The Christmas Shoes (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's too bad that people looking for a different kind of movie blame their mistake on the movie!
Okay, if you don't want a sad movie, this movie is not for you. That doesn't make it a bad movie. Any number of stars in a mistake. You just got the wrong movie.
If you throw up at the thought of tender, affirmative feelings, this movie is not for you. That doesn't make it a bad movie. There a millions of hostile movies out there. Pick one.
News flash: there really ARE towns in the U.S. like the one in the movie (which was in Nova Scotia). If you hate small, friendly towns, then stay away from them. They probably wouldn't like you either.
On the other hand, if you like the feelings that are supposed to be associated with Christmas, this movie is a rare find. It's very easy to flub on tragic scenes. This movie doesn't. The acting by Kimberly Williams is just right. The timing and the scripting of the scenes is just right. As Maria Del Mar said in the special feature, these people act the way people really act. They don't throw things or rant the way most movie scripts have it. Maria, by the way, played her part very effectively.
I'm no fan of Rob Lowe, but his lawyer convinced me. Maybe I've known too many like him. They really are like this. If this strikes you as stiff, get over it. You want a lawyer, this is a lawyer.
I'm as easily depressed as the next guy, but I did not find this movie depressing. Tragic, yes. Depressing, no. Not sure why. The fact that the husband and son were going to go on, going to make it and be okay. The reformation of Robert was credible. It was thoroughly prepared and touching.
So, I found it a cathartic movie and very much in the true spirit of Christmas.

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CHRISTMAS SHOES - DVD Movie

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Brothers and Sisters - The Complete Second Season Review

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(More customer reviews)Brothers & Sisters is truly one of the finest dramas currently on network television. The show's writers embrace current and highly pertinent issues in modern day North America, and work them into the story line of each episode beautifully.
The cast of actors is one of the most talented we have seen to date- Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe, Ron Rifkin, and Emily Vancamp are standouts among them all. Field's role as the matriarch of the family is particularly stunning, and her brilliant ability is even further explored in the second season as she is forced to make tough decisions about her life, and is faced with further conflict created by her family. Griffiths provides another extremely compelling performance as Sarah Walker, who is forced to deal with her crumbling marriage.
Throughout the second season, the storylines become more complicated and the Walker family is thrown into a tangled web of turmoil and deception. I would highly recommend this DVD if you enjoyed the first season- it only gets better!

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Enter the fascinating world of the Walkers, and explore what is means to be an American family in the 21st century. Though they live very different and conflicting lives, the Walkers find unity under the family roof. Relationships bend but never break as they strive to find their own identities and embrace each other s differences. This is a series to watch, raves the San Francisco Chronicle. Welcome home a family you can root for in one of televisions most captivating and insightful dramas. Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths and Ron Rifkin lead a stellar cast in ABC s critically-acclaimed hit Brothers & Sisters.

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About Last Night... (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)Based on David Mamet's play "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" this movie, starring Rob Lowe and a young Demi Moore, is a particular favorite of mine. It's an involving and at times searing portrayal of the relationship between two people in 1980s Chicago and the interactions and problems that relationship causes them in their existing friendships.
First we have Rob Lowe as Danny, a salesman with dreams of one day owning his own restaurant and his best friend Bernie (played for almost comic relief by James Belushi). One night he meets in a bar the beautiful Debbie (played by Moore who has never looked more attractive) and her best friend and roommate Joan (played by Elizabeth Perkins).
After a rather shaky beginning Danny and Debbie are soon off on a whirlwind romance that eventually leads to Debbie moving into Danny's apartment and the two inadvertently ignoring their friends (much to the chagrin of both Bernie and Joan).
Of course trouble is soon brewing as Danny has to forsake his rather player lifestyle and Debbie wants more commitment than he is willing, or able to offer. The movie follows the ups and downs in the relationship and leaves the viewer really rooting for the two of them to work out their differences. It's hard to exactly figure out what it is that this movie does right. t seems to have a perfect blend of comedy, drama, passion and sorrow that makes for some compelling viewing. This movie would almost be required viewing for young adults as a precautionary tale if it were not for the gratuitous nudity (has Demi Moore ever had more topless scenes in any one picture?) and scenes of a drunk Danny spiraling down into despair.
This is a true gem of a movie and probably one of the best date movies ever. The DVD is a little thin on special features but at under $10 this is a must-own.

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A MAN AND WOMAN MEET AND TRY TO HAVE A ROMANTIC AFFAIR, DESPITE THEIR PERSONAL PROBLEMS AND THE INTERFERENCE OF THEIR DISAPPROVING FRIENDS.

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St. Elmo's Fire (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)A forerunner to Friends and a Brat Pack movie with the most...Brat Packers, St. Elmo's Fire was a romantic comedy that bowed out to theatres in 1985. Seven of the eight stars were in the enviable "Brat Pack" group, young and precocious actors and actresses that were considered the best of the best of their generation. While St. Elmo's Fire is often considered a mellow and almost overblown teen romcom by the starchiest of critics, it's a favorite of many 1980s film lovers.
Summary in 13 words:
Seven college graduates try and struggle with real life, some succeed, some don't.
DVD Details
2.35 Anamorphic Widescreen
5.1 Dolby Digital Surround (English),
2.0 Dolby Surround (Director's Commentary)
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai, Korean Subtitles
Release Date: 1999
Single-Sided Single-Layered Disc
Suggested Retail Price: $14.99
Black Amaray Keepcase
Video and Audio
The video is remarkably clean. The film was issued in the early years of DVD, when most transfers looked more like cable TV quality, but the video here is exceptional. Presented in its original widescreen is always a good thing, and the print quality is great. The colors are vibrant and accurate, and there's little to no grain or dust. One minor complaint would be the main titles, in its unsettling red font, but other than that, the video is great.
Audio is offered in English, but the subtitles are in so many languages that if you wanted, you could learn Chinese by reading the film enough times. It's pretty balanced in terms of dialogue vs. background noise/music.
Bonus Features
A commentary by Joel Schumacher is one of the many audio tracks given on this disc. He does a pretty good job talking about making the movie, including various tidbits about the actors and the story (which he wrote). The guy's pretty good with a microphone. If only he could have done a commentary for his film The Phantom of the Opera in 2004.
A faded and dirt-filled 8-minute EPK about the making of the film is also presented, made at the time the film came out. It has quick interviews with the cast and director, with a narrator talking during much of the behind the scenes footage. Is it an exhaustive documentary? No. Is it a useless 8 minutes of your life taken away? No. It's pretty rewatchable, though a longer more substantial featurette would be welcoming.
"Man in Motion" is the music video that uses the St. Elmo's Fire theme with lyrics. It's got a real 80s look to it, and features most of the cast as well as video clips from the film.
There are four trailers: St. Elmo's Fire, About Last Night, Groundhog Day, and Jerry Maguire. The trailers for St. Elmo's Fire and About Last Night are not the best video-quality-wise, while Jerry Maguire is not the best movie-quality-wise. Groundhog Day is okay for what it is.
There are also cast/director biographies and filmographies up until 2000.
Closing Thoughts
Perhaps the second best brat pack movie of the 80s (The Breakfast Club, of course, is THE best), St. Elmo's Fire is a wonderful "coming-of-age...now what?" kind of film that is best enjoyed in the company of your closest friends.

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Seven friends, recent college graduates, struggle to find meaning in \real life."Genre: Feature Film-DramaRating: RRelease Date: 29-JUL-2003Media Type: DVD"""

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