Jon and Kate Plus Ei8ht: Season Three (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm assuming people looking at this already know whether or not they like the show, if you don't know or haven't seen it yet it's not hard to catch the episodes playing almost round the clock in syndication on TLC. The third season is still the lovable Gosselin family, the episodes are the finest of the series so far as it showed us the families real daily lives around the home more than recent episodes but the children were older and more mature than earlier seasons. This set also has the especially enjoyable episodes that focused on individual time between Jon & Kate with each individual child on their own special day. Episodes included in this 4 disc set are:
Trip To The Zoo
Day In The Life
Twins Turn 7!
Kate Hires A Nanny
Winter Preparation
Potty Training the Boys
Family Photo Shoot
Kate's Wardrobe Makeover
Gosselin Family Christmas
Plane Ride to Utah
Gosselins Go Skiing
Twins Get Musical
Cooking with the Twins
Carpeting the House
Valentine's Day
Color me Gosselin
Leah and Joel
Aaden and Hannah
Alexis and Colin
Mady's Day
Cara's Day
Jon & Kate's Special Day
Oprah Here We Come
Household Chores
Gosselins Take the Stage
Games Gosselins Play
Memorial Day Picnic
Discipline
Jon's Hair Raising Experience
Jon & Kate Family Movie Night
Plus Special Features: Behind the Scenes of Jon & Kate Plus 8 (which originally aired as an episode).
Viewer FAQ (Which originally aired as an episode)
Music Video: A Hug & A Kiss (Which was promoted and aired once on television)
All episodes this season are shot and shown in 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Aspect Ratio. Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0. There Are English Subtitles, the set is rated G and has a running time of approx. 698 minutes.
This season is in my opinion the best Jon & Kate has to offer. I haven't enjoyed recent episodes as much as these ones, possibly because they've been away from home alot doing too many out of the ordinary things that I can't relate to when I always found that sense of home to be the heart of the series. Hopefully now that they've settled into their new house the show will return more to the format I enjoyed. Though the hype the show has received and the affect it seems to have had (in my opinion) on the family will never allow it to be as great as it was in this third season it is still and probably will always be an enjoyable family series for most and they're who I recommend this to.

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When the Gosselins dreamed of having a family, nonstop chaos wasn't exactly what they envisioned. But the arrival of a set of twins and a set of sextuplets within five years has added up to Jon & Kate plus 8. And their dream family has turned into a mind-boggling juggling act. Season 3 continues to take you into the lives of this unusual and amazing family as they experience the havoc, the challenges and the joys of raising multiples. Sometimes it's a comedy, sometimes it's a drama, but it's always an adventure!Stills from Jon and Kate Plus Ei8ht (Click for larger image)

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Peacock (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)As you can see by the previous reviews, the opinions are greatly varied. They all have merit but I have to say I liked it more than I didn't like it.
As for the issue of multiple or fractured personalities, I don't have the expertise to say whether or not they exist, but it is the crux of this film so, depending on your views on the matter, you may need to suspend your disbelief.
Yes. You get, right off the bat, the strong connection to Psycho. Abused son plus dead mom equals crazy son. This son, played by Cillian Murphy will make or break this one for you. Susan Sarandon is present but she's doing what she can with a rather small part. Bill Pullman seems unnecessarily weird and Ellen Page does a very good job even though she's only in a couple of scenes. This is Murphy's movie. The way he plays the parts of John and Emma, I felt, were tremendous. He's screwed up and trapped in a self imposed prison. Through a trick of fate he almost finds a way out through his alter ego Emma. But you see the torment in him and you realize how precarious the situation is. One false move and the whole thing comes crashing down.
The writer/director Michael Lander ripped a couple of pages out of the David Lynch book of film making but as I tend to like Lynch, I wasn't at all bothered. It's a good idea for a movie and all aspects of the production are professional. The soundtrack is way cool and the bones don't show. This is a good, solid, imaginative film. It clocks in at 90 minutes so it won't tax your patience.
But beware. This is not for the casual viewer. If you're into popcorn kind a flix this may not be your cup of tea. If way off beat films are your poison, give it a shot.

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John Skillpa, a quiet bank clerk living in tiny Peacock, Nebraska, prefers to live an invisible life. Then, in a moment, everything changes. A train caboose runs off its tracks and crashes into John’s backyard and destroys more than the weathered planks of his wood fence. When neighbors descend on the scene, they discover John’s other personality, Emma, for the first time and mistakenly believe her to be John’s wife. This launches John into the glare of the spotlight and eventually shatters the delicate balance of his sanity.

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An American Crime (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)AN AMERICAN CRIME is a problematic little reenactment of a real criminal case of child abuse dating back to 1965. The story is horrifying and while the film places the facts in our faces, the impact of the film is out of focus. This is due to the script that elects to glaze over the motivational aspects of a brutal crime in favor of attempting to investigate fully the mindset of both the perpetrator and the victims. Were it not for some sterling performances by Catherine Keener and Ellen Page this film might be easily dismissed: the strength of these actresses to overcome a weak script and manage to involve us is much to their credit as artists.
Indiana, 1965, and Gertrude Baniszewski (Catherine Keener) is a 'borderline' single mother of several children who is asked to take care of Sylvia (Ellen Page) and Jennie Likens (Hayley McFarland) while the girls parents remain on the road as carnies, promising to send checks to help support their farmed out children. Gertrude is a woman of loose morals who adds babies to her large family during liaisons with young men like the itinerant Dennis (James Franco).Gertrude takes in laundry to support her household and requires her young children to work toward the same goal. A friction develops between Sylvia and Jenny and the children by Gertrude's illicit adventures as well as covert sexual similarities surfacing in her children and at 'family meetings' Gertrude doles out punishment for Sylvia - punishment including cigarette burns, coke bottle insertions, branding etc. - all of which are undeserved and eventually lead to Sylvia's imprisonment in the basement where Gertrude and her children and their friends daily torture Sylvia. Eventually Sylvia dies and Gertrude and family are brought to court for charges of first-degree murder and variations thereof. The court proceedings (under the leadership of lawyer Leroy K. New played by Bradley Whitford) provide the story drivers as each allegation is then acted out by flashbacks until the verdicts are reached.
Catherine Keener is superb as the deranged, maladaptive Gertrude and Ellen Page adds yet another feather to her cap in a role that in another actor's hands could have been over the top. Writer/director Tommy O'Haver (the script was written with the aid of Irene Turner) does manage to show us the facts of this atrocity yet fails to go inside the characters to give us the psychobiographies this film has the potential for illuminating. It may well repel some viewers, but it does bring to the forefront a crime that is all too common in this country. Grady Harp, May 08

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"This," said Prosecutor Leroy New, "has been the most terrible crime ever committed in the state of Indiana;" the first crime of child abuse that broke through reticence and denial to register with the public. In Tommy O'Haver's heartbreaking and hard-hitting film, AN AMERICAN CRIME, Academy Award ® nominee Catherine Keener portrays Gertrude Baniszewski, the seemingly ordinary housewife who imprisons and tortures a beautiful teenager, played by Academy Award ® nominee Ellen Page, in the basement of her house - two portrayals that will resonate with audiences long after they leave the theatre. AN AMERICAN CRIME also stars James Franco and Bradley Whitford.

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Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)Anjelica Huston's directorial debut is a stunning one. This film, based with loving care on Dorothy Allison's fine novel by screenwriter Anne Meredith, tells the story of a pre-teen girl growing up under horrific family surroundings in the 1950s American South.
Bone Boatwright, played with astounding sensitivity and guts by young actor Jena Malone, is subjected to unconscionable brutality and sexual abuse by her stapfather. Her mother, portrayed here by Jennifer Jason Leigh, is in deep denial of what is happening to her child, unable or unwilling to see what is occuring under her roof -- partly afraid of losing her husband, partly due to psychological trauma she most likely received when she was a child. This pattern of behavior is usually circular in nature -- victims many times become perpetrators or enablers when they become adults. Only intensive counseling and a deep determination on the part of the survivor can break this horrible chain.
Jena Malone turns in the performance of a lifetime -- and from one so young! If she can do this level of work at this age, what will she be capable of as her career continues? The entire cast is well-chosen -- this was a project about which they obviously cared very deeply. The performances they give here attest to that.
Meredith's screenplay is excellent -- very true to Allison's novel. Some parts were necessarily left out for considerations of film length -- the important thing is that Meredith was intelligent and respectful enough of Allison's work that she wisely chose not to add any elements on her own. Too many screenwriters make that mistake -- it's refreshing to see such a quality screenplay for such an important work as this.
Anjelica Huston must have been extremely moved by Allison's novel (an amazing book -- check it out) to have taken on a project such as this, one that she most likely knew would not be a box office smash. She shows great sensitivity to the material here -- there are some scenes that are necessarily brutal in nature, and they are filmed with both truth and dignity. This is an ugly story -- thank God she chose not to show it through rose-colored glasses. The more fine films on this subject are seen, the greater our chances as a people of understanding this shameful problem in our society. The more it is discussed and brought into the light of day, the fewer places there will remain for the perpetrators to hide. Those who don't believe things like this still occur are fooling themselves -- statistics show that over 70% of children in America are sexually abused in some degree. Think about that the next time you pass a school or a playground full of children, who have the right to be leading lives untouched by these predators.
I've read that Ted Turner originally commissioned this film, but when it was done refused to show it on his cable network. Too bad he lacked the courage to do the right thing -- and kudos to Showtime for stepping up to the plate and taking over. This is an outstanding film on a heartbreaking but vital topic -- and one that should be seen by more people. Heartfelt thanks to Anjelica Huston, and to everyone involved in bringing this wonderful novel to the screen.

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