Tales from the Crypt: The Complete First Season (1989) Review

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(More customer reviews)Welcome to my review, horror freaks! So glad you could join me and read about the 6 eerie episodes of HBO's "Tales from the Crypt," the very ones that helped the series rise from its tomb back in 1989. It's been 9 long years since the show went off the air, and until now, I've been waiting for the Crypt Keeper's putrid puns and awful alliterations to be forever preserved on DVD format. And why not? The show lasted a full 7 seasons and featured many of the biggest actors and directors in Hollywood. Each tale carefully incorporates the grisly black humor William M. Gaines EC comic books, which were almost banned in the 1950's. Did I say 'almost?' Anyway, as other HBO programs like "Dream On," "Deadwood," and "Carnivale" were packaged and displayed on Best Buy shelves, I wondered if "Tales" would ever be among them. Well, the time has finally arrived, creeps! As stated by John Kassir himself, Warner Brothers wisely chose to create these discs so we ourselves can scare the next generation of kiddies to come. Even better is the fact that the second disc of this Season 1 set will contain a sickening array of never-before-seen extras. I don't want to give the surprises away, but I will briefly tell you the stories you are about to see. Enter, if you dare!
"Dig that Cat...He's Real Gone" stars Joe Pantoliano as Ulric, a homeless alcoholic who becomes a rich and famous sideshow performer after a mad doctor (Gustav Vintas) surgically implants a cat's gland into Ulric's brain. This procedure allows him to die and return to life nine times. Morbid hilarity ensues as a carnival barker (Robert Wuhl) presents Ulric the Undying to astounded audiences who watch him get electrocuted, hanged, drowned in a tank, and shot with an arrow (among other things).
In "The Man Who was Death," Bill Sadler (who eventually starred in the 1995 Tales from the Crypt film "Demon Knight") plays Niles Talbot, a state executioner who loses his job after spending 12 years pulling the switch. This resulted because the government unexpectantly repealed the death penalty. However, not wanting to abandon his favorite occupation, Niles drifts to the other side of the law by killing criminals who were acquitted by the courts.
The frightening and festive "And All Through the House" stars Mary Ellen Trainor as a devious housewife named Elizabeth, who brutally bludgeons her husband with a poker to collect on an insurance policy. Just when she is ready to eliminate the corpse, a homicidal maniac donning a Santa Claus costume (Larry Drake) terrorizes her with an axe. Even worse, Elizabeth can't call the police for fear of being convicted of first degree murder and losing custody of her daughter.
Vanity and greed play a central role in "Only Sin Deep," a tale about a street prostitute named Sylvia Vane (Lea Thompson). After killing a pimp and stealing his gold jewelry, she willingly sells her beauty to a strange pawnbroker (Britt Leach) in exchange for $10,000 cash. At first, Sylvia wins over the affections of a suave playboy millionaire. But immediately afterward, as a result of some black magic performed by the pawnbroker, she gets increasingly distraught as her face quickly ages. Desperate to buy back her looks, she shoots her rich lover dead, but is then forced to avoid prison by staying ugly for life.
Prepare for a honeymoon hell in "Lover Come Hack To Me." Here, a cunning bachelor named Charles (Stephen Shellen) marries a naive Peggy (Amanda Plummer) for her inheritance money. On a rainy night, after accidentally getting stuck in an abandoned mansion, the two go up to the bedroom and make perfect love for the very first time. Originally, Charles was going to kill Peggy and stage the crime to look like a burglary. But he soon discovers that her family history is cursed, and that much darker skeletons lie in the bride's closet.
Last but not least is one of my favorite episodes, "Collection Completed." M. Emmet Walsh plays Jonas, a grouchy tool salesman who finally gets to retire after 47 years on the job. His slightly odd wife Anita (Audra Lindley) has developed a fondness for pets...alot of pets. In fact, she keeps a zoo-full of cats, dogs, and birds in the house. On top of that, she talks to squirrels and runs an aquarium in the bathtub. Obviously, such an attachment to animals is enough to drive Jonas up the wall! Inevitably, he gets sick and tired of not having enough attention, and he gleefully takes up taxidermy as a hobby. But those poor animals weren't the only living creatures that ended up getting stuffed.

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Based on the legendary and gruesome EC Comics from publisher William Gaines, this horror anthology featured stories of murder, the super natural, gore and humor and always had a twist ending of sorts. Some of Hollywood's biggest names took part, either working in front or behind the camera. Hosting duties fell to everyone's favorite decaying corpse, the Cryptkeeper. The success of this series spawned a Saturday morning cartoon series (Tales From the Cryptkeeper), a short-lived Saturday morning game show on CBS (Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House) and lots of merchandise. Two feature films (Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood) were also produced and released in the late 90's. The TV series originally aired on HBO, but was later syndicated to Fox, the Sci-Fi Channel, and most recently AMC. Despite being a short season (only 6 episodes), Season 1 enjoyed the highest ratings in its HBO airings.

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Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete First Season (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)At first I was like "um...no," but then I continued watching because I rented the disks from Netflix and then I ended up laughing my ass off. This is a weird comedy show. The timing is really strange, because it is improvised apparently. Now I can't get enough of the show. Larry David is just so...inappropriate sometimes it makes you die laughing. And the cast is just great too. They all play it off like pros. I have ordered the series now and can't wait to watch them all again. One episode was so funny I had to watch it like four times in a row. Maybe that says something strange about my creepy life that I'm watching Larry David so much, but c'est la vie! My advice is to watch the entire first season and see if it doesn't sink into your skin. Larry David's humor is not for everyone, but if you are smart and kind of dorky sometimes with a wicked sense of humor you should like this.

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He's got it all, a loving wife, good friends, a successful career, a good home... What could go wrong for Larry David?CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM stars "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David as himself in an unsparing, cinema verite depiction of his life.Featuring real life celebrities playing themselves, the episodes are improvised by the actors from storylines by David.

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Hung: The Complete First Season Review

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(More customer reviews)Hung started about the same time as True Blood season two. After the second episode I was hooked! The main character is a high school history teacher and basketball coach whose house burns down, children want to live with his ex-wife and he's broke broke broke. He meets up with a poet who he once (ahem) and together they hatch a harebrained scheme to pimp him and his ... out. Through this he has to deal with women he isn't attracted to but learns to love what's under the skin, crazy women who pay for him but not his "services" and the working in's and out's of women. Meanwhile his pimp, Tanya, is suffering as a failed poet and drowning in her own lack of love in her life. Bumps and bruises along the way but every episode bring laughter and smiles to my face (and my husbands!).
The characters learn and even though they get a lot more bad than good cards, they always grow. I'm very pleased with the direction this new series is going and sit in anticipation every Sunday night when my little red dot that indicates my DVR is recording blinks on. Hung is a lot more than I had anticipated and am tickled with the gem found under dirty gym socks and a slathering of sexual innuendo.

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At first glance, Ray Drecker seems like an ordinary divorced dad who’s facing tough times and trying to make ends meet. But Ray’s got one extraordinary, God-given gift – call it his “winning tool" – that sets him apart from other underpaid high-school teachers. With a little help from an unlikely business ally named Tanya, Ray is about to hatch an inspired plan to ride his winning tool all the way to a moreproductive, debt-free life.
DVD Features:Audio CommentaryFeaturetteOther

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Spartacus (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)The rationale for turning Stanley Kubrick's 1960 film "Spartacus" into a two-part television mini-series was that this time the production would be more faithful to Howard Fast's novel. Given that the Spartacus revolt is a part of Roman history it would make more sense to try and be more faithful to that actual history than a fictional novel, but that is going to have to wait for another day and it just might take a while for Hollywood to want to revisit this story. The chief attraction of Fast's novel, in contrast to the historical record, would seem to be the happy ending that is provided by virtue of Spartacus having a child who survives his death and is raised free.
What we believe we know about the real Spartacus is that he was born free in Thrace and may have served as an auxiliary in the Roman army in Macedonia. However, he deserted, lived as an outlaw, was captured, sold into slavery, and ended up being trained at the gladiatorial school of Batiatus in Capua. In 73 B.C.E. Spartacus escaped with 70-80 other gladiators and camped on Vesuvius, where they were joined by other slaves who ran away from their masters and began plundering and pillaging the region. Spartacus wanted to escape Italy by crossing the Alpus, but the slaves from Gaul and Germany wanted to stay in southern Italy and continuing the plundering and pillaging.That first year Spartacus and his men defeated a force of 3,000 raw recruits led by Cladius Glaber and then two forces of legionary cohorts. In 72 B.C.E. Spartacus had an army of approximately 70,000 slaves and the Roman Senate sent two consuls, Publicola and Lentulus, with two legions each against the rebels. Publicola defeated the Gauls and Germans, and Crixus was killed. At Picenum in central Italy, Spartacus then defeated first Lentulus and then Publicola, having 300 prisoners from the battles fight in pairs to the death. The slave army then moved north and defeated the proconsul of Cisalpine Gual at Mutina. With the Alps open as a way out of Italy, the Gauls and Germans refused to go, and Spartacus returned to southern Italy intended to try and cross to Sicily.
At the height of the revolt Spartacus had about 120,000 followers and the Senate sent Marcus Licinius Crassus with six new legions in addition to the four consular legions to defeat Spartacus in 71 B.C.E. Exactly how Spartacus died is not known, although it is believed he died in the battle near the headwaters of the Siler River. Six thousand of the slaves that were taken prisoner by Crassus were crucified along the Appian Way from Capua, where the gladiators had been trained, to Rome. Another five thousand slaves escaped and fled north, but they were captured by Pompey's army and the following year Pompey and Crassus were elected consuls.
Enough of the history lesson. The point is that the slave revolt was not as unified or as simplistic as it appears in either version of "Spartacus." Following the lead of Fast's novel, it is not the conflict between Spartacus (Goran Visnjic) and Crixus (Paul Kynman) that is at the center of the drama but the collision course between Spartacus and Crassus (Angus Macfadyen), who are such mirror opposites. You have the former slave who is uncomfortable with being declared the leader of the slave revolt and the rich Roman who is just begging to be put in command of troops. Then there is Varinia (Rhona Mitra), the wife of Spartacus, created by Fast from a reference in Plutarch to Spartacus having a wife who was a former slave.
I wondered about the casting of this version of "Spartacus" in terms of the ages of the actors playing the historic figures. Overall, they are slightly younger. The year the slave revolt was crushed Spartacus was 38 (Visnjic is 32), Marcus Licinius Crassus was 45 (Macfadyen is 41, but looks much younger), and Pompey the Great was 36 (George Calil is 31). Although Pompey actually enjoyed a triumph when he was 24, he was the exception and not the rule. Yet in this production it is like the junior executives are fighting over who gets to run the firm. No wonder a giant slave army is running around the Italian countryside for a couple of years and no wonder after watching this remake you will be more impressed with the performance of Kirk Douglas in the original.
Visnjic's Spartacus comes across as bored rather than brooding. Before a big battle his idea of strategy and tactics is to hope that maybe they will get a break and be able to win. I can appreciate the idea that it is better to die free than to live as a slave, but you should try to avoid rushing off to die. Macfadyen's Crassus is rather petulant. He wants to rise to power in Rome but is thwarted by the machination of Agrippa (Alan Bates), and he sees Spartacus as the key to every thing he wants. That explains why he postures like he really believes he can defeat the gladiator in one-on-one combat on the field of battles, and why he is fixated on Varinia. This guy cannot be in charge of himself, so how can he run the Roman Republic? Bates and Mitra turn in the two best performances in "Spartacus," which makes their supporting characters the two most interesting ones. Spartacus has been an idealized champion of the masses because he stood up to the Romans at a time when they were carving out their empire, but the idea that he was a sensitive guy who accepted gender equality is just a bit too much. Hopefully, the next time the story of Spartacus is filmed they will just go with getting the history right instead of being concerned with political correctness.

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No Description Available.Genre: TelevisionRating: NRRelease Date: 26-OCT-2004Media Type: DVD

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Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Seventh Season (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Update: The last episode showed a Seinfeld episode within a larry david CYE episode. It was really wonderful. If you are a Seinfeld fan, you must see the last episode of this season even if you do not like this show. I am a fan of both so was in heaven!
Original Review:
I just watched Larry David do a send up of Michael Richards' infamous "N" word rant to a heckler on this season. David uses the real Richards (Kramer) with the black comedian who lives with him on the show. This is typical of Larry David, who considers nothing too sensitive for comedic exploration. This is one big reason why I love this show. Larry David has to be the most Politically Incorrect Person in America and I love him for it!
There are just so many funny things this season that any reviewer could write a small book about the joys of Season 7. We open with his girlfriend having breast cancer and Larry's wanting to end the relationship. Somehow he manages to find a therapist who ends up blaming him for the cancer! (As a cancer patient, I found this whole cancer episode very funny.) We revisit his mother's death via her tombstone and Larry even manages to get the tombstone cutter mad at him. He becomes persona non grata at his country club after killing another member by making him mad and the guy had high blood pressure (which explodes), all over the inanity of playing through, or not, in golf. He wears women's underwear as an alibi for Suzie's husband when she finds panties in his glove compartment. He and Richard Lewis seriously come unhinged together again--Lewis and David have a friendship which thrives on maximum antagonism and misunderstanding. Then there is the biggest thing going on in Season 7: Larry decides to put on a Seinfeld reunion. He does so as only Larry could where you see the reunion coming together behind the scenes. You are not left out of anything in the entire process. The major thing you discover doing this is how much of Seinfeld was Larry--tons. When George (Jason Alexander) and Larry come together, it is clear that George WAS Larry. They are mirrors of one another, willing to obsess and argue over any minutiae.
This may be the best season yet of this show. I hope Larry David keeps doing it. It is a breath of fresh air among the comedic mediocrity that is the usual tv fare.

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The wait is over - Larry David is back! In Season 7, Larry contemplateshis future with an ailing Loretta, and decides on a novel approach to winning back Cheryl. In addition to Larry finding himself embroiled in usual cauldron of self-made crises, he orchestrates a reunion with the entire cast of Seinfeld!
DVD Features:BEHIND THE SCENESFeaturette

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Oz: The Complete Seasons 1-6 (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)About the show:
Wow. From the first episode you feel as if you are hooked in, although I dont want to dive too much into the show itself (just skim it) you find that this show, apart from its hard hitting grit and honesty (maybe it is? I dont know, ive never been to prison) dealing with drugs, ethnic grouping, racist attacks, homosexuality, violence and spiritual guidance, this show has something for everyone to walk away with and contemplate as it does dictate a lot of what our soceity is like, even if we have to look at a test subject that is criminal and locked up.
Few warnings though:
Not for the faint hearted: If you are conservative in nature, I would not suggest watching this show, as some of what happens is REALLY harsh (especially as seasons go on)
Not for children: I personally dont believe that people who are under the age of 17 should be watching this show, as it contains graphic sexual scenes and nudity.
Dont watch this if you are a devote prison break fan: This show just makes it look like a joke! Although only the first season of the show was in prison, the realism (if they even tried for that) just doesnt compare to how hard up prisoners really have it, which i feel OZ may convey much better. Tea bag? More like hand bag! Compared to characters like Shillinger and Ada Beisi he is TAME.On the continual arguments with pricing and dvd quality:
Despite claims in these previous reviews, I have yet to find a problem with this six season set.
Although, I have to admit, the menu's are seemingly primative and quite long in loading up (panning through computer graphics etc which gets annoying) but the quality is still great.
I also dont see how this boxset is seen as expensive. At the time fo this review (28/7/07) the entire show in this offer costs $208, If you look to buy all seasons seperatly, it will cost you an extra $8 dollars, which you could just spend on getting a better delivery service.
When I bought this show (about 4 months ago) I payed about $170. So at this point in time I do find it a bit pricey and would suggest watching it since prices go up and down. I personally feel though even at 208 USD, its still worth it.

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DVD Features: Audio commentaries Biographies Deleted scenes Episodic previews Episodic recaps Featurettes Music video Original cast audition tapes Exclusive extended cut of the series finale and more

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Big Love: The Complete Third Season Review

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(More customer reviews)I have read on several Web sites that the ratings for this show are only so-so. It's a shame more people aren't watching it. This show has attracted the best character actors in Hollywood. And what a dream it must be to play characters that are so complex and multi-layered.
I will admit, the storylines are all very similar. They all revolve around either Bill having some issue with his wives or Bill struggling against people who are trying to keep him from the business deals he wants to make happen. (This season is focused on making Weber Gaming a success and all the trouble the getting into gambling is causing him and his family). The thing is, even though there is a predictable pattern of going back and forth between family drama and work drama, all the people in Bill's life continue to evolve and we continue to see them grow and struggle.
I truly hope this show is renewed for a few more seasons. I am still very invested in these characters and want to know what happens to them.

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As if juggling three wives weren't tricky enough, Season Three of Emmy®- and Golden Globe®-nominated 'Big Love' finds modern polygamist Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) tackling problems outside his three-house suburban home. Bill a practicing polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children. An independent businessman who runs a growing chain of hardware stores, Bill faces a myriad of challenges in meeting the emotional, romantic and financial needs of his wives Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin).

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Big Love: The Complete First Season (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to admit that I didn't expect to like this HBO original series, but the intriguing cast of characters and the plotlines drew me in. "Big Love" is the story of Bill Hendrickson and his very extended family, including his three wives and seven children, who have to constantly be on the alert that they will somehow be "outed" by the community at large. This is important not only from a legal standpoint, but from a financial one, since Bill is part-owner with another polygamist in a budding chain of big-box home improvement stores, and thus preserving a stellar public image is important to the success of his business.
Bill grew up on a compound of fundamentalist Mormons that still practice the principle of polygamy, and he was thrown out of the compound and his family when he reached adolescence and became perceived as competition for the affection of young girls who were coming of age. At this point, betrayed by his family and his religion, he turned his back on the teachings of his youth until his first wife Barb became gravely ill.
Jeanne Tripplehorn portrays Barb, Bill's first wife and the sweetheart of his youth. You get the feeling that if he could, Bill would really like to ditch his other two wives and ride off into the sunset with Barb. Barb is a confident and educated woman who is very mindful of her own mortality due to having recovered from uterine cancer several years earlier. She is also very mindful of the fact that she must share Bill with her "sister wives" in order for Bill to abide by his conscience by "living the principle".
Bill's second wife Nicki, portrayed by Chloe Sevigny, is the daughter of compound Prophet Roman Grant. Nicki is very much her father's daughter, calculating her every move, and always playing everyone in the family in order to get her own way. Her many stunts include running up a 58K credit card debt, and when the debt is discovered by Bill, pretending that she slept in a homeless shelter for a night to play the part of discarded wife in order to garner Bill's sympathy. In fact, she had spent the night at a comfy hotel. However, she is also capable of fierce loyalty and courage, going out into the street one night to confront her mentally off-balance brother, Alby, when he shows up in a menacing mood at the Hendrickson household, and also defending Barb against her passive aggressive sister's cutting remarks.
Bill's third wife, Margene, is only 23 years old and is fighting feelings of being somewhat trapped since she already has two infant children and must spend most of her time alone since she cannot risk having anyone know the true nature of her arrangement with Bill. Nicki treats Margene like a personal assistant when she needs her, and like an errant child whenever Margene makes a mistake in judgement. Margene realizes her importance to the family, though, when she discovers Barb's youngest daughter feels guilty for submitting her own mother for mother of the year since she feels that Margene and Nicki are her mothers too and doesn't want them to feel left out.
The main thread winding through this first season, though, is Bill's antagonistic relationship with Prophet Roman Grant, played to perfection by the superb Harry Dean Stanton. Stanton's portrayal of Roman Grant is chilling, as he comes across as part Tony Soprano and part Elmer Gantry. Roman has made a loan to Bill in return for a share in his business. However, Roman is overstepping his bounds and trying to collect revenue on the second of Bill's stores as well as the first. The entire season is about Bill's naive attempts to shed himself of Roman's shadow. Bill can't seem to learn the lesson that when you play hardball with a crazy man, the crazy man returns fire with Napalm. In many ways their season-long struggle seems like a long running Warner Brothers cartoon with Bill's Wile E. Coyote versus Roman's Roadrunner. In the season finale, the Hendrickson family's polygamous lifestyle is revealed to the world in the most unlikely and embarassing of venues. The final scene shows Bill sitting in the backyard, staring at his three houses, and pondering what he may have lost.
Even the supporting roles are intriguing and performed with excellence. There are Bill's completely dysfunctional and bickering parents who would rather see each other dead than happy. Then there is Bill's brother Joey, a recovering addict and former football star, and Joey's wife, Wanda, who is devoted to Joey but has probably watched "Arsenic and Old Lace" one too many times. Finally, there are Bill and Barb's three children, who were not born into polygamy but are trying to find a way to have normal childhoods and also protect the family secret. I truly enjoyed this first season of "Big Love", and I can't wait to see where the second season takes matters.

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Think having three wives is a dream come true? Think again. HBO presents the new contemporary drama series that tells the story of Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), a practicing polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children. An independent businessman who runs a growing chain of hardware stores, Bill faces a myriad of challenges in meeting the emotional, romantic and financial needs of his wives Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) while dealing with their kids, three adjoined houses, an ever-mounting avalanche of bills, and the opening of his newest hardware store.DVD Features:3D Animated MenusAudio CommentaryFeaturette

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Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Second Season (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)My whole family fell in love with Brett and Jermaine in Season One. We couldn't wait for Season Two to start on HBO and I admit,we were a little disappointed in a few of the episodes. However, after the season ended, I watched all the episodes several times again on HBO "On Demand" in April and was shocked at how fabulous some of the episodes that I thought I didn't like were. I ended up LOVING Season Two. My favorite episode is still Unnatural Love where Jermaine dates the Australian girl...Too Many [...] on the Dance Floor and Carol Brown are great, creative, funny songs! The Cup and the Tough Bretts are other great episodes. Have fun! You'll enjoy good intellectual humor with any of the Conchords Seasons DVD's. I can't wait to get mine!

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Flight of the Conchords follows the trials and tribulations of a two man, digi-folk band from New Zealand as they try to make a name for themselves in their adopted home of New York City. The band is made up of Bret McKenzie on guitar and vocals, and Jemaine Clement on guitar and vocals.

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In Treatment: Season One (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a powerful, deeply moving, intelligent, emotionally nuanced series. It consisting of nothing more than psychotherapy sessions between a cast of reoccuring characters, this show fills an important niche missing from most television -- the richness, complexity, and heartbreak of the "emotional life."
Are you tired of seeing thin, carbon-copied and cliched characters in movies and television shows? Then this is the perfect series for you, because here the whole point is to explore the inner lives of the characters.
Does the the fact that this series focuses a great deal on the emotions of the characters mean that there is no "action?" Only if you define "action" as soley encompassing explosions or giant robot attacks.
To me, however, there was more action in this show than almost any other I've seen: there was the complexity of coming to terms with the guilt of death, of a disintergrating marriage, of children torn between parents, of unrequieted love, of the intense pressures to be successful, of professional jealousy, of the quiet desperation of everyday life, and the pain and bravery of those trying to take control of their lives.
The writing is really quite incredible. I was time and again rivited by the ways in which the story tellers captured and traced the emotionally raw and complex workings of the human heart- the tangled web which constitutes human relationships.
Some detractors have said they find the characters "annoying:" these characters strike me as "real," for, in life, people are themselves complex and full of paradoxes, at times annoying but at others deeply sympathetic. I came to be involved with all the characters, and, in the end, they all suprised me, up until the very last episode.
The acting is also superb. Gabriel Byrne (as the therapist "Paul") gives the performance of his lifetime, and Mia Wasikowska gives a star making performance as "Sophie," a troubled gymnast.
This is a show for people who find themselves interested in the human mind and heart, particularly, in the complex ways in which we become entangled with our fellow human beings, and often punish ourselves, lie to ourselves, and hide from our own inner truths. What is the thrill of an asteroid threatening to destroy the Earth compared to the everyday struggle with such things as love, guilt, and the fear of facing another day on this planet.
Truly, one of the great shows I have seen- original, thought provoking, powerfully acted, intelligently written, and as deep and as rich a portrait of the human soul as we're likely to ever get on television.

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HBO premieres the first of 43 episodes of In Treatment, a new half-hour drama series starring Gabriel Byrne, and adapted from an enormously popular Israeli series created by Hagai Levi (one of HBOs executive producers, along with Rodrigo Garcia, Steve Levinson and Mark Wahlberg). Set within the intimate confines of individual psychotherapy sessions with five sets of patients, the series centers around Paul (Byrne), a therapist who exhibits an insightful, confident demeanor when treating his patients, but displays a crippling insecurity while counseled by his own therapist, Gina (Dianne Wiest). Patients undergoing treatment with Paul include a young doctor (Melissa George) who has fallen in love with Paul, a Navy pilot (Blair Underwood) reevaluating his life after a failed mission in Iraq, a teenage gymnast (Mia Wasikowska) with suicidal tendencies, and a sexually passionate couple (Josh Charles and Embeth Davidtz) who are troubled in all other areas of their lives. In addition, Pauls wife Kate (Michelle Forbes) will be featured prominently this season.

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Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the funniest series I've seen in along time. With only 6 episodes in season 1 you'll be left wanting more. Sarcastic, fun loving assh*le genius Danny McBride with guest appearance Will Ferrell, tie this show into a comedy that leaves you covering your face in embarrassment, wondering how they got the balls create such a gem.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Underrated as hell, spread the word. Kudos, Danny McBride.
Also see the "Foot Fist Way" if you like this DVD.

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In this hilarious new HBO comedy series, Kenny Powers, a washed-up former Major League Baseball star, is forced to return to his hometown to teach P.E. at his old middle school. While preparing for his triumphant return to the big leagues, Kenny moves in with his brothers family and proves adept at burning every bridge he crosses.

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In Treatment: Season Two Review

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(More customer reviews)'In Treatment: Season Two', is as riveting as season one. Gabriel Byrne, as Paul, continues as the impassioned psychologist, dealing with a new set of patients. He sees a female college student with lymphoma, a boy whose parents are divorcing, a female attorney who he was his patient twenty years prior, and an aging company CEO . Meanwhile, he continues to have both clinical supervision and personal counseling with Gina, Diane Wiest.

Paul struggles with many of the same issues that were difficult for him in season one - - boundaries with patients, his marriage, his relationships with his children and anger and dissatisfaction with his personal and professional life. On top of that, he is being sued by the father of a patient from Season 1.
TV series do not get any better than this. As a clinical social worker and marriage and family therapist, I can vouch for the authenticity of the sessions. Therapists are human beings and 'In Treatment: Season Two' reminds the viewer of this with every episode.

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Golden Globe® Award-winner Gabriel Byrne stars in an all-new season of HBO’s acclaimed half-hour drama series: In Treatment. Set within the highly charged confines of individual psychotherapy sessions, the series centers around Dr. Paul Weston (Byrne), who recently divorced his wife Kate, and has moved from Maryland to a brownstone in Brooklyn, New York. Rebuilding his practice while wrestling with some of the demons he left behind – including a lawsuit filed by the father of Alex, a patient who died last year – Paul takes on several new patients. He also commutes to Maryland every Friday to continue his own sessions with Dr. Gina Toll (Emmy®/Oscar® winner Dianne Wiest).

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Deadwood: The Complete Second Season (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Deadwood is perhaps the best show HBO has made, and that's saying something. There is no other TV show, barring perhaps 'The Wire', which is written with such a keen ear for dialogue and with such fleshed out characters. Season 2 is just as good, if not better, than the first series. It moves with slightly more pace and some of the more interesting characters, such as Cy Tolliver and Alma Garrett, are explored in greater depth. Tolliver - played by the incredible Powers Boothe - truly becomes a force to be reckoned with in this second series. The powerplays between him and Al Swearengen make for some of the most interesting television one could hope to see.
Among other things, we see in season two the return of Bullock's wife and son; the softer side of Al Swearengen; a sadistic geologist with a keen eye for gold; and blood-letting between Mr. Wu and a chinese rival from San Francisco. Throughout, we are treated to a healthy dose of Deadwood's trademark violence and profanity, the latter of which rolls of the tongue with surprising eloquence. Swearengen makes certain curse words sound as if they are as natural as 'if', 'and' or 'but'.
Ultimately, the most outstanding features of this series are the following:
1) Al Swearengen - again, as in the first series, Ian McShane is amazing.
2) Cy Tolliver - Powers Boothe devours every scene he's in.
3) Seth Bullock - Timothy Olyphant's sheriff walks the streets of Deadwood like a cauldron about to teem with furious anger. The addition of his wife and son, and his illicit affair with Alma Garrett, add further tension.
Pick up series two when it comes out. Strangely, it's already out here in Australia!

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1877. A new day is dawning in the Black Hills outlaw camp of Deadwood. For better or worse, times are changing, and the transformation from camp to town is imminent. Unsavory new arrivals - looking to cash in on the lucrative anarchy -- and a government of outsiders usher in an era of hard decisions and brutal power struggles among the camp's founders, all learning the hard way...fortune comes with a price.DVD Features:3D Animated MenusAudio CommentaryDocumentariesFeaturettePhoto gallery

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Rome: The Complete Second Season (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)I thought Rome Season 1 was excellent. Season 2 I didn't think was as enthralling, but when you come from 'excellent', the next place down is 'very, very good' and that's what this is.
Others have expounded on inaccuracies as to the history. As a student of history myself, I can understand the frustration. However, these things do not bother me generally as I watch series like these to escape. All I generally ask is that I be entertained. (NOTE: I admit that my 'laidbackness' did not extend to the massacred 'Troy' which was so very inaccurate in so many particulars and not even that entertaining).
So that entire paragraph above was meant to convey the following: Put aside your history books, forget the 'true' story and allow yourself to be immersed in the grandeur and sumptiousness that is this BBC/HBO production.
I believe that you will love many of the characters (notably Atia) - and love to hate others (notably Atia). You will be sad and happy and yes - horrified at times, but you will not say that you were not invested in some measure. Note that even those not as enamoured of the series as I, watched every episode AND took the time out to write reviews. That must tell you something. Rome is something to witness and talk about, whatever your view.
WARNING: If the DVD is the first time you are watching this, clear hours of your day. You will be captivated in one way or another and that smell wafting through your living room will be the forgotten pot on your stove.
I highly recommend this series and enthusiastically give it 5 stars (wish there were 6).

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The year is 44 B.C. Julius Caesar has been assassinated and civil war threatens to destroy the Republic. In the void left by Caesar's demise, egos clash and numerous players jockey for position. The brutally ambitious Mark Antony attempts to solidify his power, aligning himself with Atia, but coming to blows with her cunning son Octavian, who has been anointed in Caesar's will as his only son and heir. Meanwhile Titus Pullo attempts to pull his friend Lucius Vorenus out of the darkness that has engulfed his soul in the wake of personal tragedy. For once again, the fates of these two mismatched soldiers seem inexorably tied to the fate of Rome itself.

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Rome: The Complete First Season (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rome, HBO's ambitious, and expensive, series revolving around the events leading up to the assassination of Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), is a sight to behold. Created and filmed by a plethora of talented individuals (including legendary film maverick John Milius), Rome is brought to life with a fantastic set design that must be seen to be believed; it's as if the city is breathing. The story follows two of Caesar's soldiers (Ray Stevenson and Trainspotting's Kevin McKidd) who find themselves throughout many events in Roman history, beginning with inadvertantly rescuing Octavian (Max Pirkis), being lost at sea, assisting Cleopatra (in more than one way, this episode will leave you laughing) and Caesar's struggle with Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham). Despite some historical inaccuracies, Rome is everything you'd come to expect from an HBO series: rich characterizations, an engrossing story, and a superbly assembled, large cast (including James Purefoy as Marc Antony, Kerry Condon, and Polly Walker as the scheming Atia), Rome is compulsively addictive viewing, made even more so by the climax and of the season finale, which will have you begging for more.

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(HBO Dramatic Series) Four hundred years after the founding of the Republic, Rome is the wealthiest city in the world, a cosmopolitan metropolis of one million people; epicenter of a sprawling empire. The Republic was founded on principles of shared power and fierce personal competition, never allowing one man to seize absolute control. But now, those foundations are crumbling, eaten away by corruption and excess. After eight years of war, two soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo unwittingly become entwined in the historical events of ancient Rome. A serialized drama of love and betrayal, masters and slaves, husbands and wives, ROME chronicles a turbulent era that saw the death of the republic and the birth of an empire.DVD Features:FeaturetteOtherPhoto gallery

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Big Love: The Complete Fourth Season (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)The first season was spent character building, laying down basic relationships and primary issues. The second and third seasons expanded on that, and in my opinion were incredibly. The third season was spectacular. But the fourth season was a complete disappointment. I will buy this season when it comes out, simply out of continuity, and I will continue to watch the last season because I'm emotionally attached to the characters and story, but my issue with the fourth season is one of plot development. In the previous seasons secrets and twists and clues build up, and get let out to create some really intense drama which is what gives the show its power. However, the fourth season had none of that. The problems were presented, and resolved soon thereafter. Most secrets were discovered in the same episode. There were no build-ups, and nothing left to the imagination. My guess is that the writers have really exhausted most of the problems and issues that could arise with this set of characters in the situation they're in, and there isn't much left to do. I really hope that the final season will redeem the series and end strong.

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For years, Bill Henrickson wished for a world free from the corrupt “prophet” of Juniper Creek, Roman Grant.Now that Roman appears to be out of the picture, Bill and his family can breathe easy … or can they?Hold tight for the fourth season of the iconic, Emmy®- and Golden Globe®-nominated Big Love.

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