Lethal Weapon 2 (Keepcase)

Triple The Lethal Weapon At Triple Less The Price!
Okay, let me start by saying you're not going to get any reviews on any of these three movies from me. Anyone who lived through the late 80's and early 90's already know the action greatness of these films that launched Mel Gibson from just being known as "Mad Max". No, my review is solely based on the new "Warner Bros. Triple Feature" packaging of the first three movies in the Lethal Weapon series.

On November 7th 2006, Warner Bros released 23 DVD titles from their library with three films in each case with varied subjects like trilogies, westerns, star's films, animals, and others. But probably the best bang for your buck is this Lethal Weapon set (maybe, maybe the second would be the camp-horror classic "It's Alive" trilogy, which I'll be getting as well). Yes it's true, SOME of these titles will bother most videophiles because quite a few titles offered in these triple features are FULL FRAME only when originally they may have been released in Widescreen when first...

"Jagged" 1080i master makes for a poor and unacceptable Blu-ray debut for Riggs & Murtaugh
After recently purchasing a PlayStation3 primarily for its functionality as a Blu-ray high-definition movie disc player, I was really looking forward to seeing some of my all-time favorite films on the new format. I mean, Blu-ray has 50gb of storage capacity on one side of a disc, enough room to pack a pristine 1080p video print and uncompressed 7.1 PCM audio, not to mention loads of extras... Having said that, Warner Home Video really let me down with their first issue of 1989's "Lethal Weapon 2" on Blu-ray disc. This is exactly what I feared they would do. Rather than do the job right the first time out, consumers are being setup for an obvious double-dip on several titles, including the first two "Lethal Weapon" films.

I grew up watching a VHS of "Lethal Weapon 2" with my older brother. He and I both loved this movie and used to watch it constantly, so naturally over the years we hope and pray for vastly improved ways to watch this 18-year old favorite. This...

Full Bitrate DTS Audio
The previous reviewer is correct on all points, which prompted me to purchase this over the Director Cut Editions individually.

What makes it even better is the DTS audio tracks are full bitrate @1536Kb/s! Most, if not all, DTS DVD's are half-bit rate @768Kb/s (Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, Lord of the Rings Trilogy).

Getting three great films in one package, widescreen, and w/full bitrate DTS for $11 is a once in a life time deal.

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Swordfish (Keep Case Packaging)

A SUPERB BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE
Although I have seen the movie years ago when it was on cinemas across the world and of course on dvd several times, I bought the blu-ray version in order to see the difference. I must admit that the experience was incredible and during the scenes that John Travolta was firing to the FBI agents and Hugh Jackman was driving, it was like that I have been on the street, in the middle of the crossfire.

If you want to experience the blu-ray difference, I strictly recommend the movie. That's how you see the development from DVD to Blu-Ray.

GOOD BUT NOT GREAT
Ignore the Amazon editorial review and all the other reader reviews. I don't want to spoil this movie for you by telling you too much about the plot or describing in perfect detail some of the best scenes in the movie but what I will tell you is...
1) Yes, it's true, Dominic Sena's last directorial effort Gone In Sixty Seconds was a MAJOR dissapointment BUT SWORDFISH ISN'T!!! It's a good movie!
2) Travolta is good
3) Halle Berry is good
4) Don Cheadle is underused and
5)Hugh Jackman is a major star in the making.
6) The now infamous scene of Halle Berry topless was probably unnecessary and perhaps gratuitous (but hey, she's a good looking woman with a good body). Sorry, did I say good? I meant great...but if this is the only reason why you'd watch this movie, then you really do need to get a life.
7)This was one of the better films of the summer.
8)It is neither formulaic nor does it lack ambition. Unlike most movies of this genre it challenges...

This is the type of movie made for blu ray
All I will say is this film looks and sounds brilliant on blu ray. A must for your collection.

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Jonas Brothers: The Concert Experience (Single-Disc Edition)

a must for any fan!
I would highly recommend this to any Jonas Brothers fan who can't get enough of them. Knowing how expensive (and coveted) their concert tickets are, this gives you a behind the scenes, front row thrill. Nothing beats seeing them live (seriously, nothing compares!), but the 3D is a close second.
I saw this opening night in LA and the boys stopped by to play us an acoustic set...not your average night at the movies! Needless to say, I enjoyed every minute of the film and sang along to every word. I went to their tour the day before this concert was filmed, so I felt like I was reliving the summer tour. Also, don't be fooled by some of the fan sequences -- just watching all the screaming, running fans is entertaining in itself, even if I am one myself!

JB Fan
I really enjoy their music and this not only had great music but some nice behind the scene parts. I also like the "extra" where they explain all the went into making the tour such a success.

Relive the magic!
Even if you did catch the Jonas Brothers on their Burning Up Tour last summer (like I did), this is STILL worth the purchase. It's like reliving the surge of excitement over and over again. It never gets old. It's got tons of behind the scene stuff, plus it has 2 bonus songs which were NOT released in the theaters.

If you're a JB fan, and did NOT get to catch them on their Burning Up Tour, then I don't know what you're waiting for! ORDER THIS DVD and experience Kevin, Joe, and Nick up close and personal. Honestly, isn't that what EVERYYYYY Jonas Brother fan wants? :P

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Fireboats of 9/11

9/11 NY Fire boats in action
Great history making !! FDNY and it's fire boat fleet in action when called into service !! EXCELLENT footage all on 1 DVD !!

More than SPECTACULAR!!!!! :-)
I remember seeing this documentary on "The History Channel" when I was a kid and as a longtime firebuff, I want to thank "The History Channel" for making a documentary on such amazing boats that have been used over the years and I love the footage of the fireboats back in the day and when the boats helped out on 9/11. You will NOT be disappointed!!!!!! :-)

....
Very informative DVD with a nice history of past fireboats and the ones used on 9/11. A good release by the history channel.

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Second Coming

Powerful story, great Indie thriller!
I saw this at a local film festival in Orlando a while back. I think about a year ago.
Beautifully photographed, well made and a great concept. The concept of twins in horror films has been used many times before, but not this way, no way. I do remember thinking a lot about this flick days after I saw it. It might not have had the huge budget of studio films, but the smart filmmaking and story telling is there.

I thought the main "Bad" guy in the film did an amazing job, as he not only is struggling with a great deal of guilt, but also suffering from a horrendous medical problem. Its quite original actually, but I won't reveal more, you've got to see it.

Cool to see this film available to the public.

Beautifully shot, younger twins steal the show
Beautifully crafted independent thriller. Looks and feels like a Hollywood picture. The story is interesting with the main character suffering from a true affliction I didn't know about. The younger twins (who is played by one actress) and the redneck father steal the show though in my opinion. Their scenes together are outstanding. A well shot piece out of Florida. Not many independent films end up looking this good.

A twin and her ghost.
White trash twins grow up and one is murdered the living one is haunted by the ghost of her dead twin and can not rest until she finds the one who killed her sis.
Good story and good acting make this worth a look. Keep in mind this looks like it was made for the Lifetime network but has a few curse words thrown in. The wimpy killer (Greg Thompson) begged for a bullet in the head and just really ticked me of as did the whisky tango (W.T. white trash) father of the twins, boy was he a worthless waste of air.
I really think the young lady who plays the twins Juliet Reeves, is good in this and I hope to see her again. If you can take the made for video type of movies then this one is worth a look.

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Lethal Weapon 3 (Director's Cut)

Mel Gibson + Danny Glover = Non Stop Entertainment!!!!
"You have the right to remain unconscious, anything you say ain't gonna be much". My favorite line from my favorite Lethal Weapon movie, said by the great Mel Gibson. Gibson and Glover have incredible chemistry, and part 3 of this series is definitely up to par and then some! I have all 4 of the movies on DVD, but I've watched this one more times than any of the rest. I remember going and watching it at the movies back in the summer of '92, hard to believe that it's been 10 years now since this movie's release. Richard Donner is truly a master at his craft, and continues to come up with great ideas for his movies. Joe Pesci is hilarious, he is in top form in this one. His addition to the fold made a great series of movies even better. The plot of the movie is basically centered around the boys trying to bring down a former cop named Jack Travis who's gone bad, really bad. Along the way is the usual sensational action, drama, and comedy that you've come to know, love, and...

Good movie, but not as good as the others.
Now don't get me wrong, this movie is deffinetly a good and entertaining movie to watch. It has good action and a lot of comedy, however it is probably the worst one in the series. Lethal Weapon 3 seemed to tone down the movie series quite a lot. It doesn't have the same dark and erie feel as the 1st two do. I know it's rated R but it seems more like a family "budy-cop" movie than the raw and gritty 1st two of the franchise. The ending isn't that great and Riggs seems to have lost almost all of his Special Forces training and fighting like you saw in the 1st two, ESPEICALLY at the end of the 1st one. If i had to rate tem I'd rate them

Lethal Weapon = 5 stars
Lethal Weapon 2 = 4.5 stars
Lethal Weapon 3 = 3.5 stars
Lethal Weapon 4 = 4 stars

It's deffinetly worth seeing and watching but my suggestion is watch this 1 first so that way when you see it you wont be as dissapointed.

the boys are back and a girl
Lethal Weapon 3 comes fast and furious but mostly importantly it delights everyone with wisecracks,action, and camaderie. So if you want to continue with the buddy cops watch Lethal Weapon 3

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Little Steps: Adventures with Jet Planes

Outdated footage and inappropriate age range
The age range on this DVD says ages 2+. My 3 year old son who loves planes, and generally enters a zombie-like state when watching TV, was bored within 5 mins of this video. There are interviews with pilots which are very much lost on a toddler that needs action and kid-friendly voices. This may be better for a 8-year old or older. Also, the video footage looks like a series of videos from the 1980's that has been pieced together. I would not recommend for anyone under 8 and even then, it's questionable.

My kids: this video has too much talk!
First of all, only half of the two videos on the 60-minute DVD is about jet planes; the other program is about ships. My kids found both videos boring. "Why is there so much talk?" was their constant question! A big problem from a parent's perspective, other than too much talk that's incomprehensible to anyone under 12 or 13, is the actual clips are poorly shot and edited, making it very difficult for a child to grasp what exactly is a jet plane and what makes it fly. My kids didn't like this DVD at all.

Great video
My 2 year old loves this video, his older brother love it too! I have learned so much about airplanes too!

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The Last Boy Scout

The Last Boy scout says it best.
The best action movie of the 90's hands down! All this crap about the film being misogynistic is ridiculous. Willis' character is a burned out, embittered, down and out, has-been PI and former secret service agent ("a long time ago he saved the president's life" )who has seen too much and who has no faith left in anything. He is in a bad marriage, never home, drinks too much, a victim of marital infidelity. But he is still in love with his wife. ("I wish the sky wasn't blue, I wish water wasn't wet. I wish I didn't still love my wife.") He is a man's man of the old school; strong and ever silent with a black and white morality. He is loyal to a fault, taking on the case of the stripper and her boyfriend to avenge the car-bombing death of his best friend (who was sleeping with his wife.) His foul mouthed daughter is screaming for discipline which she finds (and drinks in ) at the end of the film. The one liners are great. The action scenes are awesome. The...

the action film is carried to surreal extremes
the action film is carried to a rather intriguing extreme with THE LAST BOY SCOUT, a movie that pushes the world-weary detective stereotype to new, surreal levels. Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis), is a shamus hired by his best friend to protect a stripper who is subsequently killed. her washed-up football playing boyfriend (Damon Wayans) hooks up with Joe to find out whodunit and why. Willis' performance and Black's screenplay combine to produce a portrait of a guy who is so down and out that our first glimpse of him is a shot of him passed out in his own car while being harassed by snotty neighbourhood kids. throughout the whole film, Willis delivers deadpanned one-liners while constantly getting the crap kicked out him. BOY SCOUT is a guilty pleasure. it is mindless, formulaic, and particularly hateful towards women (and men as well) in spots with an uncompromisingly un-PC attitude that is very unusual in this day and age... and very funny. action films don't get any nastier than this...

The most underrated buddy cop movie of all time
You cant talk about underrated action flicks without mentioning The Last Boy Scout. I mean this movie came and went and stayed off the radar for a while. Let me give you a brief description of what its about.

Bruce Willis plays Joe Hallenback, a down on his luck private investigator who comes home and finds his best friend sleeping with his wife. He later teams up with an ex-football player named Jimmy Dix(Damon Wayans) whose girlfriend Cory(Halle Berry) just got murdered. Throw in Joe trying to find out who killed his best friend and a subplot involving gambling.

Opinion: Lets do a quintessential buddy cop checklist and see if this movie meets those requirements.

Does it feature an unlikely pairing? Check.
Does the unlikely pairing work well together? Check.
Does it have moments of humor since one of the stars is a comic? Check.
Does it give you one hell of ride from start to finish? Check

So what the hell are these people...

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A Day in the Life

very good story that makes sense...
this movie actually makes more sense than black cinema movies that dont have any rappin at all!! lol. sticky fingaz is really a genius for this one. he makes it easy for you to follow the story as you listen to each person rap and it doesnt get tiring listening to them rap for 90 min straight. i am a huge hip hop fan but i still was skeptical about this when i first heard it was coming. we all know stick can rap really good but idk about how a movie would turn out with all that going on. a great success with a lot of a list actors. omar epps, mekhi phifer, clarence williams 3, bokime woodbine, michael rappaport,faizon love, and of course rappers like fredro, treach, kurupt, tash, and even ray j. really good movie i was entertained and i usually dont like watching a lot of the low budget black cinimea movies.

True to Hip Hop
I thought the movie was very good.It was true to hip hop and the lyrics were top notch and on point.The only bad thing I can say about the movie is that I cant see the events that transpire in the movie all happening in one day before dusk.It just didnt make any since. Other than that I would definatly call it a true to real hip hop film. Big ups to Kirk "Sticky Fingerz" Jones.

AWESOME MOVIE!!! DEFINITE MUST SEE!
If you love Hip Hop, then this is the movie for you! I was surprised that there was rapping throughout the whole movie. The lyrics and beats are great and the story line was very interesting. It is kind of hard to believe all of the events happened in one day, but it's still a great movie. I give it 10 stars!

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Whisper Island

Strange Island
Whisper Island is a mystery romance film. The problem with the mystery is it's very hard to solve when supernatural things are involved that you don't know the rules of. Some people must love that sort of thing. Others of us don't. To me, without rules, this is strange. Don't get me wrong, the characters are interesting and fun, but the rest is, well, less so.

Kind of weird
It felt like two short stories were put together to make one longer movie. The story felt disjointed and that much was left out that would have made it much more intresting. I rented it because it was filmed near my home and used actors that I have watched in local productions. Fortunatly for the actors there are other parts that have been much better for them.

Great Stuff
I thought it was a wholesome and clean movie. Not the most thrilling, but I think the acting was pretty good and the storyline as well. Better than a lot of other movies that get put in this genre. Simple, but good! I recommend it.

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Little Steps: Adventures with Big Rigs

big rigs video
i purchased this video to keep my 3 year old son occupied. it works well and holds his attention, not an easy task!





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Explicit Ills (+ digital copy)

Is it over yet?!
From the first impressions that I derived from the trailer I was anxious to see what I thought would be a very moving story of reality and poverty right here in America. Sadly, this was a poorly written attempt to convey such reality to others. It simply was.., all over the place with absolutely no continuity of story. Aside from a good cast, I could hardly wait for this one to be over!

Quietly powerful urban drama
Crumbling, hollowed-out buildings, trash-strewn alleyways and weed-infested empty lots provide the backdrop for "Explicit Ills," a low-keyed, understated account of a group of largely unrelated people struggling to make a go of things amidst poverty and urban decay in Philadelphia. Yet, despite the grimness of the setting, the movie offers a basis for renewal and hope through a cast of characters who don`t exactly fit into the stereotypical slum-drama mold - and in the film's commitment to social justice through unity and action.

In terms of form, Mark Webber's film is more a series of vignettes than a conventionally structured narrative, an approach that actually works quite well given the slightly amateurish, rough-around-the-edges nature of the piece. Yet, despite limited financial resources, Webber has fashioned a stylish, sometimes even quite visionary work that clearly cares about its characters and the community to which they belong.

Those characters...

Important topic, edgy filmmaking, subpar Blu
Before anyone gets too upset, the star rating reflects the product rating, not necessarily the content or film making quality. This is a passion piece with poverty activism as its theme, and understandably the director wants to get his message out there, but the Blu package was not utilized in the slightest.

The story follows twelve people in the heart of Philadelphia living out their lives, good and bad, over the events of one summer (2007). Each story gets an introduction (some longer than others) of what to expect, with the last character being introduced at the 37 minute mark. The Crash-esque style editing mixes urban music, painting art reflecting the characters, an assortment of individual camera work in each story (camera pulls, hand held pans, steady-cams) and slightly interlaced stories. This movie deviates from all of the stories having any connection except for the activism march at the end, so do not expect things to come together otherwise.

I did not...

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The Devil's Advocate (Keepcase Packaging)

Keanu's Big Surprise
Here comes a sharp, strong-voiced New York city lawyer with a lot of experience complemented by rare physical and mental powers. Played by Al Pacino, John Milton is a loner who wins cases by ignoring what is and isn't "by the book". While in the process of establishing a law partner, Milton runs across hot shot Keanu Reeves, who is yet to lose. Reeves turns out to become the perfect missing piece to the puzzle for Pacino. His character spends a significant amount of time with his new law partner in business and pleasure circumstances, in order to indirectly let his new friend know him better, to find out who he really is. As time passes, tension between the two businessmen arises and Keanu, the perfect defender/convicter sees his life unfold to become a total nightmare.

"The Devils Advocate" has been compared to "The Firm", but "The Firm" is more drawn out and isn't in with the fantasy or horror genre. Al Pacino really shows his stuff in...

Morals Reawaken Here!
This movie is actually a shocking wake up call in the moral department. If you follow my reviews, you know that I dislike modern shoot em up movies. But setting this aside, it is interesting how many movies inspire the wrong values. (Shoot everybody up, take down who stands in your way, fall in love, and live happily ever after. I could go on and on, but so many movies fall into this category.) Well, "The Devil's Advocate" seems to be a reaction against the amoral filth that often comes out of the movie theatres. The basic theme of this movie according to its director is: "Do I do the right thing, or do I survive?" The story starts at a courtroom in Florida. Lawyer Kevin Lomax realizes that his client is really guilty, but after a bit of taunting, he gets his client off anyway, and it's not hard to see that satisfying his ego was the main reason he did so. Well, Kevin gets an offer from a law firm in New York City to pick a jury for a client who DID steal millions. Again, Kevin comes...

Devil's Advocate (Unrated Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]
Still a fine and intriguing film after all these years. No summaries or opinions on acting here; just a review of the transfer to Blu Ray.
Blu Ray Transfer Quality Review

Despite Amazon's refusal to separate the Standard Def release reviews from the Blu Ray reviews, I did not think that the Standard Def version was a bad release. That said, the transfer to Blu Ray is an improvement in terms of color resolution and contrast. There was no perceptible grain and no artifacting, stair-stepping or aliasing in any part of the film. The Blu Ray video is the star of this transfer with nice details in the shadows and a nicely saturated palate of color. Skin tones were as they should be as well.

The lossless audio is DTSHD 5.1 It is the front stage where the audio lives and shines. and while the audio levels are excellent and dialogue is clear and precise, even when the music score comes on, your center channel speaker will get most of the work. There is some...

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Garrison

What a waste!
This was an absolute waste! Poor acting, weak script and overall a waste in $ and time! DON'T WASTE YOUR $ LIKE I DID!!!

A well intentioned and executed indie flick.
I have waded through some pretty ordinary movies in my late night viewing on cable TV and "give it a go" picks at the video store. When I saw this movie in a clearance house for a sad $2 I figured at worst I would have a spare DVD case !
Having spent the time watching it I am pleased to say that all things considered it turned out to be an ok nights entertainment.
Given that the cast are all unknowns (but not untalented) I had no idea of what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by a fairly cohesive tale of a Sargent rotating back to the States with his unit and suffering not only Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but suspecting his wife of infidelity (or so it seems).
This is set against a back drop of the squad being drilled to go back into action and an intake of 3 new members.
All adequately handled and acted by these actors, with some highly polished performances in there by James Barnes and Kerry Valderrama, who incidentally seems to have done everything from...

GARRISON Delivers Remarkable Twist
GARRISON was made for a micro budget by a first-time filmmaker who is an army veteran. The director maximized his meager resources and delivers what I think is one of the most remarkable twists in cinematic history. Kerry Valderrama is clearly filled with talent and much potential, and any technical and casting deficiencies should be forgiven in light of a $4k production. If you let the movie play to the end, you will get a shock that will leave you in chills because of the horror. By the way, Mr. Valderrama was a Nicholl's Semifinalist this year. Sponsored by the organization who gives out the Academy Award, the Nicholl is considered the most prestigious screenwriting award worldwide.

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Two Lovers

Bittersweet
Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix) struggles with depression after his fiance leaves him. The movie opens with Leonard attempting suicide. That night he meets Sandra (Vanessa Shaw)-a sweet, affable, loving girl. A short time later he runs into Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow)-a drug addled, promiscuous, party girl who loves a married man. Sandra wants to take care of Leonard and Leonard wants to take care of Michelle.

In his relationship with Michelle, Leonard is the strong one, the good one. In his relationship with Sandra, he continues to be the weak man from his past-the guy that needs gentle understanding. It's no wonder he pines for Michelle even though she's going to lead him down the path of self destruction. But every lover wants the chase.

I loved this movie and am frankly surprised by the bad reviews. Two Lovers may be subtle and a bit slow for some, but I found it nuanced and charming. At times in my life I've been the sunny party girl in love with the wrong...

A remarkable performance!
"Two Lovers"
(Magnolia Films, 2009)
-------------------------------------
Joaquin Phoenix turns in a stunning, multi-layered performance as Leonard, a faltering, shaken young man whose life has been upended by a jilted marriage engagement and a psychiatric diagnosis (that remains fuzzily-defined for the film's viewers...) Leonard has come back home to live with his benign, elderly parents in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Brighton Beach, and from this position of infantilization and defeat, he starts to mend his life.

When romance comes into his life, through two women -- one wild and forbidden, the other nurturing and safe -- the complexity of Leonard's character comes into view. One might expect such a damaged man to seek the comfort of the safe lover, the future wife who will replace the fiance who deserted him, but instead he is drawn to the mystery of his wild new neighbor, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. (One remarkable twist in this film is how...

Well made drama, with great performances
An interesting drama about an imperfect love triangle. Joaquin Phoenix plays Leonard, a man perhaps in his early thirties, living in an apartment in Brooklyn with his parents, a Jewish couple who have a small dry cleaning operation where Leonard works. Leonard has a story behind him: an engagement with a girl was broken some years ago when they found that they were genetically incompatible, and he has tried to kill himself in the past, more than once. His parents, worried by him, try to set him up with Sandra, the nice daughter of a fellow (and apparently wealthier) Jewish businessman. Though not terribly enthusiastic about Sandra, he starts going out with her, who is very attracted to him (why a seemingly down to earth person like Sandra would be attracted to an obviously troubled person like Leonard is unclear, though I suppose things like this happen, though not very usually, in real life). But just when Leonard and Sandra start meeting and knowing each other, he meets Michelle...

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Bob the Builder: Yes We Can!

Bob recommended
very good this cartoons of great educational value to children should promote these films to a much higher, the school are very good so children. well in 3 different languages. 100% recommended.

Bob the Builder
My grandson loved it....so much so that my daughter is sick of it! LOL I am sure I will be ordering some more Bob videos!

Bob the Builder: Yes We Can! GREAT DVD!
My grandson is 2.5 years old and love this dvd! Even my 10.5 month old tunes in to sing the theme song!
You won't be disappointed with this purchase.

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Modern Marvels: Racetrack Tech

modern marvels racetrack tech
modern marvels racetrack tech arrived quickly it features seatbelts and fire retardant suits the hans device and vintage racing clips tires wheels and roof flaps and moment of impact also racing safety and more it shows cart indy and nascar you can watch it in it's entirety or you can watch it by chapter





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Baby Einstein: Baby Wordsworth - First Words: Around the House

For Preverbal Babies?
As a counselor for families with young babies, I have had the opportunity to review a number of sign language resources for preverbal babies.

This DVD seems more appropriate for older children rather than preverbal babies who are trying to communicate basic wants and needs. Some of the most important first words and signs for young babies are not offered - eat, drink, milk, more, etc. Instead this DVD offers words and signs such as computer, puzzle, clock, etc.

In addition, there are no babies signing or speaking in this production and it lacks an appropriate tutorial for parents of hearing babies who are teaching their babies to use sign language.

I recommend the My Baby Can Talk series to teach either sign language or first spoken words to babies.

Educational
We have been trying to get out daughter to say more than the few words she knows for a while. Once she started watching this she can't stop talking! It is great! She knows what everything around the house is - after only watching a couple of times. She has been talking and repeating almost anything anyone says since she started watching this video. While TV is not a babysitter, educational videos have a place for small children. A review of the newest Baby Einstein ranted about ADHD and more if children watch TV before age 2 - do more research! I am a Sociologist/Psychologist and if I thought that it was harming my child or was uneducational, I would not let them do it.

Signing is always a good thing
My two cents on the new DVD. My little one just turned three so we haven't bought any new BE shows in a while but we wanted this one because of the signing. My child has been learning American sign language since he was only a few months old so he loves signing shows. He likes this show and has watched it several times. It is not nearly as good as other shows we have seen that feature signing but still worth the 16.00 we spent(on sale at Target). Cameron's favorite new sign is mirror. He learned it after watching the show once and has been doing it when he is in the bathroom and can watch himself in the mirror.

The BE shows are so popular it may get new people interested in signing with their little ones. So when they decide they want to learn more they will search and find other signing products that will be more helpful to them. Hint Hint do a internet search and you will find an excellent series of signing videos for children. Your kids will learn so much so fast you...

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Border Town

Great Movie!!
This is a great action movie for an indie budget and it has a plot line. The locations look amazing and the actors are outstanding. Edwin Garcia II's protrayal of Enrique, a low level gangster who's family loyalty outweighs all, shows Edwin's range from comedic to dramatic. Linda Rodriguez as Isabella and Mark Joy as Vincent also have very powerful performances. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is looking for a good film that doesn't need all of the Hollywood glam. And please do not confuse this for JLo's horrible "Bordertown"; Chris Allen William's BORDER TOWN (two words) is definitely worth a watch, you won't be disappointed.

How about "Boring Town"
The plots been done to death, The main actor was lethargic. I had to fast fwd many of the slow moving dialog scenes. A big bore.

Great film...
a great example of what can be accomplished on low budget with careful planing and artful direction....great acting too...I suspect we will hear more from these film makers!

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Dead Wood

Real horror fans should definitely give this film a chance
This low-budget British indie surprised me by turning out to be a decent little horror film. Some will beg to differ (the film has been savaged in some amateur reviewing circles), but what I see in Dead Wood is a truly independent film that tries to avoid the most pervasive of genre clichés even as it pays its own sort of homage to the likes of The Blair Witch Project and Evil Dead. It leaves too many questions unanswered, but by gum it does manage to distinguish itself from most of the other unoriginal, done to death "camping trip from hell" films. If you want to watch a by-the-numbers slasher film, this isn't it.

I personally don't see the appeal of traveling deep into a forest way out in the middle of nowhere and spending a few days away from the modern conveniences of life. The four characters in this film, however, look upon this camping trip as a good thing. It's sort of an odd pairing, as one of the two "couples" seemingly don't know each other very well...

The Woods Are Dark
I was prepared to be a hard nosed, bored horror buff, ready to pounce on a weak, color by numbers silly mess. But DEAD WOOD is a really good British horror film. Although it's obvious from the getgo this is a low budget production, low budget doesn't always make it a bad thing. The premise is a horror staple--two couples decide to go camping in the woods, but then there is a twist. A lone girl stumbles into camp and asks for help finding her boyfriend who has disappeared in the woods. Then everything quickly falls apart.

DEAD WOOD doesn't have lots of gore or lots of fancy CGI effects, but what it does have is a good story, a consistent plotline and a great deal of tension, fright and suspense. If you want a horror video with some meat to it, something that will make you think, check out DEAD WOOD.

The forest is dark. Very dark.

You Be the judge
Well It was ok, Just ok.... I wouldn't spend more that 1.99 for it ... I love movies period especially scary, horror, slasher films ...& this movie went into my giveaway pile... But everyones taste is differnt ..so You Be the judge..came in great condition , no problems with seller, arrived on time.

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The Watermelon

Refreshingly Different
This is one of the better movies that I have seen in a long time. It was refreshingly different and unpredicatable. Each actor gave their character a uniqueness to the story. I highly recommend this to people that are sick of
carbon copy movies that are so overly rated. This is film making at it's best.
"The Watermelon" is definately a 5 star movie.The Watermelon

THE WATERMELON
Enjoyed this film a lot. Good performances, characters, storyline, music...
The film has a nice look to it. Just a fun and entertaining movie.
I highly recommend it.

Low budget waste of time
One reviewer said this reminded her of a "low low budget version of the television series Pushing Daisies ...because of the deadpan acting and odd dialog." That's a pretty good description, leaving out the distorted, misguided attempt to reference Greek and/or Roman mythology by naming the characters Achilles, Persephone, Antigone, etc. Not one part of the story (what little there is) even remotely resembles anything from mythology. Weird, nearly unwatchable, I finished it only so I could legitimately review it here. It doesn't even deserve one star, let alone five. Watch at your own risk!

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Zenhaling: The Art of Breathing

Good Instruction!
I feel this is good instruction on different yogic breathing techniques. Tim Kelly took the time to explain how different yoga type breathing techniques affect human anatomy. He did a good job in demonstrating the techniques and the illustrations were helpful. I gave it a 4 rating instead of a 5 because in my opinion the music was distracting and too loud during the instruction. Recommended.





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Five Fingers

Suspenseful "what is going on" film
This is a suspenseful, "what is going on," "who should we believe" 2006 film. A young man who says he is from Holland is in love with a young woman who says she is from Morocco. The man leaves the woman in the US and flies to Morocco saying he is going to help feed the starving people there. He is accompanied by a guide. He and the guide are kidnapped by people dressed as Muslims. He is drugged. He wakes tied up, not knowing where he is, and sees the guide killed for making insulting remarks about Muslims. Laurence Fishburne plays the Muslim leader, but is he? He insists that the man knows certain things and wants him to tell what they are. But what are these things? Who really is the young man? Is his girl friend involved? Who is behind Fishburne? What is he really trying to find out? Why is it so important that he cuts off four of the man's fingers? The man put one million dollars in his bank account. Where did he get the money? What is it for? There is a surprise ending to this...

Excellent Acting But Mysterious Plot
MARTIJN (Ryan Phillippe), a Dutch pianist and friend, travels to Morocco to help start a food program for malnourished children or so he says. Within moments of his arrival Martijn and his friend are abducted on a bus by a group of terrorists, only one of them is injected with a drug, but both are imprisoned. Do you see the mystery forming already? Under threat of death, Martinj engages in a mental chess match with AHMAT (Laurence Fishburne), trying to learn his captor's true objective and avoid death. When he fails to answer the questions that his captors are asking, they begin to cut off his fingers. Since he plays piano this is very significant. The captors seem to know all about him. How do they know so much? Is it the beautiful mysterious girlfriend that he left at home? To add to the thrill and mystery of the movie Gina Torres (Fishburne's wife in real life) enters and gives an award winning performance. First she appears to sympathize with Martijn, but then she flips...

Ryan Phillippe Does it again
Once again Ryan Phillippe puts out another outstanding performance. A little different to his usual this time with less of the action but the mind games and ending plot certainly make up for that

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Night Train

Modern day Pandora's Box
This movie explores what happens, when a few people taking the, NIGHT TRAIN, discover that a passenger is dead. Initially, it was handled rather matter-of-factly. He had apparently taken some pills with alcohol. It was likely an overdose. But just who was this man---and why was he guarding his possessions so closely, and with such paranoia, when he boarded the train?

Sharing his car were only two other passengers: a young pre-med student (Leelee Sobieski) and a salesman (Steven Zahn). The veteran train conductor (Danny Glover) visits the car, shortly after the salesman notes the passenger deceased. While going through the man's possessions they discover a mysterious box. It can't be opened, but one can peer inside through some carvings in the box. The salesman takes an innocent peek, that will change all of their lives. He becomes almost hypnotically entranced. Each, in turn, follows suit. They all fall under the spell, and each tries to make the possession their own...

Great Hitchcock style low budget piece!
This film is a perfect example of how to make a very effective and suspenseful film with a low budget. One location, few actors and great script. The interaction between the different characters is great. Danny Glover is perfect as the aging train conductor who sees the chance to get a break in life. Only thing that disturbed me was the bad CGI.

So THAT was Richard O'Brien...
I bought this film based on the premise and the fact that I was familiar with the 3 lead actors. As the credits rolled, I noticed another familiar name, far down the list - Richard O'Brien. Since he was the creator and star of one of my favorite films of all time, I thought it would be kind of intriguing to see what he looked like after all these years. Since his glory days as Riff-Raff in his classic "Rocky Horror Picture Show", he has made cameos in a bunch of movies, including "Elvira's Haunted Hills", but not much recently. As the film rolled on, I got so caught up in the plot that I realized I had not seen anyone that could possibly be him, except... NAH! Couldn't be! But as the movie neared the end, I figured I just HAD to be right. I agree fully with the comparisons to classic episodes of "The Twilight Zone", and I didn't mind the cheesy sets. It added to the atmosphere of the film. I could envision seeing this on SYFY on Saturday night (they just need to bleep out a couple of...

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Jeff Garlin: Young and Handsome: A Night with Jeff Garlin

Better than expected
I'm a big fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, so I when I saw this on clearance this at a closing Movie Gallery and felt pressure to buy something, I thought I'd give it a try. I'm not all that into stand-up comedy in general, but I found Jeff pretty funny and I enjoyed watching it. It's basically just him telling stories, with a few other random jokes in between, and it made for a pleasant show. If you like Jeff Garlin, you should probably try it out.

Mediocre
I was expecting a little more from one of the stars of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but was disappointing. It also showed in the way the audience responded to the humor.

FUNNY!!!
Classic Chicago humor. Good show, worth the rental. Esp if you have ADD, ADHD or just like to yuck it up!

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Jonas Brothers: The Concert Experience (Two-Disc Extended Edition + Digital Copy)

a must for any fan!
I would highly recommend this to any Jonas Brothers fan who can't get enough of them. Knowing how expensive (and coveted) their concert tickets are, this gives you a behind the scenes, front row thrill. Nothing beats seeing them live (seriously, nothing compares!), but the 3D is a close second.
I saw this opening night in LA and the boys stopped by to play us an acoustic set...not your average night at the movies! Needless to say, I enjoyed every minute of the film and sang along to every word. I went to their tour the day before this concert was filmed, so I felt like I was reliving the summer tour. Also, don't be fooled by some of the fan sequences -- just watching all the screaming, running fans is entertaining in itself, even if I am one myself!

JB Fan
I really enjoy their music and this not only had great music but some nice behind the scene parts. I also like the "extra" where they explain all the went into making the tour such a success.

Relive the magic!
Even if you did catch the Jonas Brothers on their Burning Up Tour last summer (like I did), this is STILL worth the purchase. It's like reliving the surge of excitement over and over again. It never gets old. It's got tons of behind the scene stuff, plus it has 2 bonus songs which were NOT released in the theaters.

If you're a JB fan, and did NOT get to catch them on their Burning Up Tour, then I don't know what you're waiting for! ORDER THIS DVD and experience Kevin, Joe, and Nick up close and personal. Honestly, isn't that what EVERYYYYY Jonas Brother fan wants? :P

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River's End

A Good One!
Finally, I found it. I first saw this movie at Blockbuster, I didnt rent it! Oops, one week later it was gone, they said it was sent back! I looked everywhere for it, finally found it on Ebay.
Its a coming of age story, the wild teen who is set out on the open water to survive. I liked the actors/actresses in this one, rent it if you can, its definitely worth watching!

Indy film
This is a great, adventuresome indy film about a rebellious teen in West Texas and how his grandfather helps him to manhood, as the kid lost his father early in life. Menard, Ft. McKavett, and the Pecos River are the settings. a great family and teen movie. The real challenge begins when he takes a 60 mile journey down the Pecos River by himself; he encounters quite a lot, some funny, some tense and suspenseful.

This one's worth watching, and buying...
There are many movies made where a grandparent (usually a grandfather) is forced to step in and make a difference in the life of a grandchild who has a bad attitude. Generally in these stories, something traumatic has happened to the grandchild, usually the death of a parent. An animal, an experience - in this movie it's a river trip - is the crux that somehow gets through to the grandchild, sets him or her straight, and makes the aggravation involved worthwhile for all.

Although there are a couple others I could recommend in this category, I'm personally most impressed with this one by way of acting quality and interesting storyline. Definitely worth a watch, and after watching twice as a rental, I'm buying it!

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Knowing

Warning!!! READ THIS REVIEW BEFORE YOU READ ANY OTHERS!!!
Why read this first? Because hopefully there are no spoilers here. In so many of the reviews for this movie, as well as others on Amazon, people seemed compelled to give a total synopsis of the movie all the way up to the end -- especially if they didn't like the movie. It's like if they didn't care for it, then nobody else needs to see it. Well, I'm glad that I didn't read any of the reviews here before watching KNOWING because I enjoyed not knowing and being able to decide for myself. And my opinion is that KNOWING is a very fine movie.

The previews tell you what you need to know: A time capsule which contains school children's drawings about what they think things will be like in 50 years is opened in the present day. An astrophysicist (Nicholas Cage)gets hold of one submission which is a lengthy series of numbers. He discovers that the numbers predict future disasters, most which have happened, but a few that are still to come. His mission becomes to avert the...

Great movie for the intelligent...too much for the simple.
This is an excellent movie but it will not be for everyone. The people who wrote the screenplay seem to have made the mistaken assumption that the average moviegoer is also well-read and educated. This, sadly, is not the case. The plot line of Knowing is rooted in some rather obscure and/or less-than-mainstream ideas. These include Chaos theory, the ideas of Von Daniken, ancient astronaut theory, astrophysics, and certain alternative facets of spirtuality.

If you are the type who likes a movie that makes you think and question then this will be perfect for you. And if you like it then spread the word to your more intelligent friends!

Knowing is perfect for those who appreciate some thought being put into movies. For those who prefer mindless and simple entertainment, then you have your choice of many other movies.

Childhood's End
I noticed early on that "Knowing" had been receiving scathing reviews from cinephiles who called the movie "cliche," "trite," and "derivative." Most of these criticisms were impassioned and seemed to compare the movie to false estimations of what the film should have been. There is nothing wrong with wanting a movie to subvert or defy your expectations; but there is something unfair about not recognizing a film for what it is, especially when the movie succeeds so brilliantly in achieving its end result. "Knowing" starts off like a typical apocalyptic thriller rooted in numerology. But slowly the momentum of the film builds with each carefully crafted scene, so its suspense dissolves into a profound study on loss and letting go. "Knowing" is about knowing your place and role in the universe, and accepting it; and as hard as it may seem, letting go of your loved ones for their betterment -- even if its at odds with your own private longings. The ending could have played out many...

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Kaze No Stigma: Season 1 Part 1 - Wind

A Great Action Mystical Anime Series Funimation Is Releasing
I've been watching this action packed series for a few months online and am greatly enjoyed that Funimation is finally releasing this series for us in America in two part packages. If you've see the series X/1999 or Shana here's another wonderful anime for your home. The series follows mostly on three characters you have Ayano Kannagi the heiress to the Kannagi clan a family of mystical warriors who control the element of fire to a powerful degree and are also the holders of a mystical weapon that allows the heir or heiress to elevate their power of fire, Kazuma Yagami Ayano's cousin and who was once also part of the Kannagi clan but because his elemental powers were not fire he was considered weak and after loosing the clan title match against Ayano was banished from the clan but it's later found out that he's a powerful wind user and has come back to Japan to find closure with his estranged former clan, and finally Ren Kannagi Kazuma's younger brother and Ayano's cousin who like...

Highly Underrated
I'm not going to comment on price since I rent anime these days. Buying just gets too expensive. That being said...

I noticed that the editorial review of Kaze no Stigma is particularly scathing, and unnecessary in my opinion. Ayano and Kazuma's personalities fit their magic attributes quite nicely. She is far from being a Mary Sue, and his sarcasm is a large part of the humor in this series. I was wary of the "reluctant allies" aspect from the very beginning, and was worried that the characters, as well as the story would be too stereotypical. Upon Ayano's introduction, I had resigned myself to watching her being too headstrong for her own good. Concerning Kazuma, I thought he would be a jerk through the whole series, and to be honest, my first thought was "Oh great, he's going to be the Inuyasha type." To my delight, I was wrong.

The character interactions are really enjoyable. The story IS interesting, and not at all predictable, and not only that,...

Decent, but far too expensive
KnS will entertain most shonen fans, but doesn't rise above average TV anime. If teen sci-fi/fantasy action series aren't your type of show, then you will be very disappointed. In either case, the price is far higher than it should be for this series. Compared to KnS, Shana (Shakugan no Shana), is a masterpiece, and although Shana is one of my favorite shonen series and very entertaining, I don't rank it that high in terms of artistic achievement. Any number of series, both licensed and not, are better than KnS. You can buy the entire series box set of Shana for $50 retail, or $40 easily at discount. Familiar of Zero is also far better (as long as you never, ever turn on the English dub), again available in one box set for a reasonable price. Fate/Stay Night can be had for $40, and is again far better.

The full list of shows that are higher quality and less expensive to buy would be long, but Shana and Zero compare most closely to the characters and plot of KnS...

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Ruby Blue

Powerful, Technically Flawed, Wonderful Film
A low budget, independent film, set in a fishing village in Great Britain. The story is powerful and moving. Bob Hoskins, Josiane Balasko (a fairly well known actress in France), and the young red head girl, Jessica Stewart; all deliver wonderful performances.

This is a somewhat difficult story to describe without giving away much of the discovery in this film. The film looks at tolerance, prejudice, innocence, love, loss, friendship, kindness, and cruelty. All these emotions are wrapped up in marvelous lead characters.

As each charcter is introduced, I had a strong feeling of really loving that character. In the opening montage, Jack played by Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Vista Series), in his younger days looked a little like Phil Collins), meets 4 teenagers sitting on the curb drinking and littering. He yells at them, one throws his beer can at Jack. Jack picks up the can and...

a very different, very rewarding film
Bob Hoskins is fantastic as Jack, a man who lost the will to live and can't figure out a way to carry on until he reaches out to the children of his community who need him. In keeping a neighborhood boy from trouble by allowing him to look after his pigeons and by babysitting a neighborhood girl, Jack restores his live to live and even finds love in the least likeliest of places. The film underscore what it means to be human - to be prosecuted at the same time as to do your own prosecuting, to have your own prejudices and to be prejudiced against, but most importantly, it teaches us that living our lives in the way we want, for our sake, is the best way to go about things.

Clink
As there is little useful information here about Jan Dunn's low budget melodrama, "Ruby Blue", I will throw out a few observations. The title is a reference to the racing pigeon that much of the story revolves around. Note that the title line in the promotional material incorporates a silhouette of the bird.

The promotional material would lead you to believe that this is a children's film with Bob Hoskins (Jack) and Jessica Stewart (Florrie) having a lot of "Bad Bascomb" (1946) moments in the tradition of Wallace Beery and Margaret O'Brien. They do have some scenes together, the most effective and least contrived segments of the film, but the cute-kid-as-a-redeemer is more side story than central focus. Despite the misleading marketing material there is little here that would appeal to children. Dunn's script is filled out with a host of tedious characters and subplots that detail the life of a depressed widower (Hopkins). Imagine Michelangelo Antonioni expanding the short...

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Push

A Movie for Special People
Overview:

This movie starts 10 years in the past, where Nick Grant (Colin Ford as a youth and Chris Evans as an adult) is a young teenager. His dad is killed by agents of the Division. As the story goes, the Division is a shadowy government organization that has continued doing research into the development of soldiers with psychic capabilities. This research was started in Nazi Germany in 1945 and has secretly continued since then. Radiation is used to improve these capabilities, however, the survival rate after the treatment has not been good.

In order to understand this movie, you need to be aware of the major categories of the different psychics and their capabilities:

- Watchers : able to see future events, demonstrated by drawings;
- Movers: able to control objects without physical contact;
- Pushers: able to implant thoughts and change memories;
- Shifters: these persons can change the appearance of objects;
- Sniffers: smell...

One of my favorite movies, I wish there had been a sequel
This movie is one of my favorites. Despite the Amazon review, this movie is not hard to follow. It is full of excitement and suspense.There is never a boring moment. The acting is amazing and Camilla Belle is gorgeous. Dakota Fanning is truly able to show off her talent.

I have watched this movie many times and never tire of it. I only wish there had been a sequel.

Really Good movie!
I don't know why everyone keeps saying that this movie was just ok. I thought it was really good and entertaining. It isn't your normal superhero movie. I think that is a good thing. There needs to be different ideas out there. Not every superhero has to save the world at the end of the day. Give this movie a try. I'm glad i did.

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Wholphin: Issue 8

Mostly terrific
There is some stuff here that can try a person's patience. Watching James Franco spend a half hour wreaking violent damage on a bedroom as performance art will no doubt provide humor &/or catharsis for some. Frankly I just found it tiring. McSweeney's impresario Dave Eggers conceived and directed this, and companion versions with comic Maria Bamford and actor Creed Bratton.

I actively loathed the short written by and starring indie rock star Carlos Dengler from Interpol. Was it because it seems like a third-rate David Lynch knockoff? The written intro accompanying the disc makes a point of declaring "Carlos is no dilettante," and maybe you, too, will find his film "exquisite" and a "meticulously crafted, surrealist dreamscape." Oh, well. I still like his band.

While these left me cool, I found myself warming to other films in the collection. "Short Term 12" is set inside the world of residential treatment for "at-risk youth" or "troubled teens" or some...





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The Fifth Commandment

really good action
The Fifth Commandment was a fun, somewhat mesmerizing film. The cinemtography was awesome, giving a really immersive feeling, although there's a blue tint to it that occassionally threw me off, but it was still a beautiful film to watch. And that's something really special coming out a straight up action movie.

The story follows an assassin who is troubled with his choices in life who is contracted to kill a troubled young pop star. The problem is that his adoptive brother, who his adopted father told him was dead, turns out to be part of her bodyguard troupe. So he passes the assignment, and protects his brother and the target from the next duo of assassins who are given the job leading to the main conflict of the movie.

And the conflict was top notch. Every burst of gunfire felt powerful, the car chase sequence jarring, the fistfight sequences grueling and damaging. All of it was choreographed and filmed expertly, and there was plenty of it at just the right...

"God doesn't care about people like us"
Rick Yune has all the makings to be a good action hero: he's good-looking, legitimately athletic, and can act Van Damme under the table. "The Fifth Commandment" should have been the ultimate expo of what he can do in a starring role, opposed to the supporting parts he had in Ninja Assassin and Die Another Day, but I'm sorry to say that his first solo vehicle is lacking. At first glance, it's a promising DTV film that avoids several of the more obvious mistakes plaguing the genre, but at some point, you realize that it's only going to get so good and no better. I really hope that Rick gets a few more chances to refine his craft in starring situations; he really could be the next big thing, but for now, this one will have to stick with a limited audience.

The story: an orphaned boy is brought up by an aged master assassin (Keith...

WEEKEND IN PURGATORY
Chance (Rick Yune) is raised by Coolbreeze (Keith David) because his parents got shot my mobsters as a child. Coolbreeze, a cross between Shaft and Huggy Bear uses his Vietnam training to instruct Chance. Coolbreeze also has a son Miles (Bokeem Woodbine) who leaves the family and eventually starts his own security firm.

Miles' firm is hired to guard a singer (Dania Ramirez). Chance reunites with his long lost brother to let him know there is a contract out on the girl. After some testosterone exchanges, we discover the hit is now contracted to a cartoonish couple who look like they belong in "Kill Bill" or some other grindhouse.

The film suffers from substandard dialouge writing. They knew where they wanted to go, it was just awkward getting there, especially the reuniting scene of brothers, who were separated by only 4 minutes film time. The acting was second rate, as expected, but not Seagal funny.

Decent action flick rental. No gravity defying...

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Princess Protection Program (Royal B.F.F. Extended Edition)

One of the better Disney Channel movies
Two promising young stars turn this boilerplate Disney Channel movie into a decent diversion for `tween girls. A funny story of a princess and tomboy who join together to battle various high school horrors, it also includes a nice message about self-esteem.

Selena Gomez ("Wizards of Waverly Place") shines in her first starring role, with comic sensibilities that hint at a long career. Likable co-star Demi Lovato ("Camp Rock," "Sonny Without a Chance") adds charm of her own, and together the two young stars have great chemistry. Also worth mentioning is another newcomer, Jamie Chung, who MTV viewers will remember from "The Real World: San Diego." She plays Chelsea, the front-runner for homecoming queen.

Girls between the ages of say, 7 to 13, should love it. If you buy it for one, you'll score bonus brownie points by...

Very cute movie!
What a great movie this was! Normally from a Disney Channel movie, you wouldn't expect it to be a blockbuster movie, but this movie is one of the best ones that Disney has had in a long time! Although it doesn't quite beat the Hannah Montana phoenominon, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato are very talented young ladies. It even adds on that these two girls are best friends in real life because they have a lot of chemistry together while acting in this movie. It's a great movie to watch with your girlfriends and fun for the whole family! There's comedy, romance, and drama. This movie has almost everything you could ask for and it teaches the moral lesson that you should always be true to yourself, it's okay to let your inner beauty show, don't judge too quicky, and most of all, best friends will always be there for each other and you should never let boys come between that. This was a very cute movie and I would give it five stars right off the bat!

Endearing and A Lesson Learned
Very cute. It is nice how the girls became friends even though they were from different worlds. How the princess had to act like a normal high school girl was funny. Selena Gomez was charming after the initial rudeness. She realized the other girl was just trying to fit in.

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Acolytes

Teens Who Won't Bore You To Death
Acolytes is a 2008 Australian film with a premise both simple and unusual: Three teenage friends stumble across a burial spot in the woods, identify a serial killer, and decide to blackmail him into committing a crime on their behalf. This is not a plan born out of restless boredom. The crime, it seems, is a form of rude justice for an act of violence that occurred several years earlier.

Present day scenes feature the friends' daily wanderings across a hideously boring suburban neighborhood. We never see concerned adults--other than law enforcement officers--taking an interest in anything they do. Loving parents will find this appalling, but honest ones will admit that a lot of teens live this way. Unsupervised and disconnected from parents who are busy working or just not that interested, the young people in this story create meaning and relationships from scratch. What they come up with is sometimes touching and sad, but it is also dangerous and potentially...

i was more impressed with this then the other reviewers.
i gave this a five star rating but maybe it was a four and a half.
i felt that this was a very real movie. i could see much, if not all, of this having taken place. okay, for the ease of making a movie some things were simplified [like the ease of the illegal entry into a domicile. i at no point felt that this promoted nor accepted child molestation like one of the other reviewers. i will need to watch this once more to make sure that all of the lose ends were tied up. I'm very confident that there are no slip ups. there are a number of unexpected twists that made sense because of human nature's willingness to leave important details. so when a character doesn't tell others everything it's to keep up his, or her, own public perception. nobody likes to have their past embarassements waved around.

basic story: some kids received terrible torment from a guy when they were young.
now days a girl goes missing. we don't know exactly what happened but we see...

Brilliant thriller, but sub-par with horror elements
Acolytes has a pretty simple but intriguing premise--three teens attempt a game they're not prepared to play. The game is blackmail, and the target is a cold-blooded killer. They quickly learn they're in way over their heads.

Mark is a teenager who spots a mysterious man burying something out in the woods. Probably just a dead pet, but he and his friends contemplate other possibilities--a stash of money, perhaps? They decide to go dig it up, and are flabbergasted by whay they uncover--a dead woman. When they try to report the crime over the phone, the police demand some identification. Scared, they hang up the phone instead and consider other options.

Amazing what teenagers will do when they're bored. First, they decide to track the killer down. Not trying to be heroes or anything, they do this simply out of some sick curiousity or morbid fascination. Since they know the vehicle he drives and the vicinity of where he lives, it doesn't take long...

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Lethal Weapon (Keep Case Packaging)

Great Movie Poor Blue-Ray Quality
As much as i love this movie, I was turned off by the poor job that was done on the tranfer to Blue-Ray quality.
Save your money, Hopefully a better version will be released in the future.

A good film gets better
The recent release of the director's cut of Lethal Weapon add depth to the film by the inclusion of approximately 7 minutes of new scenes. The additions are in the beginning of the film when the characters are still being developed. In one scene, Gibson's character walks into the line of fire of a sniper, and in another he has a rather violent reaction to a commercial on TV. In the context of this portion of the movie, it further establishes the pain Gibson's character is going through and his mental state...is he crazy or just not caring what happens to him? Additional scenes also establish Glover's character's concern at growing old...does he still have it?

The balance of the film is pretty much unchanged. Lethal Weapon is a fun buddy action/comedy movie, but shines more than the sequels, which emphasized comedy and cartoonish action. Gibson and Glover actually act here, Gibson in particular in the scenes where he is struggling with his wife's death. The interplay...

cousinpaco's top action: #5
Retiring cop gets new partner. They don't get along, until they shoot a bunch of bad guys together. The formula has become cliché.

Who cares?!?

"Lethal Weapon" is such a great movie, that it defines the concept of a buddy-cop picture. Both lead actors give top-of-their game performances. Gibson is a standout, playing burned-out narc Martin Riggs, who's wallowing in grief for his dead wife.

(Ever notice that Mel Gibson always plays a widower? Wonder how Robin Gibson feels about this...)

Danny Glover plays the down-to-Earth Roger Murtaugh, who steps up to the plate when his family is threatened.

Heck, even Gary Busey deserves a nod for his portrayal of shadowy Mr. Joshua. Riggs and Mr. Joshua face off in a massive martial-arts brawl that apparently took four days to film.

One of my favorite supporting actors appears in "Lethal Weapon" - Al Leong, playing the guy who tortures Riggs with an electric shock apparatus. Riggs' payback is pretty bone-crushing, so don't...

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Little Steps: Adventures with Trains

Disappointed
This DVD is essentially the very same as "Train Crazy Kids". Which my grandson adores! Wish we had known this before we purchased it.

Amazing trains
It is amazing to me how trains can capture the attention of my 2 year old, he can watch this over and over!

LOVED by those who love trains
My boys (5 and almost 4) absolutely love trains (more so than your average kid) and love this movie. We are on our second copy and it was worth every penny, but you really have to love trains to enjoy this movie. It is older, but very educational and teaches them a lot about being a train engineer and about real trains.

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The Betrayed

Implausible crime drama/thriller
Most of this movie is shot in a dingy room in a warehouse someplace, and centers on Melissa George's character being imprisoned in said room, completely at the mercy of her captors. The story begins when Jamie Taylor [Melissa George] and her young son Michael are pulled out of their car after an accident and promptly imprisoned in a warehouse. Jamie is roughed up and her captor Alec [Oded Fehr] tells her that her husband is not who she thinks he is, but an assassin who is on the run from a crime syndicate after having stolen mob money totalling about 40 million dollars. When Jamie refuses to believe her captor, her son Michael, who is also diabetic is used as a pawn - if Jamie refuses to comply, Michael will be killed.

Given a short period of time, Jamie has to rack her brain and utilize whatever clues she is given to piece together the answer to the question: where is the money? Her husband is nowhere to be found and Jamie has to rely on herself to get her and her son out...

Warehouse Of Doom...
THE BETRAYED is a rather long-winded "thriller" w/ few actual thrills. Melissa George (TURISTAS, TRIANGLE) is adequate in her role as Jamie Taylor, a woman who wakes up on the cold floor of a warehouse, wondering why she's there. About 99.98% of the "action" takes place in one small-ish room in the supposedly vast building. Oded Fehr (yeah, the MUMMY guy) plays the mysterious, masked captor, trying to get information from Jamie through intimidation, violence, and a weird sort of kindness (??). Things drag on until the final 20 minutes or so, when Alice Krige (GHOST STORY, SLEEPWALKERS, SILENT HILL) makes her appearance. Ms. Krige almost saves the entire movie, but is only in it for about 15 minutes. Still, she's fascinating to watch as always! Not a terrible movie, just don't expect any nail-biting...

Wonderful movie
The acting is great. Throughout the whole move there is suspense and intrigue. I love movies where basically it is 2 actors the carry on a dialogue and it keeps you on your toes for the entire movie.

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Under Siege (Keep Case Packaging)

clean scenes, when treated
I would say 90% of the whole movie was cleaned and sharpened for HD. Other 10% of random scenes exhibited alot of grain and snow. Still a major improvement over the DVD release that I have viewed multiple times. Only wished they cleaned the whole movie. You won't miss the untreated scenes, extremely grainy. Otherwise, still a great movie in my opinion.

Definitely Seagal's best movie so far
Steven Seagal is finally coming to Scotland, Edinburgh specifically, to play with his band Thunderbox. Although he has a few more chins than he used to, my boyfriend is thinking of going to see him in concert, so what better way to celebrate the fact a major star is coming to Edinburgh, than to watch a movie?

I'm normally not that fussed about Mr Seagal. I own one of his movies (Marked For Death), but I've discovered, since watching this, that I have so much more respect for him when he doesn't have that ponytail. Which just looks silly on a guy that big anyway. I knew I was going to be watching this, as it was "reserved" for watching on the brand new, HD DVD player that now resides in my boyfriend's sitting room. It was my first viewing of a HD DVD and overall, I was very impressed.

Shock horror, you do actually get to see Steven SMILE in this film, which made me start to like him even more. Normally, he's all serious. It did look like he was going to start...

great movie ,great action, good performance by seagal
i really liked this seagal flick i think its one of his best. His dry humor worked perfectly in this movie , if he turned out more movies like this one he would be a house hold name. The adition of gary bussey and tommy lee jones were great villans, over the top and very cool. Seagal plays a cook/ ex navy seal, and tommy lee and bussey plays terrorists, bussey is sort of the serious no nonsense type , and tommy lee is more the hippy type/lunatic.

The scenes of the battleship were amazing, i like this flick because its not ALL about seagal like his other movies usually focusing on him an leavin the movie to follow. There are some cool scenes with tommy lee and bussey in this one you feel seagal is in the movie as opposed to seagal an then the movie.The action is of course great , seagal is in top form in this one showing of he really is a martial arts master, the best fight scenes are of seagal an tommy lee mixing it up with knives in the films finale, truly amazing becuz...

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Jimmy Hansen's Heaven

great
Great Product
Great Product Thanks and would buy again
Will return for more merchandise I give it five stars definitely for sure

Jimmy Hansen's Heaven
This was a great movie! Good for all ages, especially for anyone who just experienced a loss of a loved one. I showed this in my Sunday School class and there was hardly a dry eye in the bunch. May not be an actual description of what heaven is like, but I really hope it's like that!

Jimmy Hansen's Heaven is Awesome
This movie will make you wonder what heaven will really look like. I would reccomend it to anyone. I think it would also be great for someone who just lost a loved one and wants to know more about heaven. Jesus said he couldn't describe heaven to us because it doesn't compare to anything on earth. I think they did a wonderful job with this movie showing us what heaven might be like. We'll just have to wait until our time and see what it's really like, but until then we can enjoy this movie and imagine for ourselves what it might be like once we go there.

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The Education of Charlie Banks

Is this really about Banks?
I saw this movie pretty much because of "The Social Network". I thought it would be interesting to see Eisenberg in a pre-Social Network college film. I watched the audio commentary of Social Network and Fincher said he had seen Charlie Banks prior to making Social Network.

I don't know much about Durst but found it funny that he was the director of this. He definitely has ambition and you can tell he put a lot of work into this. The acting is pretty good. I was happy to see John Ritter's son turning in good work. The movie starts out about Charlie but becomes more about the Ritter character. Kind of uneven, and there's not enough story. What's there is fine, but it just seems undeveloped, kind of like its young characters.

So it's an affectionate thumbs down. With a better script, Durst might really surprise us one day.

P.S. (spoiler) There is the threat of violence in a scene that made me cringe. It was really well done. Scorsese would nod his head...

A Character Study Centered Around The Wrong Character
While some may be skeptical of Fred Durst's directorial debut, he shows some promise. Competent, yet distant, most of my reservations about recommending "Charlie Banks" have to do with the film's plotting and characterizations. The primary story revolves around two roommates at an Ivy League college and what happens when an old "friend" with a checkered and violent past shows up for an indefinite stay. A good set-up that lacks a bit of pay-off.

A well made film, "The Education of Charlie Banks" is a movie I wanted to admire. However, something kept me at arm's length--I never really connected emotionally in a way that would have made my viewing experience more compelling. I think, perhaps, I never fully embraced Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg) as the narrator or centerpiece of the film. His "education" or development just wasn't that intriguing and my lack of concern for him created somewhat of a void in the center of the film. Eisenberg was terrific in "The Squid and the...

A Character Study Centered Around The Wrong Character
While some may be skeptical of Fred Durst's directorial debut, he shows some promise. Competent, yet distant, most of my reservations about recommending "Charlie Banks" have to do with the film's plotting and characterizations. The primary story revolves around two roommates at an Ivy League college and what happens when an old "friend" with a checkered and violent past shows up for an indefinite stay. A good set-up that lacks a bit of pay-off.

A well made film, "The Education of Charlie Banks" is a movie I wanted to admire. However, something kept me at arm's length--I never really connected emotionally in a way that would have made my viewing experience more compelling. I think, perhaps, I never fully embraced Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg) as the narrator or centerpiece of the film. His "education" or development just wasn't that intriguing and my lack of concern for him created somewhat of a void in the center of the film. Eisenberg was terrific in "The Squid and the...

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Artsee Smartsee

Excellent graphics...learning, not so much
The graphics are excellent and synchronized amazing well with the classical music. There's not much learning going on though. The voice speaking the object names is dull and lifeless. If you want to keep your child entertained and have them learn at the same time I believe there are better options. There are no opportunities, short of stopping the DVD, to mention the shapes and colors to my toddler as they go by. And she likes interacting with me and pointing out things to me; otherwise she gets bored. The graphics and music are why the rating is as high as I gave it.

A relatively unknown gem!
What a phenomenal disc. Great for pre- and early school age children. Combining shapes, music, and art. It is my granddaughter's favorite disc and I love to sit with her to watch it. There is also a language learning section, though we love the graphics most.

Thank you!
Great movie for whole family, if you like classic music. Our kids, ages 13, 7, and 4 months watched it with excitement! Thanks!

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Coraline (Single-Disc Edition)[Anaglyph 3D]

Great Movie
This movie, yes is a little creepy. It has a moral, which is the point. The grass is always greener on the other side. The moral is the grass is not always greener and things are not always what they seem. I watched this with our 12 year old daughter. She was fine with it. Not sure that a child of 10 or younger would understand it. We love this movie. The person who commented about the 3D effects is wrong. They must have watched that non Blu-Ray 3D, with the paper glasses. This is the version for 3D TV's and Blu-Ray players.

Best Movie I have...in 3D
I am only commenting on the 3D aspect of it....not the story itself.
I have several movies in 3d and for me this is bright & colorful. Story is well done but unfortunately nothing really leaps out of the screen at you except for a few instances. I did not think that I was going to like this but watching this in 3D really changed my mind.
I did not really care for Alice in Wonderland or A Christmas Carol. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Despicable Me are pretty good but this I found to be more of a visual treat.
I must say that out of all that I have -Saw 3D and Clash of the Titans-Resident Evil... just do not hold up against CGI movies. IMAX does great stuff but those are not movies.
From start to finish Coraline is a visual feast and I would recommend this for anyone that has a 3D television.

The 3D Works.
I was let down when I saw the paper glasses that it comes with. I was expecting clear, transparent 3D glasses but the glasses that it comes with have Pinkish and Greenish lenses.
But after watching the movie with glasses I found that they worked pretty good. I haven't seen Coraline 3D in theatres, but I was blown away with some of the 3D scenes. The glasses do take away the bright vibrant colors (not too much though, Coraline's bright orange coat and Blue hair were still vibrant) but add a completely new feel and mood to the movie that's very appropriate for it.
Some people have said that only a few selected scenes are in 3d. I didn't feel this at all. The entire movie was in 3D. Maybe a couple close up scenes where there wouldn't be too much depth to begin with may be 2D, ( I don't know) But the rest was completely 3D.
I watched the movie on Blu-ray and on an HD TV. That's the only way to get the best picture possible.
There are almost 2 different version of...

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