Diva's Christmas Carol (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)A witty, musical new twist on the old classic, this VH1 production casts Vanessa Williams as a miserly and grinchy "Ebony Scrooge,". Ebony was once part of a popular 80s singing trio, but after one of the trio is killed in an auto accident, Ebony embarks on a solo career characterized by extreme narcissism and greed. While in New York for a "charity" concert, designed to benefit no one but herself, Ebony is visited by four spirits who want to make her change her wicked ways.
Suddenly Susan's Kathy Griffin gives a noteworthy performance as the sarcastic, tongue and cheek spirit of Christmas Past. Also making appearances are TLC's Chilli, John Taylor from Duran Duran, Brian McKnight and Nile Rogers.
Williams acting isn't the most fluid but her singing is superb. Her articulate vocals in the Christmas songs she sings in this movie provide some great "built in" holiday music videos. The "Sleigh Ride" sequence will quickly get you into the holiday spirit and the "Heartquake" sequence provides some humorous musical 80's nostaligia.
Vanessa Williams holiday musical numbers from this movie would make a great Christmas soundtrack and I'm very surprised VH 1 hasn't already released and marketed it.
Overall, those who love music, Christmas and/or the vocals of Vanessa Williams, will enjoy this fun remake of a treasured holiday classic.

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DIVA'S CHRISTMAS CAROL - DVD Movie

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Barbie in a Christmas Carol Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this for my 5 year old daughter and she loves it. She has watched the movie 3 times in the 3 days that we've had it -- and I've lost count of how many times she's watched the DVD extras. The older she gets, the pickier she is about what she wants to watch more than once and she clearly wants to watch this one over and over. She is scared of a lot of movies (including some of the Barbie movies), but not this one.
The story has been masterfully re-crafted so that a younger kid can watch it without getting scared; yet the message of the original tale is beautifully preserved. The ending leaves one with a happy, positive feeling.
The music is great in this movie -- old Christmas classics like "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas", etc usually sung by Barbie and Teresa. The smart people at Mattel figured out a great way to include the "I Feel Connected" song from Diamond Castle (which my daughter and her friends can't get enough of) in one of the special features. The song is used for a humorous scene introduced by Barbie and Teresa and starring those two little dogs (Lilly and Sparkles) from the Diamond Castle.
The disk includes:
* the movie
* a menu to choose one of the several songs from the movie (Carol-oke Party, the disk calls it).
* several trailers
* a "behind the scenes" video from the Diamond Castle showing the dogs dancing to "I Feel Connected"
* a nice documentary about how a Barbie Collector Holiday Doll is designed which is told using a mother and daughter getting a tour of the Barbie factory. Warning -- your daughter will probably want to start buying those expensive Barbie Collector dolls after seeing this.
This movie is a keeper. I can heartily (really!) recommend it.

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Barbie™ in A Christmas Carol is a heart-warming adaptation of the classic Dickens story filled with cherished Christmas carols, fabulous fashions and lots of laughs! The tale stars Barbie™ as Eden Starling™ the glamorous singing diva of a theatre in Victorian London. Along with her snooty cat, Chuzzlewit, Eden selfishly plans to make all the theatre performers stay and rehearse on Christmas Day! Not even Eden’s costume designer and childhood friend, Catherine can talk Eden out of her self-centered tantrum. It’s up to three very unusual Christmas Spirits to take Eden on a fantastical holiday journey that will open her heart to the spirit of the season and the joy of giving.Barbie™ in A Christmas Carol is a family favorite to enjoy every holiday season!

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Little Dorrit (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I will always be a tremendous fan of the two part film version with Derek Jacobi and Sir Alec Guiness, now generally only found on used video tape. This wonderful new miniseries does however acquit itself very nicely. Shown earlier in the UK, the acting by Matthew Macfadyn (of Pride and Prejudice fame) captures the well-intentioned and kind hearted Arthur Clennam perfectly. Equally impressive is Claire Foy as the courageous and decent Little (Amy) Dorrit. Still the best may be the character portrayed by Tom Courtenay, William Dorrit, "the father of the Marshalsea" the famous debtors' prison. The series is full of very strong supporting performances, it would take far too long to list the many wonderful actors and actresses who are found in every scene.
The show follows a very typical Dickens plot of slowly developing mysteries and strangely interwoven relationships. Little Dorrit was born inside a debtors' prison and has lived her entire life working unendingly and without complaint to make her father's decades long imprisonment there more bearable. She is the first child born there; this fact and his former stature as a gentleman gives him an informal social superiority inside that he enjoys and uses as possible to his personal benefit. The arrival in London of Arthur Clennam from China to share with his mother the news of his father's death, pushes an already moving story into many surprising turns. Rich and poor, good and bad, people of all social circles find themselves pulled into confronting their changing fortunes. Some who find themselves well-off deal with their new situation far less well than those dealing with adversity.
Dickens is telling a story far too near to his own with the theme of these families forced to see many generations live behind prison walls for the want of a few pounds. The story is one of his strongest and this series tells it honestly and with an incredible strength of cast and script.

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Acclaimed screenwriter Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House) brings to DVD an all new Dickens adaptation starring Academy Award Nominee Tom Courtenay (The Golden Compass), Matthew Macfadyen (MI-5, Pride and Prejudice) and newcomer Claire Foy (Being Human). This gripping new series brings to life Dickens's powerful story of struggle and hardship in 1820s London. When Arthur Clennam (Macfadyen) returns to England after many years abroad, his curiosity is piqued by the presence in his mother's house of a young seamstress, Amy Dorrit (Foy). His quest to discover the truth about “Little Dorrit” takes him to the Marshalsea Debtors Prison, where he discovers that the dark shadows of debt stretch far and wide. Filled with humorous yet tragic characters, Little Dorrit is a stirring rags to riches to rags story, exposing the underbelly of nineteenth century British society as only Charles Dickens can.

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