Midsomer Murders: Barnaby's Casebook (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Imagine Saint Mary Mead. Squared. Then add some extra blood and mayhem.
That about describes the setting of "Midsomer Murders," a morbidly witty British mystery series based on Caroline Graham's novels. And "Midsomer Murders: Barnaby's Casebook" brings together the the next round of seventeen cases in this cozy, dark little county, drawing from the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth seasons of the series. It's a great half'n'half combo of police procedural and cozy mystery.
Snotty society beauty Melissa Townsend is receiving some threatening letters, apparently because of the death of a tenant that stemmed from her neglect. Then she's found stabbed with a syringe filled with animal tranquilizers. Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) starts investigating the murder, especially the possible involvement of Melissa's best friend (and a bit more), a drunk driving case, and secret blackmail. And more murders, of course.
From there on, Barnaby and his assistant, Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey), are forced to investigate all sorts of crimes -- a group of bell-ringers that are being bumped off, a prestigious boarding school with a deadly secret, a farmer's wife's apparent suicide, a vibrant but obnoxious widow's murder, a bizarrely complex murder tied to a mental hospital, a dead body found during an art class, an investor found dead in a river, and an old-as-dirt feud between two halves of a Midsomer town, which may hold the key to a series of deaths on the set of new movie "The House Of Satan."
Then Troy receives a promotion, and does one last case with Barnaby: a gentle recluse in the woods is implicated in the murder of his late tormentor. Enter DS Scott (John Hopkins), a rather cocky new guy who arrives just in time for a deadly class reunion, a Celtic solstice ritual that turns deadly, the death of a barman, a pagan ritual involving a dead curate, and a literary festival disrupted by some seedy goings-on... including murder. Then there's the Christmas special, "Ghosts of Christmas Past" -- Barnaby's holidays are interrupted by a string of deaths in the Villiers family, nine years after aspiring magician Ferdy Villers killed himself.
Honestly, I think Miss Marple would feel right at home in Midsomer County -- such a pretty, homey, sunshiney place, full of kindly spinsters, farmers and aristocrats of varying stripes, from skanky to down-to-earth. The whole thing is set in the various villages in this county, which is picturesque, lush, and full of farms, cute little English villages, opulent manorhouses, and little brick cottages.
So of course, there are gruesome murders, plotting and tawdry secrets hidden in every corner; several spill out in every episode, and only some of them have to do with the main murder (some are red herrings, and some are side crimes). Every now and then they have a dud episode (such as the horrendously preachy "Straw Woman"). But the writers keep a funny edge in the stories, such as Barnaby being confronted by an impending vacation ("Joyce, it looks as if these people are sitting on top of an elephant"), or and some clever dialogue ("Well, gettin' blown up's got to be a bit tragic").
And these cops are pretty believable detectives. John Nettles is absolutely wonderful as the kindly, middle-aged cop with a brain like stainless steel, whose nice sedate family is a relief from all the Midsomer weirdos. And Daniel Casey is solid as his younger, brasher assistant -- and his departure from the show is handled in a believable but touching manner. Hopkins isn't quite as likable as Scott, mainly because Scott is kind of a jerk at first, but he starts fitting in a bit better soon.
Most of the villagers are played by excellent actors as well, no matter how weird their characters are. Slightly loopy historians, crazy old ladies and nasty little schoolboys are only a few, with actors such as Lucy Punch, Hugh Bonneville, Angela Thorne, Amanda Root, and "Lost's" Henry Ian Cusick as a slimy rich boy. And Jane Wymark and Laura Howard round off the cast as Barnaby's very understanding wife and daughter.
"Midsomer Murders: Barnaby's Casebook" is a big, solidly-written chunk of British coziness, with murder and scandal in every episode, and some new transitions for the homicide division.

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As seen on A&E and The Biography ChannelWHAT EVIL LURKS BEYOND THE WELL-TRIMMED HEDGES OF MIDSOMER...The cozy villages of Midsomer County reveal their most sinister secrets in these contemporary British television mysteries. The smash hit series stars John Nettles (Bergerac) as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, a dogged investigator and devoted family man, unflappable in the face of the macabre crimes and eccentric characters he encounters on the job.Inspired by the characters of novelist Caroline Graham, these 17 mysteries see the promotion of Barnaby s earnest assistant, Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey, The Wingless Bird), and the arrival of his brash replacement, Sergeant Dan Scott (John Hopkins, Love in a Cold Climate). Guest stars include Hugh Bonneville, Gemma Jones, Honor Blackman, John Standing, Freddie Jones, Susan Wooldridge, Phoebe Nicholls, Stella Gonet, and Henry Ian Cusick.THE MYSTERIES INCLUDE: Tainted Fruit, Ring Out Your Dead, Murder on St. Malley s Day, Market for Murder, A Worm in the Bud, A Talent for Life, Death and Dreams, Painted in Blood, A Tale of Two Hamlets, Birds of Prey, The Green Man, Bad Tidings, The Fisher King, Sins of Commission, The Maid in Splendour, The Straw Woman, Ghosts of Christmas Past, DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE John Nettles interview, essays by star John Nettles and co-creator Betty Willingale, Midsomer map, production notes, Caroline Graham biography, and cast filmographies.Plus two exclusive bonus discs: Map of Midsomer Murders, a behind-the-scenes documentary hosted by John Nettles, and Super Sleuths, a documentary about the show s first decade. Set contains 19 discs (including bonus programs); approx. 28 hours. Mysteries previously released on DVD as Sets Four, Six, Seven, and Eight, the original U.K. broadcast order.

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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (Widescreen Edition) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)The impression that "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" gives is that it's a bubbly, bright, and--for all intents and purposes--meaningless sequel to the first film. To my relief, it follows the example set by its predecessor, a surprisingly levelheaded friendship story. Four years after discovering a magically fitting pair of jeans, best friends Tibby Tomko-Rollins (Amber Tamblyn), Carmen Lowell (America Ferrera), Lena Kaligaris (Alexis Bledel), and Bridget Vreeland (Blake Lively) have returned for a second chapter that remains on perfectly equal ground with the first, focusing on coming-of-age issues like maturity, self-discovery, family, and love. Unoriginal ideas? Maybe so, but that doesn't mean they're any less effective. If anything, they make the film's message that much clearer. It helps that many of the girls' problems are based in reality--high school issues, like being pretty and popular, are pushed aside in favor of adult issues, like pregnancy scares and family crises.
If there's anything we learned from the first film, it's that the magic of the titular jeans was symbolic; by in large, the girls worked through their own ups and downs on their own, with no miraculous intervention other than their friendship with one another. We learn pretty much the same thing in this film, which sees each character facing new, more mature challenges. Let's begin with Carmen, who doubles as the film's bookend narrator. She now attends Yale, working as a stagehand for the theatre department. Her mother (Rachel Ticotin) has since remarried and is now pregnant with her second child. When Carmen's hopes of spending the summer with her friends are dashed, she decides to join a Shakespearian theater company in Vermont with a prima donna named Julia (Rachel Nichols). Once there, a British actor named Ian (Tom Wisdom) coaxes Carmen into auditioning for "A Winter's Tale"; to her shock--and to Julia's horror--she's cast as Perdita. As rehearsals continue, she begins to fall in love with Ian.
Next, there's Bridget, who plays Soccer at Brown University. Lately, her interests have shifted to archeology. While on an expedition in Turkey, her instructor, Professor Nasrin Mehani (Shohreh Aghdashloo), opens her eyes to the fact that she's only running away from her past. Bridget, it seems, is still haunted by the suicide of her mother. And her relationship with her father (Ernie Lively) is worse than ever; before leaving for Turkey, she discovered a box full of letters her grandmother had written her, letters her father wanted to keep hidden. Returning to the United States, Bridget takes a bus to Alabama and finally meets her grandmother, Greta (Blythe Danner), an accommodating woman with a matter-of-fact outlook on everything, including her daughter's mental illness.
The next in line is Tibby, who continues to pursue her filmmaking dreams at NYU. Forced to stay in New York for the summer to rewrite her screenplay, she gets a job at a local video store. She's now dating Brian McBrian (Leonardo Nam), who was introduced in the first film as the "Dragon's Lair" champion. When their relationship is threatened (for reasons I won't reveal), Tibby begins to wonder if she was meant for happiness. She does put up a wall every time she gets close to someone, and that's because, deep down, she believes that those you love the most will eventually abandon you. Her attempts to get sympathy from Carmen are flatly rejected; she doesn't appreciate how uncommunicative Tibby has been all summer.
Finally, there's Lena, who attends an art college in Rhode Island on a scholarship. Heartbroken after breaking up with her Greek boyfriend, Kostos (Michael Rady), she reverts to her old timid ways. She then meets Leo (Jesse Williams), the male model hired to pose nude in her art classes. It isn't long before they fall in love, although we suspect it's for all the wrong reasons. All she really knows about Leo is that he's a nice guy, and he's incredibly handsome. But does she know what she wants out of life? Does she even know who she is? How can know she when she's torn between two men?
Naturally, the pants themselves have to play a part in this story, and indeed, they're continually FedEx-ed from friend to friend. The question is: Do any of them need the pants anymore? You'd think that, at this point, a pair of old jeans traveling the world would reveal itself as a big metaphor. They may realize that by the time the film ends. I'm not entirely sure, though.
Moments of this movie are perhaps a little too sentimental, and the general plot may be a little too formulaic. At times, the dialogue is a bit contrived. Consider this conversation: When Tibby says drearily, "I suck at relationships. I should have been a guy," Lena calmly responds, "A guy wouldn't care about sucking at relationships." Only best friends in a coming-of-age story could get away with lines like that. Then again, I never expected a reinvention of the wheel. Movies like "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2"--and its predecessor--are aimed at a very specific audience, namely teenage girls; if they can get something out of it other than the sight of four young women looking pretty, if they can leave the theater understanding the more complex aspects of the story, then the filmmakers can include all the predictable dialogue they want. I think this movie will get the job done, not merely for teenage girls, but for anyone open to the idea.

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Join the four best friends as they finish their first year of college and dive into a summer of excitement. Bridget (Blake Lively) journeys to Turkey on an archeological dig. Carmen (America Ferrera) plunges into the hectic, creative world of summer theater in Vermont. Lena (Alexis Bledel) discovers new love and old heartbreak at the Rhode Island School of Design. And in the Big Apple, Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) takes a big step in her relationship with Brian. Romance, laughs, tears and that magical pair of jeans that keeps the girls together even when theyre far apart all here in a heart-lifting second film based on Ann Brashares bestsellers. Its a perfect fit.

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The Number 23 (Unrated Infinifilm Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)When I saw the preview for NUMBER 23, I thought it was going to be a great film. The concept of the number 23 being part of some global conspiracy is a great idea for a mystery thriller. Also, Jim Carrey has done a great job of choosing roles that display the full range of his acting talents, not just ones that show his comic prowess and I was looking forward to seeing him in a mystery thriller film. But instead of a mystery thriller, I saw a hacked up film that barely qualifies as a mystery, has no thrills, and very little suspense.
Carrey portrays Walter Sparrow, and older man married to a younger woman named Agatha (Virginia Madsen) who works in a bakery. Walter works as an animal control specialist. Apparently Walter's job isn't all that exciting, but it is something he enjoys doing. At the end of the work day on his birthday, he gets bitten by a stray dog. He chases the dog until he looses him in a cemetery. The incident causes Walter to be late meeting his wife for dinner, which leads her to browsing a used bookstore, where she finds a self-published book about the number 23 that she buys for Walter as a gift. Apparently Walter was so late that Agatha was able to read the entire book while waiting for him. Walter must be a slow reader because it takes him over a week before he finishes it at the end of which time he finds himself going slightly insane, seeing the number 23 everywhere he goes and having dreams about murdering his wife. All reading and no play seems to make Walter a dull boy. Is Walter really going insane? Or is the book actually part of a larger story that Walter has become involved in? Dum, dum, dum, dum, DUM! (Look what I did, onomatopoeia and foreshadowing combined!).
I was really disappointed by NUMBER 23. The concept is so interesting and could be made into a great movie, but NUMBER 23 isn't it. Jim Carrey does a great job of playing both Walter Sparrow and the character of Fingerling from the novel, but he's not given much of a story to work with. Either is the lovely Virginia Madsen. She plays two roles, too, but neither has any real depth. In fact, none of the characters are very developed at all. Sometimes that's okay in a mystery suspense film, but not if you don't have much of a story to work with.
I will give the filmmakers credit, though. There are many people who will not like the ending of the film and even though I was disappointed, I'm glad they tried to bring closure to the whole story. Many times in mystery-thriller and suspense the films end ambiguously with no closure. As my parents used to say, "That's a dumb ending." NUMBER 23 doesn't have a dumb ending. Instead, it has a middle that doesn't make any sense. I'd most like to see a film that makes sense all or at least most of the way through, but given a mindless middle or a dumb ending I think I would rather take the dumb ending.

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Spiraling into a dark obsession with the number 23, Walter Sparrow twists his once idyllic life into an inferno of psychological torture that could possibly lead to his death as well as the deaths of his loved ones. Spurred on by a mysterious novel, The Number 23, that he doesn't dare put down, Walter is forced to unlock the secrets of his past before he can continue his future with his wife, Agatha, and teenage son, Robin.The novel, given to Walter by Agatha as a birthday gift, depicts a chilling murder mystery that seems to mirror Walter's life in dark and uncontrollable ways. The life of the book's main character, a brooding detective named Fingerling, is filled with moments that echo Walter's own history.As the world of the book starts to come alive, Walter becomes infected by the most frightening and evocative part of it: Fingerling's obsession with the hidden power of the number 23. This obsession permeates the book and begins to control Walter.He sees the number everywhere in his own life and becomes convinced that he is damned to commit the same horrific crime as Fingerling--murder.Nightmarish fantasies come to haunt Walter, ones that portend terrible fates for his wife as well as family friend Isaac French, placing him on a desperate quest to understand the mysteries of the book. If he can unlock the power behind the number 23, he may be able to change his future.

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Tuck Everlasting (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Tuck Everlasting" is the (near-perfect) movie adaptation of Natalie Babbitt's classic novel about a young girl who meets a family immortals. If you are looking for a nice family movie or love story, Disney's "Tuck Everlasting" is a fine selection for your viewing pleasure.
THE STORY:
Winnie Foster, daughter of a wealthy couple, ventures off into her family's woods one day and comes across a mysterious boy, Jesse, and his family, the Tucks, who seem to be "lost in time." Feeling trapped herself in her "too prim and proper" for her family, Winnie feels liberated with the carefree lifestyle of the Tucks. However, the Tuck family secret is something that can very well, and nearly does, bring Winnie's world crumbling down in front of her very eyes.
THE DISCUSSION:
"Tuck Everlasting" has long been at the top of the list of books the school system loves to have students read, and for very good reason. The story, very carefree but at times a little deep and occasionally dark, provides good discussion fodder on issues such as life and changing society values. Winnie's conflict with her parents' values as well as the ramifications of "eternal life" make great fodder for discussion and meditation.
Overall, the movie contains all the great things you could look for in both a love story and a family movie. The relationship between Winnie and Jesse should have most couples all "warm and fuzzy" (or ill to their gut). The movie overall is very light and easy and should be enjoyable for anyone. The violence level is kept to a minimum and the "darker" elements of the story are tame enough to where it shouldn't upset anyone.
THE ADAPTATION:
Movies based on books are double-edged swords. They either ruin the "meaning" of the books they seek to praise or they themselves become masterpieces (like Harry Potter and Jurassic Park). "Tuck Everlasting" falls into the latter category. I myself read Babbitt's book in elementary and though it's been 16 years I still remember the book quite well. As far as I can tell, this movie was about as true an adaptation as you can get. The main themes and event sequences are translated well onto the big screen. Fans of the book should appreciate this movie.
BEST SCENES:
1.Miles' story. This is a very powerful scene that touches very well on the "eternal life" issue. This scene could easily win an award.
2.Jail Break. Hilarious scene!!!
3.Tuck's Talk with Winnie
4.Jesse and Winnie's adventures
THE VERDICT:
Overall, this movie is a great choice for young couples on a date or family's looking for a nice, clean movie. Yes indeed my friends, it's a chick flick!!! Enjoy.
Highly Recommended

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Walt Disney Pictures' TUCK EVERLASTING, a timeless and enchanting adventure about one girl's magical summer, will captivate audiences of any age. Young Winnie Foster, stifled by the formality of her proper life and domineering mother, escapes into the woods only to get lost. Soon she happens upon Jesse Tuck -- a boy full of life and adventure who's unlike anyone she's ever met -- and falls in love. The Tucks, a kind and generous family, have a powerful secret -- a spring that holds the magic of everlasting life. And now Winnie must choose to live life as she knows it or drink from the spring. It's a life-affirming adventure that will cast its irresistible spell over you again and again.

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Battlestar Galactica - Season One Review

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(More customer reviews)First off, the show is 5 stars or more. Best show currently on cable TV as far as I can tell. But this hd-dvd leaves PLENTY TO BE DESIRED.
First, they reused the same menus as were used in Heroes season 1 on HD-DVD, this is fine with me, as that menu scheme is very nice. The interactive parts of this hd-dvd release (the U control stuff) is great, but I'll never view the show this way but once, if that.
I own the original dvd of this (season 1 and the miniseries stand alone dvd), I was highly looking forward to watching this on HD-DVD. But I was sadly disappointed!
The video quality on the mini series is horrible, looks like 480p! Watching the miniseries on dvd upconverted generally looks better, save a few scenes. Also the audio gets out of sync quite a few times during the show.
The TV shows look substantially better than the mini-series, with many scenes looking very good, but not as noticeable of an upgrade as say, heroes or smalleville, which I also own, and are also on HD-DVD. Those releases are/were fantastic, with pristine transfers. This looks like it was rushed. And pity that, I would be fine with spending 40 dollars, 50 max for this, but 100? or even amazon's low price makes me feel like I'm apart of some cylon conspiracy.
If the video not being up to standards is not enough, the case arrived crushed due to be shipped in an envelope (first time this has ever happened to me from amazon) and the discs were scratched (seems this is the default, not the exception from others reviews).
With that said, I whole heartedly recommend this series to any and everyone, it is amazing. The best thing about the HD-DVD is the phenomenal sound, this was a huge upgrade, I cant really applaud any other parts of this release.In closing, this show is fantastic, the video quality leaves much to be desired, they should re-master the mini-series, as this looks very bad here. The HD-DVD is still better than the DVD, but not by much.
I hope universal will release season 2, 3, and Razor on HD-DVD soon. However, I will not be pre-ordering those until after I read more reviews. The dvd's I have look fantastic as is (upconverted) so if the picture quality is no real improvement, I have no real need to spend double the money.
I must note, I am not against spending 70 dollars for a TV show (I do have both sopranos seasons in HD, and they cost far more) on an High Def format, but I am against getting sub-par transfers, Heroes, and Smallville both on HD-DVD blows this out of the water in terms of picture quality, and packaging. This show deserves better, we deserver better.
So say we all!PS, if you are having problems getting the discs in or out of the case, twist the disc's and they come right off or on, pulling will likely pull the glue off of the packaging.

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One of the best shows on television looks better than ever as Battlestar Galactica: Season One arrives on HD DVD.Relive all 13 thrilling episodes plus the four-hour miniseries that started it all in this six disc set. When a surprise Cylon attack scatters the remnants of humanity throughout the galaxy, it's up to steely President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and battle-hardened Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) to unite the desperate survivors and seek mankind's only chance for a future, a mythical planet called Earth.Presented in 1080P with Dolby TrueHD audio and showcasing U-Control features that allow you to go deeper into the BSG universe, Battlestar Galactica: Season One on HD DVD is gripping drama that explores the human condition at its worst ? and its best.

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