life of poverty and enhanced the story.

Beautifully narrated...
The story is similar to the tailor and the elves with the elves being replaced by mice. Merryl Streep narrates this with such an engaging variety of different voices one forgets its her. The story takes center stage as the knowledge of who narrates it falls away. Great sound effects and visuals.

Click to Editorial Reviews

Rosewood Lane

How Do Movies this Bad Get Made?
Don't investors even bother to read the script?

Here's the basic plot: a celebrity psychologist/talk show host moves into her dead father's house, where she is promptly menaced by a paperboy. But despite ample evidence that the paperboy has invaded her home and stalked her, the cops and her friends ignore her, because they all know she has a troubled psychological past. In other words, "Oh, Rose, just because he shows up in your basement unannounced and urinates in your boyfriend's face doesn't mean you're not crazy."

It quickly becomes clear that the paperboy is some sort of demon who murdered Rose McGowan's father, so Rose does the smart thing: instead of moving out of the house, she adopts a cat for protection and arms herself with a baseball bat. The cat does nothing to help her out, but the baseball bat comes in mighty handy after the demon paperboy murders her boyfriend, her best friend and a police detective and shoots Rose through the torso with a...

Pretty Decent
Decent creepy movie, definitely. However I have to agree with another reviewer - the ending left me confused. I know some people love the elusive ending - but really, just wrap it up for me. I think it's a bit of a copout to leave it kind of open. But the movie itself was really quite decent - and yes, nursery rhymes are pretty violent!!

A tense movie with a very creepy kid that really helps the horror aspect of the movie. Worth renting. I say B-
"Hickory Dickory Dock..." Talk radio psychiatrist Dr. Sonny Blake (McGowan) is moving back in to her father's house one year after his death. Her neighbor gives her a warning about the neighborhood paperboy. After meeting him she begins to notice that he is very strange and may have actually killed her father. When she goes to the cops they don't believe her stories and she is left to discover the truth on her own. I have to start by saying that overall this was a pretty creepy movie. It was pretty tense and interesting but began to repeat itself after 45 minutes and seemed like the same 2 scenes were being done over and over. The kid in this is very creepy and he makes the movie. This is the kind of movie that makes you want to scream at the people on the TV to turn around. All that said the movie is a little slow in parts but still not a bad watch. Very much worth renting. Overall, tense and creepy and worth seeing. I give it a B-.

Click to Editorial Reviews

Up All Night: Season One

Funny
This show is hilarious. I love it. I don't look at it like it has an agenda. I just watch it and enjoy the humor and the story line. Will A. and Christina Applegate have great chemistry and work well off of one another. It deals with very real issues that parent's face in today's world with hilarious commentary to back it.

Who writes these reviews?
I would like to begin by saying Christina Applegate was very terrific in Married with Children, so was the writing, story lines and supporting actors/actresses. I purchased Season One " Up all Night" primarily for those reasons.

Up all night: I failed to see ANY comedy, couldn't wait for the existing show to be over, thinking maybe the next show would be better and it was not. No laughs, no positive thoughts like.... just nothing..boring and a waste of my time.

Huge disappointment. Instead of purchasing "Up all Night," give the money to something worthwhile, like your favorite charity.

Love up all night
Maya Rudolph is so funny! This show never stops making me laugh. Will arnett and Christina Applegate are pretty funny as well

Click to Editorial Reviews

Red Blood, Yellow Gold - Digitally Remastered

Spaghetti Western fan? Then pruchase now!
If you are a spaghetti western fan then make it a goal to own this grand double feature DVD. This double feature could easily be Wild East's strongest double feature release (though The Forgotten Pistolero / The Unholy Four DVD comes a close second).

What you get here are two solid spaghetti westerns. Are they as good as...let's say...The Good the Bad and the Ugly? Hell no but they are good solid entertaining and violent spags that will keep any fan of the genre glued to the television.

The first film Payment in Blood stars Edd Byrnes as federal agent going undercover to stop a psychotic Southern Colonel from tearing across the country searching for treasure. Edd Byrnes has a little too much "boyish charm" for me to really like as a spaghetti western star but the film itself makes up for his lack as tough commanding lead. The best thing about the film is it's a Enzo G. Castellari film (under his Americanized pseudonym E.G. Rowland). If you don't know his name...

More Spaghetti, Please
What can I say, Haven't met an Italian or Euro Western that didn't have some redeaming Quality. Soundtrack, Actors, Gritty Style, or just the fact that they are about as far from the Hollywood norm as you can get, You'll find something to enjoy! So do yourself a favor and Enjoy!

Payment in pasta, whistling guns, and Kookie without his comb
Probably the most worthwhile part of this DVD is the interview with Edd Byrnes on his canyon property in California. He has aged beyond his boyish good looks -- as have we all -- but his memories are sharp and often poignant. He mentions meeting many ex-pat actors in Italy and Spain, usually males beyond their prime soaking up a little Italian currency by appearing in the many spaghetti westerns. It is a little sad to hear about his last conversation with Raf Vallone who knew, evidently, that his tenure on this planet was drawing to a close. Stewart Granger sounds as though he could be personable as long as he did not drink too much; then he wanted to eliminate some dialogue spoken by Brynes in THE SECRET INVASION and usually insisted, according to Byrnes, on having the last word in every scene. This is quite interesting information that we might not learn anywhere else. Byrnes also points out how his co-star from Argentina in RED BLOOD AND YELLOW GOLD -- George Hilton -- liked to...

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Savior Is Born, Told by Morgan Freeman with Music by The Christ Church Cathedral Choir

Just wasn't my cup of tea
I don't think it is the product or me. I think we just weren't meant for each other. I bought this because I am a huge fan of both Jesus and Morgan Freeman and figured the combination would be interesting.

OK
Wanted a video to watch with the family at Christmas. Adults enjoyed it. Kids did not seem to enjoy 30 minutes of pictures of stained glass windows though.

The Savior is Born is a good family film.
Good family viewing and very appropriate for celebrating Christmas. I liked this presentation because it is an appropriate viewing I can enjoy with my grandchildren.

Click to Editorial Reviews

A Gingerbread Christmas

It's Cute
I loved the way the gingerbread cookies were clothed, very christmasy!
It's a simple storytelling with pictures but really has the christmas spirit.





Click to Editorial Reviews

Airplane! [Blu-ray]

Shirley would be pleased
A clever, funny parody of disaster movies (bad melodramas such as "Zero Hour" and "The High and The Mighty" along with "Airport" were the prime targets here), "Airplane! The `Don't Call Me Shirley' Edition" manages to combine silliness, puns and with topical humor in a style that recalls something out of an alternate off-kilter universe. Filled with melodramatic, over-the-top music, deliberately bad acting and every cliché about plane disasters you can imagine, "Airplane!" aims wildly and accurately most of the time taking the wind out of the sails of bad (and some good ones, too such as "Jaws")movies everywhere. Evidently the writing/directing team of Zucker, Zucker and Abrahams (who wrote "Kentucky Friend Movie" for director John Landis and later went on to crate "The Naked Gun" films) caught "Zero Hour" on TV and realized that this overripe melodrama was just right to be plucked and served up as comedy (something it verged on anyway).

Robert Hays plays Ted...

Classic satire
Anyone who has ever seen one of a host of abysmal 1970's disaster flicks could have predicted that they were ripe for a satire, but I doubt anyone could have predicted that "Airplane" would have set the gold standard for the spoof. In addition, since it appears on TV so often, seeing it on DVD is almost a new experience because all of the scenes that were cut for content seem like new jokes.

I can't imagine anyone is unfamiliar with the plot (such as it is), but by way of a brief summary, a passenger jet is in trouble when the entire flight crew, and many of the passengers, fall ill from the in flight meal. It's up to Ted Striker to bring down the plane safely; but there's just one problem, he hasn't been able to fly since his last abortive raid during "the war". Oh, and his estranged girlfriend is one of the stewardesses. However, where a disaster film would turn this into an overwrought melodrama, absolutely nothing, and I do mean nothing, is taken seriously in...

The Plane Wreck That Is The Shirley Edition!
Like many fans of this movie, I'd waited for this bells & whistles edition then quickly snapped it up on the first day of rerelease. Well....though it's nice to see this film again, it did come with it's lil' bit o' surprises.

The Print: Most rereleases that I've seen tend to have a newer transfer...at least one that outshines the previous and doesn't make us feel we're watching an 'OK' print. This one here has a liveable, but still noticeable amount of scratches and mystery objects that appear in the frame. I was expecting a bit better considering this is the day and age of restoration. Here, they didn't seem to do much of, if anything to the print, so we're left with one that is slightly better than a good TV quality picture. Hardly a 'special edition' copy of this film.

Features: I noticed immediately when I played the film alone, that it stopped or sputtered in the framerate at times. I'd stopped counting at about five, but still managed to finish the movie...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Lewis Black: In God We Rust [Blu-ray]

No Rust on Lewis
After reading the other reviews for In God We Rust, I ordered it in order to decide for myself if it was a one-star or five-star performance. I watched it with my husband and adult son - and we all laughed like hyenas throughout. How Lewis Black manages to sound like a slightly (?) deranged, angry man while expertly weaving his topics together (and then tying them all up with a bow to bring them together) is beyond me...but no one does it better. We all loved In God We Rust. Black on Broadway is still The Standard in this family, but there's absolutely nothing about In God We Rust that was anything less than brilliant. Black's opening riff, explaining why he was actually agreeing with people who might be tempted to walk out of his show in protest, was so brilliant that it was hard to follow for a minute - until his convolutedly-masterful reasoning slapped us all in the face. From the opening until the very last word (which is best appreciated if you are familiar with Facebook...

Lewis Black is a gem
I was at this show in Minneapolis, and have seen Lewis Black in concert many times here and in Las Vegas. He never disappoints. I think the material he has on his current tour is better, but even so this was a great night. Highly recommended, and even more importantly - go see him in concert if you get a chance. What a blast.

LEWIS AT HIS MOST BRILLIANT
Lewis Black "In God We Rust" is nothing short of brilliant and it might just be his greatest performance ever. Pay no attention to the 1 star reviews. They are pure nonsense and were probably left by Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin who Lewis dresses down with ease. Anyone who could watch this DVD and not laugh their butts off needs shock therapy. If you're a huge Lewis Black fan don't delay buying this DVD. Don't just sit there DO IT NOW!!!!

Click to Editorial Reviews

Snow White and the Huntsman [Blu-ray]

...renews my suspicion of apples...
Oho! I knew it was only a matter of time before Kristen Stewart and I would cross paths. I've avoided the Twilight saga like the cooties, and so I've missed out on the fuss and the furor about her. But I couldn't pass up on SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN like I passed up on MIRROR MIRROR, and, it turns out, I sort of fancy Stewart's performance. Skin white as snow, lips red as roses, hair black as a raven's wing. That fleshes out Kristen Stewart to a tee. Still, it's nigh impossible to trump Charlize Theron's turn as Snow White's rather... self-absorbed... step-mother. Theron simply mesmerizes. She's so good there are moments you sympathize with her - that poor, gorgeous, demented queen who as a girl was cursed by a mother's dark gift. Evil begets evil, and you sense that Ravenna must have endured some unspeakable sh--. Not that that makes up for her nasty practice of sucking the beauty and vitality out of innocent girls... Queen Ravenna is like the grim fairy tale version of Project...

Looks aren't everything
I just want to start off by saying that I wanted to like this movie. I really did. However, this film is depressingly skin deep.

The good. The camerawork is absolutely stunning, the special effects as well. Your eyes tell you that there is a marvelous film before you, but that is as far as it goes. I have to say, before I start the bashing, that Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth try their absolute hardest making something out of the lines that they are given. Their performances were touching (Theron more so than the rest) and they at least gave some substance to it. Hemsworth carried most of the film when Theron wasn't in the picture. If it were just a story between the two of them, even with the horrible lines that they were given, it would have been at least a four star film.

Now for the bad, and when I say bad, I mean terrible. I never had much of an opinion about Kristen Stewart before this movie. I steadfastly stayed away from Twilight so I thought I had...

Charlize steals the show, a good place for Kristen
Charlize Theron is stunningly beautiful and equally talented (as always). I could go on forever, but nothing needs to be said. Film-stealing in both appearance and performance; a wise decision to give the villain more than her fair share of screen time. I so wanted the queen to win.

Chris Hemsworth gave an excellent performance and was easy on the eyes. Rugged on the outside with a soft heart, just the way I like them. I hope we continue to see more of him in the future.

Kristen did what she does best, look the part. Damsel in distress, don't say much, play dead, good job. It's a shame she's so lovely and so talent-less at the same time. It's like Keanu Reeves had a little sister. Thank you to all involved who kept the title character from having to say more than one sentence at a time for almost the whole film. She had one big speech, which she delivered expectantly mediocre, but they had to let her talk some time. I hope her Twilight role doesn't carry her...

Click to Editorial Reviews

In The Devil's Garden

great movie
I remember this movie when I was young. it's cheesy but I still like it. it's not really a horror but it has it's moments.





Click to Editorial Reviews

For Greater Glory BD/Combo [Blu-ray]

Viva Cristo Rey!
This is an excellent film, but read no further if you are concerned about "spoilers"....

As explained by Steven Greydanus,"The 1917 Mexican Constitution included harsh anticlerical provisions that went unenforced until the regime of Plutarco Elías Calles....In 1926, Calles introduced legislation -- the 'Calles Law' -- specifying penalties for violating the constitutional prohibitions: Clergy could be imprisoned for criticizing the government, fined for wearing clerical garb in public, and so forth. Calles also moved to seize Church property, close Catholic schools, seminaries and monasteries, and deport foreign priests" (National Catholic Register, 5/29/2012).

I particularly enjoy historical films and have grown accustomed to learning that certain characters in these films can be composites or created for dramatic impact. I guessed incorrectly with this film: "At the center of director Dean Wright's sprawling epic stand two remarkable figures: retired but...

There is Hope
This film is excellent and the fact that it is true makes it even more so. It is interesting to note that all the major networks, NBC, ABC, and CBS, were silent in reviewing this film from the films coming out on June 1st. Perhaps they felt it would be wrong to show the people of Mexico in a good light. Perhaps the attack on the Catholic religion is, at this time, too close to home. The story of the fight to stop people of faith, by a government without faith, not only restores one's beliefs but shows to what extent people will go to to defend their beliefs. Several of my Mexican relatives had no idea of what had happened under the evil rule of Calles. They have been in United States too long and forgotten their Mexican roots. Many of them came across the border to escape the tyrany of a corrupt government. Hopefully they will not encounter such corruption here. This is a film worth seeing.
Richard Fandel

Awesome
I saw the movie in the theater on Saturday, June 2, just after the June 1 release. I have been waiting a long time for this movie to be released. The story of the Cristeros has finally come to the screen. This much forgotten and much ignored part of Mexican history is finally remembered.

I can look at the movie from two perspectives. First, the film has a huge religious, inspirational impact: fidelity to Jesus Christ and the Catholic Faith, acts of heroism and love, martyrdom under terrible persecution run throughout the entire film. Secondly, as a long time movie fan, the film is incredibly well done with superb actors.

The critics hate this film because it is not PC and it defends principles that myopic, closed minded ideologues will not even discuss.

Many films depict the horrors of the holocaust, and rightly so. The Catholic Church has had many holocausts throughout history. The brutal persecution of the Catholic Church by President...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Road Trip [Blu-ray]

AMAZING ROAD TRIP!
Definitely an OUTSTANDING COMEDY, Road Trip, brings to the screen exactly what the title implies: the story of four college students who end up driving from NY to TX in an effort to prevent a mailed videotape from reaching one of the guy's girlfriend. Along the way, they get into all sorts of trouble resulting in one of the best movies in recent years!

Breckin Meyer, Seann Willliam Scott, and the rest of the cast, have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are exceptional to say the least. All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is AMAZING)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few laughs. Road Trip is simple enough, but does a great job of describing people's (in this case college kids') every day lives and the problems they face. It just goes to show that simplicity is often far better than complexity, when trying to present...

"Unrated" is unnecessary
I was very disappointed in this DVD. I purchased it with the idea that there would be some new footage in the unrated version that was not shown in the theatres, but I couldn't find anything that I hadn't seen before. Unlike American Pie, which had a very good unrated version, this one fails to be any different than the rated "R" version shown with its theatrical release. While I enjoyed the movie originally, I wouldn't have bought this DVD knowing what I do now. If you're thinking of buying this in order to find something new and interesting, please save yourself the trouble and money and don't click that button.

2000's Best Teen Flick!
Picture this, you are leaving the safe surrounds of high school to enter the unknown realm of university, being wise you decide to visit what could be potentially be your place of study, partying and security for the next three years, so you take the campus tour to get acquainted with the grounds as well as meet some new people. Sounds perfect, right? Wrong! Your tour guide is non-other than MTV shock jock and crazy man Tom Green, who in this case is actually named Barry Manilow. What results is the telling of a tale of the most time honoured campus tradition, the ROAD TRIP. So begins the story of four guys who embark on a three-day ROAD TRIP to retrieve a video containing highly sensitive material before it lands into the wrong hands and creates total havoc. Their journey is riddled with numerous encounters of both strange people and incidents that will ultimately affect/scar them forever, even if merely on a superficial level.

Whilst the film is aimed at a predominately teenage...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Cluster Edge: Collection 1

Edgy Anime!
Cluster Edge is one of those anime that most people will either love instantly - or dislike it equally fast. In the beginning it starts off as a sort of "steam-punk" themed anime and it quicky evolves into a seemingly unconnected and unexplained series of events to many of the characters - main and supporting. It take a long while to actually develop where the authours want to be going and eventually it all beins to come together! I can't wait for collection 2 to arrive and see how it all turns out in the end.





Click to Editorial Reviews

Curse M

Engaging & Kinky Erotic Thriller
Switchblade DVD authoring have released another intriguing bit of Japanerotica with the disk entitled 'The Curse M' - based on the story "The Enchantress" by noted Japanese mystery/ero-author: Oniroku Dan. The box cover art on this DVD features a naked woman wrapped up by a large snake - a visual paean to Oniroku Dan's (more well known) "Flower and Snake" novella (and films)- but this movie differs in its' plot elements from the base story that the "Flower & Snake" franchise typically promulgates. (See my review of Switchblade's "Devil's Feast" for more about THAT).

"The Curse M" is an erotic thriller with many twists and turns, and features a lot of sex scenes as its' convoluted (71 min.) plot un-winds - including numerous examples of Japanese shibari style rope bondage. The plot involves a professional photographer, 'Uemura', who is out one day with his cute assistant 'Akemi' (who has a crush on him) shooting 'voyeur' pix for a magazine when his camera focuses on a...

Defiled
Mari has become a living temple where a fierce, female, Hindu goddess dwells, one that destroys male demons. There was a time Mari was as normal as any other young woman, but a horrific incident in a foreign land dramatically altered her psyche. Now she has become the central deity in a triumvirate of spirits all bent on the same agenda: the temple cannot remain barren of devotees.

Uemura a photographer is taking pictures of women with their face obscured from the camera's lens in the streets of a bustling city for a men's magazine, when he spots Mari walking along. She is obviously in mourning for someone dear to her. Mari's severe black dress, hat and lacey veil hide more of her than is revealed to Uemura. Just like the men who want to imagine about the women in his photographs, Uemura finds that he has become captivated by the mysterious woman in black.

In an unexpected meeting at a hot springs resort, Uemura accosts Mari under the pretense of getting an...



Click to Editorial Reviews

Jeepers Creepers [Blu-ray]

"What the hell did you bring into my house?"
Boy, do I feel slow on the uptake...I've seen this film twice now, and I just got the 'other' meaning of the license plate on the Creeper's truck. I guess if it were a snake, it would have bit me...oh well...I may not get there the quickest, but I will get there...eventually. Jeepers Creepers (2001) is a fun, interesting, stylistic film that runs out of gas about halfway through, but still had enough going for it to earn critical and commercial success, spawning a sequel, Jeepers Creepers II (2003) which broke Labor Day box office records for that year. Written and directed by the controversial Victor Salva, who also did the chilling horror film Clownhouse (1988) and Powder (1995), Jeepers Creepers brings to life (or death) a new figure in the Hollywood creature pantheon with the Creeper, a demonic looking figure that awakens every 23 years and feeds for 23 days, according to legend.

The film stars Gina Phillips as Trish and Justin Long as her brother Derry, traveling...

Surprisingly good, given negative press.
Jeepers Creepers (Victor Salva, 2001)

I think that, with the arguable exception of Battlefield Earth, I haven't heard so much negative press about a movie in the past decade as I did about this one. No idea why. This is one of the better horror movies to come out of Hollywood in quite a while, and Victor Salva has finally lived up to the promise that's kept Hollywood allowing him to make bad movies on a fairly regular basis for the past decade and a half.

The story opens with a brother and sister team, Derry (Justin Long, from the TV series Ed) and Trish (Gina Phillips, who recently had a turn on Boston Public and shows up next year in The Anarchist's Cookbook), driving across the state on their way home from college for spring break. On a secluded stretch of highway, a strange truck menaces them before roaring past. A few miles down the road, they see the truck's driver dumping something that looks suspiciously like a body wrapped in a sheet down a large pipe, and after...

It'll Give You "Creepers"
Finally a horror movie that does what it's supposed to do--scare the hell out of you!! A brother and sister named Darry and Trish are returning home from college, on a deserted road, when they are almost driven off the road by an unseen driver in an ancient truck. The truck vanishes, and they continue on toward home. But soon they pass an old church, and they spot the driver of the truck--shrouded in a black cloak--apparently dumping bodies down a pipe. After the figure disappears, the two check out the pipe and discover hundreds of skeletal remains. With the help of a psychic woman they discover that an evil, inhuman creature called the Creeper comes back every 23 years for 23 days, and now it wants Darry. Together the brother and sister must flee as they are pursued by the unstoppable, black-shrouded, axe-wielding demon.

First of all the acting is terrific, and the basically unknown actors provide good characters. The make-up effects for the Creeper are also very creepy...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Terra Nova

Yes, Fox is Stupid!
What made me interested in this show from the previews is the dinosaurs and the casting of Avatar's Stephan Lang as one of the main character's. I did see some lack of originality though, like the portals that bring the humans from the dieing future looking a lot like the ones on Stargate. Plus how can mankind survive and get a new start and not be worried about becoming exintct along with the dinosaurs ?
Still finding some flaws in the logic of the plot, among other things, I was hooked from the start since the show was a fun guilty pleasure adventure series and made pretty damn good tv. Fox got good ratings from it but wanted a huge hit that made up for how expensive it was to make, kind of like with Firefly.
But to me 12 episodes wasn't time to even capture as many fans as it might have eventually since some shows don't get viewers until mid-season or the second season and....this show had neither! Next time, Fox if a show costs too much to make....don't make it and...

Won't be giving FOX any money unless they COMPLETE it!
Calling this a COMPLETE series is a JOKE!

As with Firefly, FOX wrapped me into a story line and then they unceremoniously dumped it after one season without completing the story. With Firefly, at least we had Whedon's persistence to complete the journey. He fought hard and got himself a feature length film (Serenity) with which to tie up most of the story lines in a rather neat ending. You can buy the complete Firefly story on DVD and enjoy it, give it as a gift, etc. We don't have that here. We have a ton of unanswered questions that will never be answered. Giving Terra Nova to someone as a gift would mean you probably don't like that person all that much. FOX will not be getting my money for this DVD set unless they make an ending to the story!

Just to Give a More Positive Light...
When I saw the preview for Terra Nova I decided to give it a fair shake, I personally was not disappointed. With this being a new series it is very hard to judge it on the first show, so I will be brief. First I personally enjoyed the very abstract and mixed themes/ideas that combined to create the storyline. It has beautiful scenery, dinosaurs, action, and futuristic technology! What more could a person want?? Second, the acting was a little rough but I believe that the show will turn out to be one of the better ones on TV. Many series start out with a shaky first episode and become AMAZING (Fringe, Stargate, etc.) Finally, I watch a show to be entertained, and with this standard Terra Nova is a great show. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this new series, so for me that makes it all the better!! I would encourage people to give it a chance and see its potential to come!!!

Click to Editorial Reviews

Funktional Fitness with Christi Taylor

Not sure why this workout is not gained more popularity!
I find this too be a pretty good workout! I like the music in it as well! I recently got a back injury after doing a kickboxing class. I have been since looking for workout videos which are easy enough to follow and don't jerk your body around the same way which kickboxing does. I think I found a gem! I hope my review will help others to give this workout a try! =)





Click to Editorial Reviews

Wild Horse (1931)

ONE OF HOOT'S BEST!
According to the Alpha dvd jacket sleeve Hoot Gibson "...considered his part in the fast-paced western WILD HORSE to be his favorite among all his starring roles." I would have to agree with the HOOTER. A HUGE star in the silent era, Hoot Gibson was one of the few cowboy heroes whose screen presence benefited from the arrival of sound, although his career did not. The major studios felt westerns had no place in talkies and Universal dumped Hoot forcing the star to hang on with poverty row studios. Ensuing court battles kept Hoot off the big screen for a couple years and by the time he was ready to hop back into the saddle singing cowboys were becoming the craze. Hoot, Ken Maynard, Tom Mix, Tim McCoy, Buck Jones & others were suddenly old-timers.
WILD HORSE is one of the truly GREAT low-budget B-Westerns! And Alpha's dvd print is outstanding! Some minor speckling, some scratches, some noise distortion, nothing to distract from viewing enjoyment. This print is beautiful, especially...

It's a Hoot!
Good fun and holds up surprisingly well. If you are a fan of westerns, you will enjoy watching this one. My first view of a Hoot Gibson western, and it was enjoyable.



Click to Editorial Reviews

Evil Eye

Half-way recommended....
This is gonna get confusing so hold on. I decided to take a chance on this low-priced, grindhouse double-feature cause i enjoy fairly obscure horror films with an exploitation angle to them. Problem is, both films aren't very good attempts at the horror genre. EVIL EYE struck me as the potentially better horror film but it was less exploitive and coherent than BLACK CANDLES and ended up being a very frustrating film experience, especially the ending when you think "was that it?". Actually, you will feel that way at the end of both films as one could say they end EXACTLY the same way. So if you don't like the way one ended, prepare for deja-vu with the other.

So if both ended up being poor horror films with even worse cliched endings, why the 3-star rating then? Simple. If you're looking for sexploitation in a satanic cult-themed horror film, you've hit the jackpot with BLACK CANDLES. It is surprisingly wall-to-wall sex-scenes(have your finger on the fast-forward...

Ignore the other reviews - Black Candles is cool
If your interested in THIS dvd, then I'll already assume your into these kind of movies, and get the euro-sleez genre. Black Candles is Bad-Ass! There are some great 70's Satanic rituals. Some pretty hot chicks, nudity and murder that I enjoyed. This super hot chick get banged by a goat during a ritual. Satanic Beastiality! How awesome is that? The transfer from the film to dvd looks pretty good. The other movie did suck, or it would have gotten 5 stars.

Black Candles is second only to Rosemary's Baby and the Ninth Gate
(This 5 stars is just for "Black Candles"). If you are looking for movies that portray a Satanic group from a traditional point of view, along the lines of Rosemary's Baby and The Ninth Gate, this is the next best movie, in my opinion. It's a shame that it's less known than some other ones, like these: The City of the Dead (uncut British version of Horror Hotel), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), The Black Cat (1934), The Seventh Victim (1943), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), Alucarda, The Pyx (1973), Anticristo (1974), The Devil's Rain (1975). Although the others I just listed are similar themed, they just don't portray, from beginning to end, the same type of steady paced traditional Satanist perspective that this one does. It still falls behind Rosemary's Baby and the Ninth Gate, and, like one previous reviewer pointed out, has no climax or finalized plot development at the end (like "House of the Devil" does, another recent movie). On the...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Wee Willie Winkie

A Poignant Fox Farewell for Shirley Temple
"Young People" was Shirley Temple's final film under contract at Twentieth-Century Fox. Although she would go on to make some excellent movies as a teenager and young adult, "Young People" effectively marked the end of her reign as a child star.

In this picture Temple plays Wendy Ballentine, the adopted daughter of two vaudeville stars (Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood). She literally grows up onstage (just as Temple grew up before film audiences in the 1930s), stealing scenes from her parents and becoming an integral part of the act.

However, the Ballentines yearn for a more stable and "normal" existence, and, thus, retire from show business to take up residence in a hamlet in the countryside. It isn't an easy transition: the townsfolk seem to have a poor opinion of "show people" and shun the Ballentine family. Wendy also has trouble adjusting to life offstage: she reads "Variety" at home, teaches her entire class to do...

A sweet movie, you can watch with your kids
My six year old daughter and I watched this film together and enjoyed it very much. Shirley Temple as always, gave it her best, as well as the other actors. The story is touching and teaches children about the importance of being open to change. It teaches about caring for your fellow man, and being a good citizen. I would recommend this for parents and young children to watch together.

Temple's last Fox musical
YOUNG PEOPLE (1940) was, despite it's mix of the regular Temple movie trappings, an even bigger flop at the box office than THE BLUE BIRD, released earlier that same year. Back in black-and-white, and with the "child star" cuteness becoming a slightly uncomfortable fit for the rapidly maturing twelve-year-old Temple, it lacks a certain zest; although Temple gives a great performance and is matched every step of the way by her co-stars Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood.

The story follows vaudeville team Joe and Kitty Ballantine (Oakie and Greenwood) and their adopted daughter Wendy (Temple) as they attempt to retire on a farm in New England, only to find hostility and scorn from their old-fashioned, small-minded neighbours.

This was Shirley's last movie for Fox. After her two failures in 1940 (and with no scripts on the immediate horizon), it was decided, in an agreement between producer Darryl F. Zanuck and Temple's parents, to finally terminate her contract...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Marshal of Cedar Rock (1953)

Trip down memory "Lane"
This western saga has Rocky Lane tracking down an escaped convict hoping to find the hidden loot. As it truns out, the escaped convict not only is innocent, but helps Rocky Lane uncover a fiendish plot to swindle farmers out of their land before the railroad gets to Cedar Rock. Marshal of Cedar Rock is the 36th entry in the Rocky Lane series of 38 features. By the time it was made (1953) Republic had cut the length of these movies from 60 minutes down to 54 minutes. Rocky Lane movies were different from the Autrys and Rogers in that they had no music or love interest. Just action throughout. The tape has a clear picture that will look even better if you enable the soft picture mode on your VCR. for $9.99 Marshal of Cedar rock is a gem you want to miss!

Allen Rocky Lane.
Good action hero. Had solid screen presence. He was likeable, and kids could
trust his persona on screen. He never let them down. His message and character
stood out most of the time in his films.



Click to Editorial Reviews

Rest Stop: Don't Look Back (Uncut)

Better than the Original
Rest Stop: Don't Look Back is a sequel to the 2006 horror film Rest Stop, about a crazed pickup truck driver terrorizing a young couple at a deserted California rest stop. It wasn't a very good film but the sequel manages to out do the original, rising to passable horror fare. Tom (Richard Tillman) is the brother of Jess who disappeared in the first film along with his girl friend Nicole. Home for two weeks on leave from the army, Tom decides to go in search of his missing sibling. He's joined for the ride by his girlfriend Marilyn (Jessie Ward) and his buddy Jared(Norris). Evidently, because Marilyn doesn't like Jared, the goof is forced to drive his own beater of a car from Texas to California.

We're treated to a replay of the "Driver's" origin. He was just a bumpkin picked up by a family of religious zealots (nuts actually) in their RV. He's killed but is resurrected as a silent spirit, haunting the highways around the rest stop for victims to torture and kill...

Get the regular DVD
Get the regular DVD.

I just finished watching my purchased copy of "Rest Stop: Don't Look Back" on Blu-Ray, and that's the last Warner disc I'll ever pre-order to buy.

The regular DVD of this title is chock full of extras (deleted scenes, alternate ending, commentary track, trailers), but there is nothing but the movie on the more expensive Blu-Ray. No extras at all - nada - not even the trailer! What a rip-off!

Don't Buy the Blu-Ray Version!

Don't look back? Even Lot's wife would stare straight ahead.
While this sequel fills in some of the holes presented in the timeline and story of the original Rest Stop movie, it is nonetheless unfulfilling horror with a deserted California rest stop and bathroom as a set.

Following the disappearance of the morons from the first movies, Tom (Tillman) is home on leave from the Army and looking for his missing brother. Immediately I knew he was an idiot because he had on PFC rank but called himself a corporal. Along for the ride is his alcoholic girlfriend Marilyn (Ward) - who probably would have acted better if actually drunk - and a complete train-wreck of a best friend named Jared (Norris). Animosity between the two sidekicks leads to this being a two car journey from Texas to California, and the dork is driving a beater that smokes more than a Memphis rib joint. First stupid decision of many.

Upon arrival in California, the ginger best friend gets isolated in a port-a-potty because of his IBS, and it gets tipped over...

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Feelings Model

Excellent program
The videos are excellent -- so clear and practical. I particularly enjoyed the one on feelings (The Feelings Model). The exercise with the woman sitting next to the window and being nearly hit over the head was such a good illustration of your point. It was just like being there in a class! And the DVD's video index makes it easy to go directly to each topic without having to search through the entire show.

Sue Ross, Casting director and Creative Director, Screen Actors Australia, Melbourne





Click to Editorial Reviews

Dawn on the Great Divide (1942)

Best wagon train scene ever!
I haven't seen this copy, so I don't know if they will publish this review, but I already have the movie. The almost-ten-minute wagon train scene near the beginning is priceless. It's constantly, slowly moving and done so well you really get the feel for what such a trip must have been like. A variety of people from that era are characterized rather well for a B western. There is tragedy at the beginning which leads to Mona Barry doing a rendition of "Rock of Ages" acapella which, along with her short commentary about herself after, will break your heart. I've never heard anything like it. Tears flow every time I watch it. Great stuff Mona, wherever you are.

Again Buck gets to hold a baby and call him "little shaver". I love that. Buck does a solid job as always. This was his last movie before dying in the Cocoanut Grove fire in '42. The story line is good and there is the occasional nifty quote - "I've got to hand it to you Easterners, you sure are slick with the...

WHEELS OF FATE
This movie was taken from a story by James Curwood entitled "Wheels of Fate", and for me that title fits much better than "Dawn on the Great Divide". The years 1941 and 1942 saw several of the Rough Riders films made and though this movie is good, it doesn't have the jump that many of the others have. This was the last film for Buck Jones, and it is not his best performance, as he looks somewhat tired and it affected his performance.

His leading lady, co star actually, was a gal born in England, trained in Australia, named Mona Barrie. Before dying in 1964 she racked up quite a few movies, as well as stage performances, and she truly turns in a very memorable performance in this film. For me, she saves this movie.

The cast of stock characters is good with the usual suspects on board, especially Roy Barcroft, and Raymond Hatton, did they ever make a western without Roy Barcroft. And an extra treat is a very young Tris Coffin who plays Mona's husband but ends up...

"The King of B-Westerns & Serials...VCI Entertainment ~ Dawn of the Great Divide (1942)"
VCI Entertainment and Monogram Pictures present "Dawn of the Great Divide" (1942) (digitally remastered), although The Rough Riders had a short run, they turned out some of the best B-Westerns ever to grace the Saturday Matinee screen...our story is the final of eight in the Rough Riders series is a better than average oater...Buck Jones (Buck Roberts) and Raymond Hatton (Sandy Hopkins) continue with the same characterization...Tim McCoy was placed on active duty in WWII, replaced by Rex Bell (Jack Carson) as the third member of the trio...Buck and Sandy are leading a wagon train loaded with railroad supplies to expand the West...our favorite villain Harry Woods with Roy Barcroft, Robert Frazer, I. Stanford Jolley, Reed Howes and Bud Osborne are up to no good...disguised as Indians during the attacks they plan to stop Buck at all costs...the three Buck, Sandy and Rex Bell are working undercover and have the situation well in hand, if you don't believe it check with the Monogram...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Torture Dungeon

A Masterpiece
If I were to tell you anything about this film, it would spoil your experience. Rent it, turn the lights down, spray lysol all over your living room, invite a couple of bums in to warm up, a couple junkies to shoot up and a couple of deviants to give the room some atmosphere, and allow yourself to be transported back in time, to Times Square, circa 1970.





Click to Editorial Reviews