Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, The Complete First Season Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been an alcohol and drug counselor assisting adults and adolescents for years into entering recovery. So I was very excited to hear that "rehab" had gone mainstream with the idea and creation of this series. I will describe the basics that happen in each episode without giving plot spoilers, and tell you my overall opinion of the series and the DVD set at the end.
Disc 1

Intake is the first episode of the series. We meet the cast of celebrity rehab, which includes Brigette Nielson, Jessica Sierra, Daniel Baldwin, Jaimee Foxworth, Chyna, Seth Binger, Mary Carey, and Jeff Conaway.
Detox is the second episode, and is primarily about this process of detoxifiying from alcohol and drugs.
New Arrival is the third episode, and adds Ricky Rodriquez to the bunch. Issues with rebelliousness and how that relates to recovery are discussed in the episode.
Disc 2

Sex and Trauma, episode 4, is discussed as a reason for using drugs and alcohol abusively. One celebrity leaves rehab.
Episode 5 is "Bye Bye Baldwin." One celebrity is confronted about the use of anabolic steroids outside of treatment, another clebrity's signifigant other brings alcohol into the unit during family visitation. Sober activities are introduced and focused on.
Episode 6 is entitled "Friends and Family," and emphasizes the need of family members to attend counseling with the addicted clients. Addiction as a family disease is discussed, and how someone who does not have family involvement is likely to relapse.
Disc 3
Episode 7 is entitled "Retreat" and focuses on clean and sober recreation. Rebelliousness and inappropriate behavior is discussed and observed on the program.
Episode 8 is Graduation. It is observed that some clients are in "relapse mode," and seem to be reverting to old behaviors, and devaluing treatment because in actuality they don't want to leave treatment. A choice is given to the clients-each person can stay in sober living for up to three months, all expenses paid, and they must give their answer to this at the graduation ceremony.
Disc 4
Episode 9 "Graduation II" Everyone says their goodbyes, and various celebrities decide upon or decline to stay in the sober living environment.
Episode 10
Boy, how I wish I could give a review of this complete episode. A reunion is held of the Celebrity Rehab clients, after a complete profile of what happened to Mary Carey the DVD cut off and went back to the menu page during the segment of what happened to Ricky Rodriguez. Very disappointing. So I have no idea what happened to the majority of people who completed celebrity rehab or who stayed sober.
Overall, the content of this DVD was exactly what you would see at a non-celebrity rehab center. The group counseling segments and the recreation segments are done in normal inpatient treatment centers. The celebrity clients acted as regular addicted clients do of other inpatient treatment centers, with their sexual acting out, and immature behavior. Addiction and Alcoholism is not immune to one's class status or wealth.
However, I am puzzled by few mentions of the Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups. Both of these groups have helped millions of people to recover from addiction. Yet they are only mentioned in passing during graduation in the "Graduation II" episode. I feel a brief introduction on the importance of these groups, having a sponsor, and working the 12 steps would have been beneficial in one of the episodes of this program.
Also, the DVD set was poorly put together. "Intake" is the first episode, and is listed as the first episode on the back of the DVD. Yet, it is number three, the last episode, on the DVD. The last episode of the series, "Reunion," only plays for 14 minutes before it cuts off and goes back to the menu. I returned one set of DVDS thinking that this problem with the last episode was an isolated incident, however, that is not the case. The new one I just got from Amazon.com has the same flaw, and another reviewer mentioned the fact that he could not get this episode to play either.
Also, I would have liked the outtakes and deleted scenes available on this disc as well.


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Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew is the first television series to chronicle the dramatic, unscripted real life experiences of a group of actual celebrities as they make the life-changing decision to enter themselves into a drug, alcohol and addiction treatment program with the sincere desire to achieve true rehabilitation and recovery. This disc set includes the full first season.
This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.\r\n
This disc is expected to play back in DVD Video "play only" devices, and may not play in other DVD devices, including recorders and PC drives. \r\n

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Bad Lieutenant (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had heard, by word of mouth over the years, that "Bad Lieutenant" was truly extraordinary, but nothing could really prepare me for the sheer visceral impact of the film, or the electrifying, career best performance, given by Harvey Keitel, in fact I watched the film 3 days ago, and have deliberately waited `til now to write this review.
After much thought I have to say that "Bad Lieutenant" really is a monstrous train-wreck of a movie, but what keeps you watching, utterly mesmerized, unable to look away for an instant, is Keitel's performance as the titular character. He's never given a name in the film, or even in the credits, he's just the "Lieutenant," and "Bad?" "Bad" doesn't even begin to describe this guy, as the front of the DVD case puts it, "Gambler. Thief. Junkie. Killer. Cop."
After surviving on the mean streets of New York for 20 years, he has seen, and pretty well done, it all; the "Lieutenant" is a man who exists in a nihilistic Hell of his own making, and we watch as he roars headlong towards his own destruction, along the way, plumbing the very depths of abject human depravity.
A lapsed Catholic, he is still wracked by guilt for the truly awful deeds he commits, whether it's doing and/or selling drugs, booze, sex, gambling, thieving, killing, the "Lieutenant" is a soul in torment. Unable to find a way out, he is sinking deeper and deeper into a morass of yet MORE drugs, MORE booze, MORE bets he can't cover, and more, meaningless, cold, emotionless, and depraved, sexual acts.
Yet somewhere deep inside this blasted shell of a man, there still exists a spark of humanity, so lost in the wretched, savage squalor of his life, that even HE doesn't know it's there. Then one day he becomes involved in the investigation of a crime that shocks even him... the brutal rape of a Catholic nun. Initially coldly dismissive of what the young woman had been through, he listens in on her conversations with her superiors and is shocked to his core to discover that even though her bruises are still fresh, she has already forgiven her attackers. She knows their names but won't pass them on to the police.
The "Lieutenant" can barely comprehend how can such a thing can be, how can she forgive such a terrible act... such a terrible sin? If she can forgive so much, then maybe, just maybe, he himself can find some kind of redemption, maybe someone - God? - can forgive him HIS sins. After his confrontation with the nun, howling out his characters pain, and anger, and hurt, and fear, Harvey Keitel gives the most searingly honest, desperate, and emotionally raw performance of his career.
Bleak, brutal, depraved, and honest, are some of the words that I would use to describe this film, which is NOT easy to watch, especially this NC-17 version, but it's a film that SHOULD be watched by anyone who is serious about Cinema as an art form. Between them, Ferrera and Keitel have produced an extraordinary cinematic experience, unbending and uncompromising in its exploration of the human condition, powerful and unforgiving, it forces you to actually THINK about the subject matter, and to face the rotten darkness in the heart of this particular human soul.
I would like to end this review with a bit of trivia concerning Keitel's performance. Regardless of whether you love this film or hate it - like "2001," this film seems to generate extreme reactions - no one can argue about the power, and sheer gut-wrenching truthfulness, of Keitel's performance. Depending on exactly when the film was released, Keitel would have been eligible for a shot at either the '92 or '93 Oscar for Best Actor. So who won? Well, I looked it up, and Keitel "lost" to, either, Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman" in '92, or, God help us, Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia" in '93! Next time I find myself getting even mildly curious about who's taking home one of the gold statuettes, this little bit of trivia will kind-of put the whole tawdry circus into perspective!

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He\'s a gambler...a thief...a junkie...a killer and a cop. Now he is investigating the most shocking case of his life and as he moves closer to the truth his self-destructive past is closing in.System Requirements:Starring Harvey Keitel Leonard Thomas Paul Calderone Paul Hipp Victor Argo Victoria Bastel Zoe TamerlisDirected by Abel FerraraRunning time: 96 minutesCopyright Artisan EntertainmentFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating:NC-17 UPC:012236114307 Manufacturer No:11430

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Half Nelson (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)For several years now I have been waiting for Ryan Gosling to fulfill the promise that he exhibited in his revolutionary performance in "The Believer." Films have come and gone and in most of them he has been giving good performances ("Murder by Numbers") and problematic ones ("The Notebook") but always with a sense of who he is as an actor and more importantly how he can use his talent and his very being to bring the story of the character he is playing alive.
Now with his Dan Dunne, Gosling has finally fulfilled that promise and his Dunne is complicated (a terrific, human, enabling and encouraging high school teacher who is also a cocaine free-baser), sensitive to a fault, sexually aware...basically a talented, educated, addicted man from a loving family that can't help but fall victim to the baser parts of his nature. He is upright, strong, smart, loving but can't help but call on the appeal of drugs to douse the raging fire of indecision and self-hatred burning deep inside of him. A fire that director/writers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden choose not to explicitly reveal, though after a Dunne family dinner we are perhaps given some hints into Dan Dunne's upbringing and politically committed family and therefore the genesis of his addiction.
Fleck and Boden give us expositional information in a very interesting way here particularly the juxtaposition, the flipping back and forth of the images between the Dunne family dinner (ex-hippie parents, socially and politically committed brother and his girlfriend... eating, drinking bottles and bottles of wine) and Dunne's student and friend Drey's evening home with family: filling small plastic bags with cocaine, chatting about her brother in jail...all polite and ordinary. But honestly: which family situation is best, which family situation is the most comforting for Dan and Drey. This masterful scene goes on for quite a long time and yet Fleck and Boden refuse to comment, refuse to put one family in a better light than the other.
Besides Gosling, there are a couple of actresses here that deserve special note. One, in a small role, though she appeared in both "Six Feet Under" and "Taken," Tina Holmes as Goslings ex and a former addict's very presence on the screen brings a certain weight and gravity to this film and of course to her role. Holmes is all sly, shy smiles, small gestures (she does more with an eye crinkle than do most with long involved scenes) and an inherent honesty and vulnerability that makes your heart hurt. She actually steals her very first scene with Gosling by under acting and the sheer luminosity of her performance.
Secondly, Shareeka Epps as Drey is amazing: she has an old soul, and like Holmes a gravity and a basic honesty that sets her apart from others in her family and the other students in this film. As her jailed brothers friend Frank (the excellent Anthony Mackie) says of Drey's friendship with Dunne: "It is inappropriate." But you know what, as presented and implemented in this film...it isn't. It's strange, it's rife with possible problems, it's audacious for sure but it's also the life preserver that saves both Dunne and Drey... it's their redemption.

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Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a young inner-city junior high school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face of reality. Day after day in his shabby Brooklyn classroom, he somehow finds the energy to inspire his 13 and 14-year-olds to examine everything from civil rights to the Civil War with a new enthusiasm. Rejecting the standard curriculum in favor of an edgier approach, Dan teaches his students how change works ' on both a historical and personal scale ' and how to think for themselves.
Though Dan is brilliant, dynamic, and in control in the classroom, he spends his time outside school on the edge of consciousness. His disappointments and disillusionment have led to a serious drug habit. He juggles his hangovers and his homework, keeping his lives separated, until one of his troubled students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), catches him getting high after school.
From this awkward beginning, Dan and Drey stumble into an unexpected friendship. Despite the differences in their ages and situations, they are both at an important intersection. Depending on which way they turn ' and which choices they make ' their lives will change.

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The Corner (HBO Miniseries) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Before viewing this miniseries, I had only read the book (of the same name) by David Simon and Edward Burns published in 1997. Still, the world of decaying neighborhoods, the havoc of street drugs and hopelessness among the disadvantaged has deepened in the Bush era. It took an ingenious director like Charles Dutton to recount one family's troubled history gripping miniseries that doesn't miss a beat. And he's selected a cast of relative unknowns who assume their roles with dead-on realism
The film follows a year in the life of one impoverished family against the backdrop of their neighborhood during the 1990's a drug-ridden quarter-mile from Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Dutton, like Simon and Burns, dwells on the humanity of his cxharacters and the universal themes of their day-to-day struggles. You needn't have been an alcoholic or drug addict to enter the hearts of these people or understand how they swing between hope and hopelessness.
As political commentary, THE CORNER couldn't be more timely, especially in its grasp of urban education, inner city commmunties, underage pareenthood and America's Dickensian juvenile justice system. Viewing what these potentially gifted people endure, viewers may ask how many good people we discard because of our cultural myopia, institutional racism and apathy.
The core performance here is T.K. Dutton's "Gary" -- the father of his broken family. The ways in which he struggles to overcome present shame in light of past success is something most of us will recognize -- race aside -- if not today, then tomorrow.
There is no score to speak of except for Corey Harris's blues track which occurs on splash screens and during the credits for each of six episodes. Dutton frames each episode with interviews of different principal characters to evoke the feel of a documentary, and he more than succeeds.
Dutton understands the lives of these characters because he grew up in their neighnorhood and experienced first-hand the dissolution of life on these corners -- where red tops and spider bags are the basis of life and death. He knows that the pain of addiction is potent, but not always as devastating as the cruelties of the real world "clean."
Every facet of this production suggests HBO should rebroadcast THE CORNER on its tenth anniversary. You wil laugh, weep, wince and cheer; and when it's over, you will hate to leave these good people.
While there are segments that are bleak, Dutton didn't intend to shock. He wanted to remind us that these men and women are fully human, and that --like Gary-- we have the potential to stumble, too. We might be doomed to the Corner but for the grace of God.
Five glowing stars for the DVD set -- and the book on which it's based.

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Californication : The Complete Second Season Review

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(More customer reviews)I gave the 2nd season of Californication 4 stars out of 5. I read the reviews that were posted and I will agree that this season isn't as "good" as the first season. The first season gave the audience something they are definitely not used to seeing, the character of Hank Moody. Despite all the negative that Moody creates, the audience can't help but fall in love with him in the first season.
I don't feel that the 2nd season tried to be as funny as the first. That's what made the 1st season so enjoyable, nonstop laughs in every episode. This season is far more dramatic and has a plot that starts to develop, instead of the sex, drugs, and comedy that season 1 was about. That is why I think people didn't like it as much, because the "originality" of the 1st season wasn't duplicated as much; but how long do you think the writers could go with Hank sleeping with random women left and right before it got old. I feel this season shows the development of Hank Moody far better than season 1 had created.
Nontheless, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and if you listen to mine- you'll buy this set and enjoy your purchase...but please don't expect the same tone that season 1 created...I think the show is heading in a better direction

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Sophisticated and unique, this comedy centers on novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) who struggles to raise his teenage daughter with his on-again/off-again girlfriend in Southern California. His obsession with truth-telling and self destructive behavior -- drinks, drugs, and relationships -- are both destroying and enriching to his career.

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