Two Weeks (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)The humor is way too forced, superficial and well-trodden to add the well-intentioned black comedy elements this otherwise bittersweet soap opera needs, but this 2007 film offers a vanity-free Sally Field giving a powerhouse performance as Anita Bergman, the dying mother of four grown children. The movie's title refers to the amount of time her character is expected to live before succumbing to ovarian cancer. With the clock ticking, the four children gather at her North Carolina home from different parts of the country and respond differently to the imminent tragedy. Directed and written by Steve Stockman as a series of vignettes, the characterizations represent different archetypes, and the actors are left to flesh them out to some human dimension. The results of their efforts are variable.
Affecting an unrecognizable American accent, Ben Chaplin fares the poorest as eldest brother Keith, an LA-based filmmaker whose sarcastic jokes are meant to shield him from feelings of insecurity and guilt. His character has the most screen time, yet his constantly jokey facade gets in the way of any sympathy we have for him. At first, Tom Cavanaugh plays Ben, the son Anita has dubbed the responsible one, as an obnoxious yuppie workaholic who gradually reveals his fears of loss but fades in the background. As only daughter Beth, Julianne Nicholson is terrific in unconditionally embracing her role as chief caretaker given that her mother is really her best friend, for better or worse. Youngest brother Matthew is drawn in the broadest strokes as the picked-upon baby of the family, and his resentment has manifested itself with a shrewish wife whom everybody else hates.
On the sidelines is Anita's second husband of 13 years, Jim, played by James Murtagh, who glowers in resentment as her children take over their house with nary a thought in his direction. Anita's first husband and the father of her children exists as a shadowy figure in the story, and Anita - in one of many revealing videotaped excerpts - has obviously not fully come to terms with her divorce. These clips - showing Anita recorded by Keith in an earlier stage of her cancer - are used as a dramatically effective framing device for the story, and Field shows herself to be at the height of her artistry in these scenes even when the material gets mawkish. Stockman based the story on the death of his own mother in 1997, and this experience informs a lot of the moments in the film, especially the brutalizing scenes of Anita's rapid decline under hospice care.
The 2007 DVD is two-sided split between full and widescreen versions and with the extras divvied up. Stockman provides an informative commentary track accompanied periodically by Dr. Ira Byock, a physician specializing in treating those knowingly facing death. There's also a solid 23-minute making-of featurette, "Learning to Live Through Dying", and four scenes labeled deleted though truthfully only one is deleted while the other three are extended. There is a group discussion guide included in each version that provides text questions to help the viewer face the death of a loved one.

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Constellation Review

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(More customer reviews)"Constellation," which begins in 1940's Alabama, tells the tale of a secret, forbidden love between a black woman named Carmel and a white soldier named Bear, whose romance is cut short when he is shipped overseas to fight in the war. Flash forward fifty years to the funeral of Carmel - who never married after breaking up with Bear - which serves as the pretext for all the principal people in her life to gather together to air out their grievances and to thrash out the personal relationship problems that have haunted them all their lives. The participants include her emotionally distant brother and his two ex-wives; her two adult nieces and their respective men folk; and Bear himself, who, despite the fact that the two of them were kept apart all their lives by the restrictions of a racist society, has decided to pay not only for the services, but to put all these people up in one of the swankier hotels in Huntsville, Alabama.
Though there are a goodly number of insightful, touching moments in "Constellation," the movie probably would have been more effective had the screenplay (by director Jordan Walker-Pearlman) not tried to cram so many different characters into such a relatively short space of time (the movie runs barely over an hour and a half). Yes, I understand that the theme of the movie is all about how we form "constellations" with the people who are most important to us in life, but speaking strictly in narrative terms, much too often, the genuinely compelling travails of one character are shunted aside to make room for the far less interesting problems of another. Moreover, the romantic relationship between Carmel and Bear, which is supposed to function as the emotional cornerstone of the movie, is never made all that convincing. We are TOLD that these two people are in love with each other, but we aren't made to FEEL it. In addition, Aunt Carmel is portrayed as such a wise and ethereal earth-mother presence even after death that she is essentially robbed of her own individuality and humanity as a character.
Still, there is much that is good in the movie, starting with the performances of Billy Dee Williams, as a man incapable of making emotional connections with the people in his life, and Rae Dawn Chong, as the daughter who has the most trouble dealing with this reality. They are ably abetted by Lesley Ann Warren, Zoe Saldana, Melissa De Souza, and Hill Harper. The movie also boasts a flavorful soundtrack, filled with an eclectic mixture of musical styles, ranging from classical to hip hop to spiritual. The Huntsville setting also provides a refreshing change for audiences weary of seeing New York, Los Angeles and Chicago constantly being recycled in film after film, as if they were the only urban centers moviemakers had to choose from.
The movie does lay its message on a bit thickly towards the end, employing heavy-handed speech-making and rather obvious symbolism to get its points across. It really doesn't need to go to all that effort, since the viewers could probably figure the themes out on their own given half a chance.
Yet, although "Constellation" is a decidedly mixed bag as far as family and social dramas go, it has enough elements of quality to make it worth checking out.

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Item Name: Constellation; Studio:20th Century Fox

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Beautiful (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Beautiful, adj. 1. Having beauty; delighting the senses and mind. 5. The ideal of beauty.
So says Webster, and given that, Mona Hibbard of Naperville, Illinois does not embody that quality on the inside. Mona has had a drive to be beautiful and from her pre-teen years, has worked hard, getting her teeth straightened, going to a grace school, and befriending Ruby, who has learned to sew from her grandmother. From watching beauty pageants on TV, she herself enters a beauty pageant and wins for best costume. The trouble is, her parents are far from supportive, and she herself shuts them out of her life. Her mother keeps saying she's getting aggravated from her behaviour, and even when Mona gets a consolation medal reading "participant," she merely says that she didn't get anything. On the other hand, the egocentric Mona's no angel either. She has a room with posters full of beauty pageant memorabilia, and a sign on the door reading "knock first" When her mother asks her if she wants some pizza, Mona refuses to answer because her mother didn't knock first.
Years later, Ruby and Mona are firm friends. Ruby and her grandmother still help make costumes for Mona, who still has the same dream, and will do anything to get it. In one scene smacking of black humour and slapstick, she sabotages a rival's equipment when that girl steals Mona's routine and is lucky enough to go first. This has grave ramifications later on, which I won't reveal. However, when Mona discovers she's pregnant, it's bad news, because women who are mothers or legal guardians are disqualified from entering the Miss American Miss competition. But she's so desperate to prove herself beautiful, she has Ruby pose as the mother of her child, a girl named Vanessa, while she becomes her own child's aunt. This helps her win Miss Illinois, which makes her a contestant for Miss America Miss pageant. In the meantime, there are the expected public appearances to promote her.
However, fate plays a cruel trick on Ruby, leaving Vanessa in Mona's care, something neither is chuffed about. Mona sees her own daughter as A) an inconvenience, and B) someone to take photos of her to mold her image as a caring, heroic, role model. But what makes a real role model? Mona's "campaign slogan" is "empowering America's youth for a brighter America." A pity she doesn't embody that ideal toward her own soccer-loving seven year old daughter.
In Mallrats Joey Lauren Adams played the smarter advice-giving girlfriend to Claire Forlani. As Ruby, Adams is the hard-working, grounded, patient friend who works hard to help Mona reach her goal even to the extent of being the mother to Vanessa, and treating her like a real mother would, making this her best role since Chasing Amy. Hallie Kate Eisenberg (Vanessa) is quite the delight here as the very insightful girl who ends up being more mature and abler than her birth mother. Indeed, when she asks Mona how come she looks so much like her, it's more than just physical appearance, but more on personality. One only has to look at the way Mona's own mother treated her to see how Mona treats Vanessa, with lack of sympathy, support, and as somewhat of an inconvenience. Her other question to Mona, "where do I belong?" is something that Mona herself is struggling with, to belong somewhere. Adams and Eisenberg really make this movie worth it.
Actress Sally Fields' feature film directorial debut was much panned by critics, and perhaps it's Minnie Driver's character, who isn't that likeable until the final twenty minutes or so of the movie. All the same, one is aggravated by her egotistical self-centered behaviour, while at the same time wanting her to not only grow up, as Ruby tells her in a moment of exasperation, but to be, in the words of Webster, to become beautiful.

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Mona is determined to win the Miss American Miss contest, even if it means cheating or concealing the fact that she has a daughter.Genre: Feature Film-ComedyRating: PG13Release Date: 2-SEP-2003Media Type: DVD

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I Shouldn't Be Alive (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I loved this show when it was on, and then it just dissappeared and the discovery channel website said nothing about it which was frustrating. I was thrilled to see that the show was being released on dvd. There are like 24 episodes in this set and they are all good. I have given this as a gift to several people and it is very popular. Many people never saw the show when it was on and so it is all new to them.
The survival stories are amazingly recreated with actors and on camera interviews with the real life survivors. Not everyone survives in these stories and you can kind of quickly figure that out when that person never shows up on screen in an interview. It is sad. I highly recommend this set if you enjoy shows like this. I had a few problems with the dvds skipping (right out of the box) but it tolerable and did not happen on each disc.

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Survivors of harrowing life-and-death situations relive their terrifying experiences in this addictive, thrilling series. From a father forced to abandon his son in a hidden cave to a crew of inexperienced sailors struggling to survive in shark-infested waters, these are ordinary people pushed to the limits of human endurance. Under the same circumstances, would you have the raw courage, the nerves of steel, the sheer luck required to make it out alive? With these 20 episodes, you'll be amazed at the power of the will to survive in some of the most extreme situations you could ever imagine.

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A Dog Named Christmas DVD (Hallmark Hall of Fame) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of the most well done and touching Christmas movies I have ever seen. It's a little like "Old Yeller" but with a better ending.
A special treat for all animal lovers and people who want something deeper from Christmas than just Santa Claus and materialism. Some of the best, realistic family values and the ability to overcome are portrayed in this wonderful movie.

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Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek) plays George McCray, Linda Emond (Julie & Julia) plays his wife Mary Ann, and Noel Fisher (The Riches) plays their son Todd in the 237th Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, A Dog Named Christmas. Based on Greg Kincaid's novel, the special premieres on CBS Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009, 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.The McCray family is anticipating a happy - if uneventful - Christmas on their Kansas farm, when an unexpected visitor enters their family. Todd - the McCray's 20-year-old developmentally-challenged son - hears that the local animal shelter is looking for families to foster a pet for the holidays, hoping that some will be permanently adopted.Todd's father, George, is firmly opposed to bringing a dog into the McCray household, either temporarily or permanently. George says he's concerned that Todd won't be able to adequately care for the dog, and that it will be traumatic for him to return the animal to the shelter after Christmas.The real reason for George's stubborn refusal? Bruce Greenwood says, "He's had two dogs in his life that he loved deeply, one when he was a child, the other when he was serving in Vietnam. Both experiences ended badly, wounded George psychologically, and he's afraid the same thing will happen again, this time involving his son." Mary Ann, George's insightful wife, understands. Linda Emond says, "Mary Ann starts out feeling that a foster dog would be a great thing for her challenged son Todd, but pretty quickly comes to realize that a dog would actually be a great thing for her husband, George. Mary Ann knows that George is - in his own way - a wounded animal, and that bringing a dog into their home could be a real gift, a real agent of healing."

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The Oprah Winfrey Show: 20th Anniversary Collection (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)On January 29, 1954 Oprah Gail Winfrey was born. Oprah had a mountain of obstacles already in front of her as a newborn baby... she was born to unwed teenage parents, female, she was black, and she was poor.. not just poor...po!
Oprah's mother was an eighteen-year-old housemaid named Vernita Lee. Her father was a twenty-year-old doing duty in the armed forces: his name - Vernon Winfrey.
For the first six years of her life, Oprah was raised on a Mississippi farm by her grandmother. Perhaps the first stroke of good luck for the young child. Oprah credits living with her grandmother probably saved her life.
At the age of six, her mother, Vernita Lee, decided that she could care for her young daughter and Oprah was sent to live with her in Milwaukee. From ages six to thirteen, Oprah stayed with her mother. She was raped by a cousin when she was nine years old and later molested by a male friend of her mother's and by an uncle. The young girl never told anyone about the abuse. Instead, she held her anger and pain inside and she rebelled. She repeatedly ran away and got into trouble.

Her mother decided to put her into a detention home. Fortunately for Oprah, she was denied admission to the home because there were no openings. So, in what may have been her second major stroke of good luck, she was sent to live with her father Vernon Winfrey in Nashville. Before she ceased her promiscuous and wild behavior, she became pregnant and gave birth to a stillborn baby boy when she was fourteen. The death of her baby devastated her and she vowed to turn her life around.
Oprah Winfrey began her career in 1973 in Nashville, Tennessee, as WTVF's youngest -- and first-ever African-American -- news anchor, before moving in 1976 to Baltimore's WJZ, where she took over the chat-fest People Are Talking in 1978.

In 1983, Winfrey moved to Chicago to host AM Chicago, which within three years would become The Oprah Winfrey Show, roll out nationally via syndication, to become what it is today.
On learning from life-- "And what I found is that every time you have to repeat the lesson, it gets worse. I call it God trying to get your attention. The universe trying to get your attention. "Sooo we didn't get your attention the first time. We are going to have to hit you a little harder this time." So I'm still doing it. I'm still learning.
And it seems worse because it gets worse. I say, the universe is always trying to get your attention. Sometimes it starts out -- any major problem you encounter -- as a whisper. By the time it gets to be a storm, you've had a pebble knock you upside the head; you've had a brick; you've had a brick wall; you've had a house fall down. And before you know it, you are in the eye of the storm.
But long before you are in the eye of the storm, you've had many warnings, like little clues. So now my goal in life is not to have to hit the eye of the storm, but to catch it in the whisper. To get it the first time. I think the thing, the one thing that has allowed me to certainly achieve both material success and spiritual success, is the ability to listen to my instinct. I call it my inner voice. It doesn't matter what you call it -- nature, instinct, higher power. It's the ability to understand the difference between what your heart is saying and what your head is saying. I now always go with the heart. Even when my head is saying, 'Oh, but this is the rational thing; this is really what you should do.' I always go with that little... feeling. The feeling. I am where I am today because I have allowed myself to listen to my feelings.
The six-disc collection follows her impressive career, starting with "The Beginning," which outlines the early days of her show; "Heartprints," offering her most emotionally affecting interviews; "Aha!," focusing on moments that provided lessons; and the "Stars, interviews with celebrities. Everything is a highlight.
Harpo Productions, will donate its full share of the net profits from this DVD's sales to Oprah's Angel Network.
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The Stars.The Stories.The Moments.An unprecedented six-disc collection celebrating the 20th Anniversary of THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW, one-on-one with Oprah Winfrey herself.See exclusive never-before-seen footage, never-before-heard thoughts and personal revelations, as Oprah takes a candid, open and look back at all the most memorable moments of 20 years of history-making television.Get the inside story on Oprah's all-time favorite guests, surprises, celebrities and the people that have touched Oprah's heart forever.Share Oprah's personal perspective on the stories that made headlines, the interviews she'll never forget and more!Plus, go on a personal tour of Oprah's home, watch never-before-seen footage from the beginning years of THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW and take an exclusive look behind the scenes of A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW!Twenty extraordinary years...from Oprah to you.Oprah Winfrey will donate 100% of Harpo's profits from the sale of this DVD Collection to Oprah's Angel Network.

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The Law of Attraction In Action Episode I (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)This 3 DVD set is a wonderful expression of the love and wisdom that Abraham shares through Esther Hicks. The love, kindness, patience, humor and the beauty of their non-judgment is apparent in every question answered. The unwavering gentleness that accompanies every answer soothes the nervous and breathes life into the answers we already knew at our core. If you've read the books, listened to the tapes or attended a workshop, the answers sound familiar and ring true as you vibrate in harmony with the message. You can literally SEE the relief on the faces of the people. SEE the joy, the recognition, the remembering if you will and it is truly a beautiful shared experience. If you have attended workshops before, you will have this treasure to enjoy over and over again. If you have not yet had the chance, rest assured that absolutely NOTHING is lost in the translation. A very worth while purchase. Thank you Esther, Jerry and Abraham.

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Topics addressed by Abraham during this workshop include: Can an actor delve into all the angry, dark emotions without attracting unwanted things into his real life?How do you stop attracting all that old father and son emotional baggage? What do you do when you have attracted your passion at work but you have been stopped cold and it is making you sick?How can you move through anger into joy if you feel more comfortable back in the feeling of depression? Are mantras just meaningless words? What about words used in prayer? How do the specific words we use affect what we attract?Drinking, drugs, and broken curfews. . . a few pointers from Infinite Intelligence about dealing with a difficult teenager. Abraham helps us get a handle on the nature of time, aging, and the universe expanding.A more detailed analysis of the Law of Attraction, and a discussion on how emotion and matter interact to attract. How do the teachings of Abraham line up with traditional Christianity. . . or with any religion, for that matter?And much, much more. Answers and inspiration from the Non-Physical entity Abraham whom Esther calls infinite intelligence and Jerry refers to as the purest form of love he has ever encountered.

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Once (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of those rare movies that defies any neat classification. It isn't a traditional love story by any stretch. Though it is filled with music from beginning to end it isn't really a musical. In the traditional musical characters will suddenly burst into song but it represented an interruption in the otherwise semi-realistic tone of the movie--think of Gene Kelly in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. But all the songs in this film are in line with the overall realism of the film, they are all songs that occur in normal life.
I don't want to reveal much in the way of details about the movie since much of the joy of the film is discovering the ways it defies expectations. In broad outline it is about a street singer who has put his emotional life on cold storage because of a broken heart and the woman he meets who helps him open himself back up to life. During the day in Dublin he sings familiar standards for tips but at night, when the crowds thin out, he sings his own original material. We see him this way for the first time through the eyes of the Girl as she first meets him (in the credits the two lead characters, never addressed by name, are listed as Guy and Girl). He, played by Frames' frontman Glen Hansard, is singing an absolutely stunning song with intense passion. As he finishes, the camera pulls back to reveal her standing there. From thenceforward we see the two of them get to know each other as they perform a string of amazing songs together.
Neither Glen Hansard nor Markéta Irglová is a professional actor. Hansard did have a prominent role in another great Dublin film about music, THE COMMITMENTS. In that one Hansard played the band's guitarist Outspan Foster, one of the two original members of the band (he is the one who resists the suggestion of the other original member to call their band A Flock of Budgies). In real life, of course, Hansard has long been the resident genius of the great Irish rock band The Frames and both one of the great singers in rock as well as an absolutely brilliant songwriter (neither of which anyone who sees this movie will be inclined to doubt). While visiting Prague a couple of years back he met a precocious teenager who was none other than Markéta Irglová. One thing led to another and within a year of their meeting they recorded and album together entitled THE SWELL SEASON. Next they appeared in this film by John Carney, himself a former member of The Frames. So their time together has been amazingly productive (she also appeared on the critically acclaimed new album by the Frames, THE COST).
The film is filled with wonderful little moments, like the first meeting (driven by Hansard's magnificent performance of "Say It To Me Now"). Or the way the sound engineer recording the Guy's song goes from disinterest to interest as he realizes just how good he is. Or the marvelous extended shot that follows the Girl from a convenience store where she has bought batteries for a CD player down the street for a few blocks as she sings the lyrics she has written for a song the Guy has written the music for.
This truly is a very special film. It does not have the greatest production values; indeed, it feels like the low budget that it is. It works because the two leads, while not professional actors, have a wonderful chemistry both romantically and musically and because Glen Hansard is one of the finest songwriters around. In fact, the soundtrack for the film has to go down as one of the greatest soundtracks ever released. I would urge anyone who loves the music in this film to investigate not merely the soundtrack for the film, but both THE SWELL SEASON, the album by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, and two albums by the Frames, FITZCARRALDO and THE COST.
Update 8/8/07
I just read today on IMDB.com that Twentieth Century Fox, which owns the distribution rights to the movie, has been so pleased with its performance so far - nearly $7 million in box office on only 140 screens - that they are going to release it to a much larger number of screens and give it a publicity push. Obviously this means that this gem will be granted a much larger audience. Hopefully it will garner the kind of acclaim it deserves.

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The Waltons: The Complete First Season (1972) Review

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(More customer reviews)With so much junk on TV these days,it is so refreshing to see The Waltons with it's honest basic family values on the screen again. It's nice to see a show that isn't mean spirited as so many American shows are these days.
The Waltons made it's debut in the US on Sept 14th 1972 and continued on for nine seasons.
At first it struggled in the ratings but picked up speed after getting many good reviews and went to number one in the ratings. This first season won five Emmy awards including best series,best actor Richard Thomas,best actress Michael Learned and best supporting actress in Ellen Corby.
It went on to win many more.
The First Season episodes are-
The Foundling- A six year old deaf girl is found abandoned on the Waltons doorstep.
The Carnival- When the carnival manager leaves with their money,four stranded carnival members are helped by the Waltons.
The Calf- Jim Bob and Elizabeth take a calf to save it from slaughter.
The Hunt- John-Boy reluctantly goes on a hunt and saves John's life during a bear attack.
The Typewriter- John-Boy borrows the Baldwin's sisters typewriter to type a manuscript and loses it.
The Star- When a meteorite falls,Zeb believes it is an omen of his death and takes to bed.
The Sinner- The new preacher Matthew Fordwick(John Ritter)arrives and upsets John with his strict preaching.
The Boy From The CCC- A boy from the CCC who is found with an injured ankle is taken in by the Waltons and causes trouble.
The Ceremony- Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany come to Waltons Mountain.
The Legend- John's WW1 buddy comes to visit and is obviously living in the past. He accidently starts a fire.
The Literary Man- John Boy meets a writer and gets distracted from cutting timber therefore jeopardizing a timber contract.
The Dust Bowl Cousins-The Denby family,distant cousins,arrive on the mountain and upset everybodys life by stealing and fighting.
The Reunion- The Baldwin sisters cousin arrives for a visit and tries to scam the sisters out of their "recipe".
The Minstrel- Mary Ellen feels trapped in her surroundings and runs off with a travelling minstrel.
The Actress- A famous actress finds herself stranded on Waltons Mountain with car trouble. Her driver absconds with the money.
The Fire- Lutie Bascomb objects to Miss Hunter teaching the theory of evolution to her students. He sets fire to the school.
The Love Story- John Boy discovers love in the form of Jenny Pendleton.
The Courtship- Olivia's uncle Cody Nelson,laid off from his job,comes to visit the Waltons.
The Gypsies-a stranded Gypsy family refuses help until Grandma saves their babies life.
The Deed- The Waltons must raise money to register a deed to Waltons Mountain to stop a company from mining their mountain.
John-Boy goes into town to get a job and gets mugged.
The Scholar- A neighbor,Verdie Grant,asks John-Boy to teach her to read and write.
The Bicycle- John Boy agrees to help blacksmith Curtis Norton to write letters to his pen-pal fiancee.
She arrives to find him much different to the letters.
The Townie- After going on a date with John-Boy,Sarrah Simmonds(Sissy Spacek)sees him as a way to escape her boring lifestyle.
The Easter Story- Coming home from church,Olivia collapses and is diagnosed with polio.
After The Waltons was cancelled in 1981,there were some telemovies made,three rather average ones made in 1982 and another three much better ones,with Richard Thomas back as John-Boy,made in 1993,1995 and 1997. The final movie had John-Boy as a reporter on TV covering the 1969 moon landing.
One negative point-in what must have been a production error,the subtitles are in French only. There are no English subtitles.
Obviously someone at Warners Home Video has made a bad mistake in production. This makes it difficult for any elderly viewers or hard of hearing that might want to watch this show.
Subtitles are supposed to be standard on all DVD box sets and I note that overseas versions of The Waltons have corrected this mistake(just not the American version).
Hopefully,they will get that right when Season Two one day gets a release.

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They built their home on the timeless mountain that bears their name. They built their lives on even stronger stuff: the bedrock of family. This 5-disc set features all 24 Year-One episodes of the beloved series that ran 9 years and won 5 Emmy Awards its inaugural year, including Outstanding Drama Series. Richard Thomas plays the key role of John-Boy Walton, a youth on the verge of manhood during the Great Depression and a fledgling writer whose observations are filled with the growing-up lessons and love he receives from father John, mother Olivia, Grandma, Grandpa and all the rest of The Waltons.

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Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just had the opportunity to see this documentary at a local independent theater. I thought "Banjos and Africa? Random! But could be fun..." I was so so so underestimating the power of this film! The music is nothing short of tremendous (one piece in particular, in the first quarter of the film, is virtually guaranteed to leave you breathless and astounded), Incredible, passionate voices and remarkable instruments combine to form sounds that will grab your soul and shake it.
Bela is fun to watch as he interacts with African musicians of various calibers. I love how unassuming he is, and how he speaks (as one of the African musicians points out) perfectly through his music, although his mouth sometimes fails him. What a remarkably talented and humble guy!
All in all, 5 stars +++. I went home and bought the MP3 album immediately, and can't wait to buy the DVD. :)

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THROW DOWN YOUR HEART - DVD Movie

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The Pursuit of Happyness (Widescreen Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Pursuit of Happyness" is an unabashed tearjerker about the American Dream and commitment to family in the face of great odds. It was inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, who spent some time in the 1980s homeless while trying to care for his young son and make it through a stockbroker internship. The film is fictionalized but stays true to Gardner's struggle for success and dedication to his son. Gardner's autobiography, which goes by the same title, was actually published after the film was written. In San Francisco, 1981, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) can't make ends meet selling portable bone density scanners, while his embittered wife Linda (Thandie Newton) waitresses 2 shifts a day. Chris spies a man with an enviable sportscar on the street one day and asks him what he does for a living. He's a stockbroker. So Chris decides that's what he'll be. He must be at the top of his class after 6 months in Dean Witter's competitive internship program to be hired. Meanwhile, Chris has no wife, no money, no paying job, and a 5-year old son (Jaden Smith).
A story of hardship and hard work, paternal love and frustration, could easily be too saccharine for words. It's saved from this fate by Chris Gardner's desperation. Behind his indomitable pluck, Gardner is truly desperate. He has no money, no home, uncertain prospects, and the responsibility of providing for a young child. He hides his circumstances from his colleagues. He's spends an inordinate amount of energy chasing errant bone scanners around town. He compromises his ethics. His single-mindedness eventually takes a toll on his son. Chris is struggling for his life. And his financial problems are something the audience can understand and may themselves fear. That's why "The Pursuit of Happyness" works so well. Credit is due Will Smith's Oscar-nominated performance and Italian director Gabriele Muccino's understanding of intense emotions painted with small strokes.
The DVD (Sony 2007): There are 4 featurettes, the song "I Can" by Bebe Winans and Dave Koz (5 min, audio), and a feature commentary. "Making Pursuit: An Italian Take on the American Dream" (17 min) interviews Gabriele Muccino, Will Smith, and the producers about choosing Muccino to direct. Muccino talks about filming in San Francisco and working in English. "Father and Son: On Screen and Off" (7 min) recounts casting Jaden Smith after auditioning hundreds of other children, and Will Smith talks about working with his son. "The Man Behind the Movie: A Conversation with Chris Gardner" (12 min) interviews Gardner about his participation in the film, and Will Smith talks about learning from him. "Inside the Rubik's Cube" (6 min) is a fun short documentary on the persistent popularity of the Cube. There is a nice audio commentary by director Gabriele Muccino, in English. Muccino tells us how he got the job, discusses themes, recreating the 1980s, Will Smith's trust, locations, and some technical details. Subtitles are available for the film in English, French, Spanish. Dubbing available in French.

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Will Smith stars in the inspirational true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman who's struggling to make ends meet. When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise their 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith) on his own. Chris' determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the street, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self- confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.

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A Man Named Pearl Review

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(More customer reviews)Pearl Fryar is an extraordinary man, self-made to be sure. The son of a sharecropper, he seemingly has an innate sense about the way plants grow, blessed with a keen, artistic mind. Combined, these talents have made him almost obsessed about turning his modest, 3-acre property in tiny Bishopville, South Carolina into a work of topiary art. Using cast-off plants from a local greenhouse, he creates and beautiful Eden in his backyard. The film is a paean to his efforts, his vision and his effect on his community.
There's a tendency to see Pearl as a sort of backwoods topiary savant. But listen to him speak to college art classes, and you will hear a articulate man who embodies the artistic impulse and inspires students to leave their sketchbooks behind and reach into their hearts. He may not have gained his knowledge from textbooks, but from Nature itself, the source of the textbooks. The film interviews Pearl, his wife and son, neighbors, his pastor and his many friends. The "best supporting actor" has to go to the head of the local Chamber of Commerce. Though his feet-on-the-desk, salesy manner might remind some of Uncle Kip in "Napoleon Dynamite," he sems truly appreciative of Pearl and his potential to bring a few more touirists into town.
Played as a fiction, "A Man Named Pearl" would have been set as a standard against-all-obstacles story. This film is not so craven as to invent huge villains for Pearl to overcome. The standard demons of lingering racial stratification, self-esteem, community doubt and the clock will have to do. A fine film that shows what human bengs are capable of when given the light, air and space to grow. Kind of like plants.

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Balanced gracefully on a ladder, deftly carving with his electric hedge trimmer, Pearl Fryar has the elegance and strength of a dancer. He is, by contrast, a topiary sculptor, an artist whose medium is discarded or junk plant life and whose canvas is his magical and fantastical garden. A MAN NAMED PEARL chronicles the story of Pearl's dazzling garden as well as his extraordinary life, both of which serve as inspirations to his family, his community, and the thousands of visitors who come to experience Pearl's world each year. The film traces Pearl's journey from a small town sharecropper's son to an internationally-acclaimed artist, focusing in particular on his position as the celebrated cultural and spiritual icon of his impoverished town. Now 68, the soft-spoken Pearl has just one wish for all those who wander through his living art; they must leave feeling differently than when they arrived.Stirring and profoundly uplifting, A MAN NAMED PEARL offers a captivating window into the life a man who turned obstacles into breathtakingly beautiful possibilities.DVD Features: Bonus CD with the Original Film Score by Composer Fred Story; Pearl Fryar & Co-director Scott Galloway Update; Composer Interview; Filmmaker BiosQ&A with Pearl Fryar What was your first thought when you were approached about making the film?I didn't really want to do it - I wasn't sure my story was long enough or interesting enough to make a whole movie about me, that they couldn't get enough material to make it - they had to come ask me twice to do this and then I wasn't sure they could raise the money to film it - but it all worked out and I am happy they did it. I'm happy that other people wanted to hear my story and see my garden.
How has the film changed your life and your garden?

I've had more visitors to the garden than I ever expected - some days I don't even make it into the house for meals because so many people are stopping by - the film has given the garden national attention - I've had visitors from all 50 states and many from Europe. The exposure from the film has been unbelievable - you know I've never advertised the garden, never put up signs, but people keep coming. The movie came along at the right time - the attention and publicity has changed my community - it has brought people together and my neighbors are proud of what we've done here in Bishopville. It just goes to show you that when things are done in a positive way, they can have a positive effect on others. The other thing the film has done for the garden is the idea of trying to save it - I'm going to be 70 years old and I was beginning to think I couldn't keep it all up - it's not an easy garden to maintain - my Friends group and the Garden Conservancy have helped me to get help in the garden - and a cherry picker too - so now I can spend more time talking to visitors about the reasons I created the garden in the first place - to inspire others to find their creativity and to work hard at it - to make a difference.

What do you spend most of your time doing in the garden this time of year? Is it a busy time for visitors?

Like I said, I'm doing more tours and talking these days than I am trimming and pruning! I bet there's been a 90% increase in visitors as a result of the film being in the theatres those 5 months and now on DVD and television. The Waffle House has been busier than ever too - and so have other businesses in the area. The film has been good for Bishopville.

Do a lot of people come to you with gardening advice?

People ask me how I did certain things - like my exposed trunks and the fishbone technique. I can't really give advice because I broke all the rules - I didn't know what the rules were when I first got started, but I've always been creative and I can work with my hands - I'm pretty good at figuring things out - like my fountains and my junk art - I just have an idea and I work at it- it takes a lot of patience too - I guess that would be my advice to people who see the film and visit the garden - be patient and work at something until you figure it out - you don't have to do things by the book - but you do have to believe in your own abilities - and you need help from your friends.

What's your advice to someone with no experience in gardening who wants to give it a try?

Do it for yourself, not for your neighbors- garden for yourself. A garden should represent you - your personality and should be different from others. Even if you can afford to have someone create and take care of your garden, save a corner just for you - for what you want to do, to express yourself and your feelings - even if it is junk art. My advice is to create a garden with a feeling - with a purpose - that when someone visits your garden they walk away with a feeling - they may admire what you've done, but they can't walk away and copy it - no one can do exactly what you can do.

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Olivia: Olivia Review

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(More customer reviews)My toddler and I actually saw this TV show on Nickelodeon before we even knew about the books. We fell in love with the show, so I bought the book and it is my daughter's absolute FAVORITE. One of her first words is actually "Olivia". So of course, we give this DVD 5 stars. I've been hoping and waiting for months for them to release a DVD of it and I was so excited when they did! I just wish it had a few more episodes, of course ;) but it is a nice length for the price.
Here are the episodes included:
Olivia Acts Out
Olivia and Grandma's Visit
Olivia Plays Piano
Olivia Trains Her Cat
Olivia and The Crystal Ball
Olivia Plays Soccer
Olivia Packs Up
Olivia Is Invited To Dinner
Hopefully they will release more episodes on DVD soon! We can't get enough of Olivia :)

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Olivia is an all-new pre-school series from the creators of the Max & Ruby television series, based on the beloved books. The series is designed to invite preschoolers into the life--both real and fantasy--of an adventurous, can-do 6-year-old girl, her family and friends. Olivia is innately playful and imaginative. She moves in and out of fantasy and reality, imagining herself as a super hero, a pop star, or a mommy. Pre-schoolers love fun and creativity and no one embraces creativity and dramatic play like Olivia. Olivia’s world is created in CG animation, giving the show a 3-D look and feel. The series launched on Nick Jr and Noggin January 26, 2009.

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Mask (Director's Cut, Widescreen) (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)This new directors cut of "Mask" blows away the orginal DVD release. I'm not going to go on about how great the movie is, by now everyone already knows that. I will talk about this edition however. First of all the print is far clearer and more crisp than the original DVD issue. Next of course is the inclusion of the original Bruce Springsteen soundtrack which was recorded but never used in the theatrical and home video releases. In it's place was a Bob Seger soundtrack which was great, but not the original choice. The movie was shot with Springsteen in mind and in fact Rocky has a Springsteen poster hanging in his room. But Bruce is back and used to great effect. His music was used to set a timeline which was lost when the Seger songs were used.
Also included are 8 mins of deleted scenes that have been edited back into the film. One of these scenes (which was sort of referred to in the theatrical version) is a song sung by Rusty (Cher) and Rocky (Eric Stoltz). The song is "Little Egypt" and the scene runs about 4 mins. The other scene is one where one of the bikers dies and his funeral, again this was never before seen.
And finally, there is an easter egg of sorts, at the very end of credits, after a minute or two, Cher comes on screen and speaks about the craniofacial disease and how you can help.
I've always loved the Seger music in the film, particularly "Roll Me Away" at the end. But the Springsteen music works very well too, and as I said, is used as a timeline.
Director Peter Bogdonovich does a commentary as well as a 20 min interview about the movie. As I said in my headline, if you love this movie you will want this new edition, it's well worth it.

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Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, the moving and inspirational drama Mask, starring Cher, Eric Stoltz and Sam Elliott, is the extraordinary award-winning film based on the real-life story of Rocky Dennis, a disfigured teenager who overcomes pain, loneliness and prejudice through fierce determination, emerging as an outstanding young man and an inspiration to his classmates and teachers.The Mask DVD includes the Directors Cut of the film, and as a special bonus, the original Bruce Springsteen soundtrack, which was created for the film but never released in theaters.It contains several of his top hits, such as "Badlands," "Thunder Road" and "Born in the USA.

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Letters to God (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)this is a movie that inspires everyone you will cry laugh and learn to pray and believe in god the boy playing the part is excellent and as my sister said as we were leaving the theater- he has a beautiful smile

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A young boy fighting cancer writes letters to God. A postmaster who is at a crossroads in his life searching for meaning. He is confused over what to do but his decision ultimately is a testament to the power of the boy's shining spirit bravery and grace.Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music)Release Date: 08/10/2010Run time: 85 minutesRating: PgDirector: David Nixon

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Peaceful Warrior (Widescreen) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I saw this movie back in April and I can say it was truly awesome and very inspirational! According to previous reviews this movie has been out since last summer. I received free tickets to see this courtesy of blockbuster, otherwise I probably would have never came across this movie. Dan Millman is a gymnast who is a popular jock and seems to have it all. Dan has a great body, good looks, and has a charm that allows him to get almost any girl. All this seems to be great for Dan's ego, but deep down inside he is far from happy. He starts to have these violent dreams that keep him up late at night. One night when Dan can not sleep he wanders in to a service station and meets a mysterious man. This man who Dan calls "Socrates" will help take him on one of the most amazing journeys of his life. This journey will become one of the most important things when Dan has a motorcycle accident and shatters one of his legs along with his dreams of being in the Olympics. Peaceful Warrior is based on a book, and the movie is one of the most inspiring movies to come out in a very long time. I will not say any more because I don't want to ruin it for those who have not seen it. I will say this is one great movie and Im glad it is finally coming to DVD. I highly recommend this great movie!

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PEACEFUL WARRIOR - DVD Movie

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Finding Forrester (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a heartwarming movie with fine performances by Sean Connery, newcomer Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Michael Nouri, and Anna Pacquin. Well directed by Gus Van Sant, the film revolves around the two main characters, William Forrester, played by Sean Connery, and sixteen year old Kamal, played by Rob Brown.
William Forrester is a writer who, battling his own inner demons, has remained reclusive after writing a Pulitzer Prize winning novel some forty odd years earlier. Living alone in a changing neighborhood in the Bronx, he makes the acquaintance of Kamal, an intellectually gifted inner city kid, who plays street basketball, loves to write, and does both well.
A mentoring relationship springs between the two. Under Forrester's secret tutorship, Kamal blossoms. When Kamal's scholastic test scores come to the attention of a local prep school, school officials offer him a scholarship to attend and, if he chooses to do so, play basketball on the school team. The school also turns out to be William Forrester's alma mater, where he is revered and his prize winning novel is required reading.
There, Kamal encounters rank racism, all the more insidious because it is covert. F. Murray Abraham plays a teacher who is very similar to the character, Salieri, whom Abraham portrayed in the film "Amadeus". A failed writer who became a teacher, Abraham oozes racism as he contrives to destroy Kamal whom he accuses of plagirism, as he clearly believes him to be just another inner city, black basketball player who is incapable of anything more. He cannot seem to fathom that this kid could possibly write as well as he does, because he has Kamal stereotyped.
Yet, Kamal is actually all that he puports to be, a gifted writer who just also happens to play basketball. Truly scholarly, he shows up his teacher in class, only to further exacerbate his emnity. This teacher's dislike and covert racism manifests itself in the exclusion of Kamal's entry in the prestigious writing competition sponsored by the prep school. This situation comes to a head when the teacher's racism is exposed for what it is in a stunning, surprising climax.
Kamal, however, is not the only one to have a moment of redemption in the movie. Forrester, too, has that moment as he comes to grips with his past, the past that made him shut the world out for so long. It is his friendship with Kamal that illuminates his return to the very world from which he had withdrawn long ago.
This film is about a friendship that is borne out of a shared passion. It is about the old nurturing the young. It is about passing the baton from one generation to the next. It is a film the transcends age and race. It is a film for everyone.

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FINDING FORRESTER - DVD Movie

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