So Smart!: First Words

A nice video for learning some basic words.
This is one of the few So Smart videos that has words spoken. Here's basically how it goes. It begins with a ball and you hear a pleasant voice say, "Ball. A ball bounced up and down and rolled away. Ball." Next you see a dog and you hear the voice say, "Dog. Woof says the dog. The dog wags his tail and follows the ball. Dog."

The only thing I didn't really like was that there were no words shown on the screen. Most of the other So Smart videos don't have words spoken but they show the words on the screen. This one could have done both, but they left the words off. The peoples faces are so much better then the first So Smart videos. There are 28 words taught and they are ball, dog, cat, bug, car, moon, shoe, hat, phone, keys, truck, train, boat, sun, tree, bird, flower, bear, banana, chair, book, up, spoon, paper, crayon, lamp, house, star.

As a side point, my baby is 19 months and has been watching Signing Time since she was 9 months (Signing Time...

My son begs me to turn this off
My 16 month old does not enjoy this DVD. I think the abstract colors bother him. For example, a dog will be shown in bright colors with black and white patterns thrown in. I'm sure this is to capture a baby's visual interest, but my son doesn't understand why this dog doesn't look like a dog! I don't recall any live action in this DVD, which seems to be more interesting to my son at this age.

My Baby Finds This Boring
My daughter is 9 months old. I think this DVD is just too serene and calm for her, but maybe she'll gorw into it. Art design is fine on this, but the music tracks could be better. ... I started my baby on Einstein, Mozart and Bach at about 3 months old and she still is capitvated by each of them. I recently showed her Neighborhood Animals which she loves also.

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Kathy Smith: Peel off the Pounds Pilates

A great pilates workout
I absolutely love Kathy Smith's workout videos and bought this one and was not disappointed. She does a short workout (about 4-5 minutes), and then comes a 20 minute cardio workout, then a 10 minute upper, 10 minute lower and a 5 minute cooldown. I am used to doing much 'harder' cardio workouts from her but this one concentrated on working your core, which is meant to strengthen your core and abs, not just give you a sweat. By the end of the 20 minute cardio, I was sweating (just not as much as I'm used to). Her upper and lowers were 10 minutes each and that was a little on the short side for me. I'm used to doing a 20 minute upper and 20 minute lower, which I feel is more beneficial.

If you have 50 minutes to spare, this is a great all-over body workout that does cardio, upper and lower along with a warmup and cooldown. My favourite DVD from Kathy Smith is her "Lift Weights to Lose Weight Volume 2".

I would recommend this DVD to anyone that is looking for...

Good for a light exercise day
This workout is fun but not very intense. The pilates standing and mat sections are much better than the cardio section. It is good for a day when your muscles are tired but you still want to work out. It is hard not to like Kathy Smith no matter what she does.

Nice cardio, nice muscle conditioning
I do a lot of Leslie Sansone workouts, so the cardio on Peel Off the Pounds was a really nice change -- low impact, no complexity, nice jazzy music. You can make it as dancey or athletic as you like. Kathy follows up the cardio with some nice muscle conditioning pilates moves for the entire body -- again, nothing too difficult, but definitely enough to know you've been worked. Highly recommended for beginners, beginner/intermediates, or intermediates (like me!)

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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Single-Disc Edition)

Don't waste money on the 2-disc Edition
Unless you are a die-hard PotC fan, don't waste extra money on the 2-disc Special Edition thinking it will have hours of extras, behind the scenes, and other extraneous material. It doesn't. With all the features combined, it doesn't even amount to an hour's worth of material. Just buy the standard Pirates 3 DVD, and save $15.00

Unlike the Pirates 2 DVD, there is NO Making-Of Documentary, which was a major letdown. The featurettes on the Pirates 3 DVD are short, and moderately interesting. "The Making of Sao Feng's Map" ?? Yeaah.. greaaat.

How about some background on the many visual effects (Davy Jones, the Black Pearl flipping underwater, Callypso's transformation, the meeting of the two fleets in battle, etc). Instead we get featurettes that are lacking, somewhat boring, and utterly short.

I don't know if it was a budget thing, or what, but most movies with the production scale of Pirates 3 put a camera crew behind the scenes for a...

Dead Men Tell New Tales
The very end of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was more like the end of a play's first act, after which the audience had to endure a nine month intermission. The second act--"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"--begins practically where the last film left off, in which Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) made an unexpected return after Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was swallowed by the kraken. Not surprisingly, such a surprise ending got me all revved up for yet another round of swashbuckling fun, and I spent the year on pins and needles. If only this new film lived up to my expectations: while it is very entertaining, and while it is still worth recommending for sheer escapism, I'd be lying if I said that it matches the quality of the first two films.

Part of the problem is that everything about this film is simply too big. The number of new characters alone is quite distracting, especially since they all make important contributions to the story. The...

Incredible Epic brought to you in Dazzling Detail
The Pirates of the Caribbean series has been enjoyable from the very beginning. With the incredible non-stop action and good acting. The third in the series is an epic of a movie running over two and a half hours long. If you have not watched the previous two in the series don't bother watching this movie until you have seen those.

The movie starts off with a rather grim intro. Just when you think a hero will get involved they don't. It seems as though the world is doing everything to get rid of pirates. As the journey begins we are then reintroduced to all the wonderful actors that have been involved in this series.

For the pirates to continue on they need their ultimate hero, Captain Jack Sparrow. Although this movie is filled with an all star cast that can't just rely on the heroic antics of Sparrow. I would have to say this movie is filled with action and a lot of violence although not a lot of gore. The movie probably would not be good for small...

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Kathy Smith: Tummy Trimmers

Tighten your abs ;-0
I was so excited to finally see a new release workout from Kathy - I haven't seen or bought a new one for ages from her. This whole workout is geared around your abs and you work them hard in various styles and for various lengths of time. You can try and do the entire workout, or pick and choose what you want to do and how much time you have to do it in.
There are five 10-13 minute segments and the first which tones as well as warms you up, is done standing. Then the rest are done in various styles such as pilates and bootcamp and a segment with a stability ball and plank and stabilization moves.
I found this not quite as good as doing straight 10 minutes on the floor (for some reason). I think I prefer to get in and then straight out without using stability balls or doing pilates. I have to say though, that I certainly felt this the next day and I will make every attempt to do at least two segments, three times a week. Kathy is always a great cuer and she's outgoing...

Wow!
I've been a big Kathy Smith fan for many years. I was also excited to see this new release. I was somewhat nervous that it would be a combination of many of her other workouts only re-released under a different name. It was NOT! There are 5 different workouts to chose from; some are familiar moves from previous DVD's but the majority were exercises I had not seen before and were incredible! True to Kathy, she has one person in the class doing the 'beginner' versions which really helped. After all these years, Kathy still has it!

Your choice of 5 -10 minute ab workouts
Kathy Smith has put together 5 different ab workouts that are each 10 minutes. The DVD breaks down like this:

1) 10 min Standing ABS - working with some dance-like moves that strengthen the core and work your abs.
2) 10 min Core ABS - this is usually the one I do. It is moves on the ground that work your abs all over.
3) 10 min Boot camp ABS - a more challenging workout.
4) 10 minute Stability ball ABS - working with a stability ball.
5) Pilates mat ABS - this workout is pretty good as well.

I found all of her ab workouts to be ok; the one drawback that I found to all some of her exercises is that you have to be fairly light to do some of them. For example, you are on your knees with one leg stretched out behind you and one arm stretched out - well this is great for the abs and your core but if you have extra weight on you, it's hard to do. I ended up getting some great ideas from her AB DVD and now I just do a workout on the floor of a...

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Mighty Machines: Boats to the Rescue

Ho-hum
We got the DVD called Diggers & Dozers about tractors and construction from this set first and it was great. If I'd gotten this one first I probably wouldn't have purchased any of the rest of the series. I'm sure a lot has to do with your little ones interests and ours may grow into liking this one as he gets a little older. He was obsessed with tractors when he was tiny (18 mos) and has really enjoyed the tractor one and still asks for it even now at 3 and will continue to enjoy it for a good while. If your kid is into boats, water craft, or rescue this may be the one for them.

Another terrific DVD from Mighty Machines!
These DVDs are the best. My kids love them, and they really enjoyed this DVD- the boats were great! The whole series is entertaining and educational, the DVDs are a lot of fun, and they're inexpensive. What more could you want?! I highly recommend the entire series.

MIGHTY MACHINE BOATS
OUR 5 YEAR OLD NEPHEW LOVES ALL OF THE MIGHTY MACHINE DVD'S. WE HAVE ODERED HIM 6 OF THEM AND HE STILL WANTS MORE . HE WILL SPEND HOURS WATCHING THEM. I NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT TO GIVE HIM AS A GIFT AS LONG AS WE INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE MIGHTY MACHINE DVD THEN HE THINKS EVERYTHING ELSE IN HIS GIFT PACKAGE IS ALSO GREAT.THE PRICE FOR THESE ARE REALLY AFFORDABLE WHICH ALSO ALLOWS US TO GET HIM SOME EVEN FOR NON BIRTHDAY,CHRISTMAS EVENTS ETC.

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Denise Austin: Burn Fat Fast - Cardio Blast

Fun Cardio!
Denise Austin usually drives me nuts. I can't handle the whole perky aerobics instructor thing. However, I took the plunge because I was drawn to the different styles of cardio offered on this DVD and because a lot of reviewers said Denise really toned it down in this one. Turns out, Denise really DID tone it down. She's friendly, low-key, and very pleasant in this. The different cardio sections are very fun, especially the Retro aerobics. I don't know why I got such a kick out of this one, but it just flowed smoothly with fun moves. The kickboxing was good, though a little fast moving if you've never done these moves before. In the interval section, there is a lot of jumping in the last few minutes so make sure to wear a good sports bra! I couldn't get through the dance cardio, honestly. But that's no fault of Denise and I knew when I bought the DVD that I probably wouldn't like it. Dancey cardio is not my thing; I'm too clumsy. But, since the DVD is chaptered so...

fun cardio workout
After having some health issues in 2007, I tried to get back to exercising with advanced dvds right away. I was becoming very frustrated and a friend suggested I try some Denise Austin to get back in the swing of things. I used to love Denise but had advanced beyond her workouts. This dvd is perfect and I am so glad I tried it! I can do all the segments or just one, depending on how I feel. Denise's cueing leaves a bit to be desired, but if you like Denise you can look past that because this is really a lot of fun. She is lower key in this dvd than in some others but still friendly and motivating. Her personality and enthusiam is just what I needed at this time. I enjoy all the segments but am partial to the retro aerobics section...I love it!

Good workout....
I bought this DVD yesterday and I was so excited to try it out. Denise Austin really toned it down for this one! She was still smiley and motivating, but she wasn't over the top. I really like that the workout is broken down into 10 minute segments because it had enough variety to keep me interesed. She's not the most convincing kick boxer, but she pulled it off. The dance section was MUCH better than her Cardio Dance & Sculpt DVD. I was sweating by the end of it. I really like that this DVD is purely cardio and doesn't have weights section.

There are a couple things that other people might not like. For the high impact moves she would give you a modification for lower impact but no one actually did it (at least that I saw, but I might be wrong on that.)The modifications were really similar to what she was doing or a previous step as she increased the intensity, so she didn't leave people completely in the dark. Her cuing was better, but especially in the beginning...

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Keli Roberts: Lower Body and Core

great lower body workout!
I have been a fan of Keli Roberts since her Cher Fitness workout video. I have since ordered quite a few of her latest DVDs in recent years and have been satisfied with them all. This is deinitely one of the better ones of my selection. It's not super long but the moves are great and you really break into a sweat. My thighs, buns and back were definitely sore the next day, which surprised me because I do alot of lower body exercises/weightlifting at the gym. just goes to show you that you are working some different muscles that are normally not worked.

Great intermediate workout :-)
Keli is such a good instructor. I've said it before that she's one of my top 5 favourites. She's very motivating, friendly, cues well and knows her stuff. In this workout she combines unique movements with classic moves which is refreshing and fun. For example there is your basic bridges and lunges to things like lateral lunges with a medicine ball bounce. All muscles are worked in different ways and positions which gives you that good soreness the next day. All you need is some weights and a medicine ball. It's only about 40 minutes, but it's not to challenging and fun to do and afterwards, you will definately know you've worked out almost every conceivable muscle. If you do this about three times a week, then you're going to look very buffed in no time at all.



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The Super Mario Bros: Once Upon a Koopa

Mario!
Once again, began searching on Amazon for the kid who has everything and LOVES Mario. Unique items no longer found in stores is a great gift. He LOVED it!

sent as a gift-loved it!
sent as a gift-loved it! Keeps child busy and very happy!!!! Child has cancer and needs items to keep her busy.

Never enought Mario
Mario stories for Mario lovers. My nine year old absolutely loves these videos. Great stories for little guys who love Mario and Luigi.

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The Simpsons Movie (Widescreen Edition)

Now THIS'LL teach you to laugh at something that's funny !!!
The Simpsons Movie features excellent animation, a good plot that moves along very well, great gags and awesome voiceovers by the cast. There are so many gags that there's bound to be jokes in this movie that will amuse just about anyone!

The action starts when Lake Springfield is practically destroyed by excessive pollution; and so the town must clean it up. They do! Unfortunately, however, things don't stay that way--and there begins the REAL plot of this film. Homer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) decides to take on a pig for a house pet. When Marge (voiced by Julie Kavner) casually asks Homer what he's doing with the pig's "leavings;" Homer takes Marge out back and shows her his "silo" full of pig "droppings." Marge isn't too happy; and eventually Homer realizes he MUST get rid of the festering silo. Naturally, where does Homer go to get rid of the silo? Lake Springfield! Once again the lake is unbelievably contaminated.

Russ Cargill (voiced by Albert Brooks) is...

Departure from strip format, but still good
In the TV series, what you've got is something of a linear main-plot with a lot of sub- and mini-plots interwoven. And those plots revolve around the humor and comedy, kind of like the plot revolves around the sex in an x-rated movie-not that I would know, but just based on what I've heard. Anyway, this movie does not reflect this strip cartoon structure, which is actually the kind of material that Matt Groening started off doing. Anybody remember Life Is Hell comics? So with The simpsons movie what you've got is the reverse: more of a dominant main linear plot, with the comedy revolving around it much more than what you've got in the TV series. And this makes sense for a feature-length film, otherwise why make one, right?
Also, remember the film The Adams Family? A lot of people got caught up on the fact that it seemed choppy. It seemed choppy because they tried to do a strip cartoon format (TAF started off as a strip cartoon) with a full-length feature. It works fine for...

"Look Out, He Is a Spider-Pig."
It was a movie that was nearly two-decades in the making. The creators and writers said they wanted to make sure that when they brought America's favorite prime time animated family to the big screen that it would be done right. Many past writers were brought back to flesh out the story and enliven the characters. Most of it was done under a veil of secrecy. Over 150 different drafts were written and copies of scripts were shredded after each scene was taped. It was a massive undertaking, but for a show that has grown to include a massive cast of secondary characters it had to be that way. And for the most part, the efforts to create THE SIMPSONS MOVIE were a success.

In THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, Homer almost single handedly destroys Springfield while also threatening the existence of life on the rest of the planet. Things start off simply enough with a Green Day concert that turns into a disaster. Then the next day at church Grampa Simpson makes a prophecy of doom that...

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School Rumble, Vol. 4

School Rumble Round 4!
This is one of my favorite volumes so far for school rumble. This volume features episodes that is not solely focused on Tenma and Harima (though the second episode of this volume does a bit). This volume is focused on relationships with the other characters such as Mikoto, Eri, Karen, Imadori, Yakumo and Harima's animals. I love the episode with Harima's animals being the main focus, it's very funny and that alone is what makes this volume worth getting. The other episodes were pretty funny as well, though I am getting tired of seeing "Power Rangers" being parodied in anime (can't they parody something else). Other than that, this volume does a fine job moving away from the main relationships of Tenma/Karasuma and Harima/Tenma while giving attention to other characters and their relationships.

Highly recommended for those who have been watching school rumble thus far.





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Sonic Underground: Queen Aleena's Chronicles

Sonic
My grandson is 7. He loves Sonic. I can't tell you how many times he has watched and re-watched all of his Sonic videos. He has games and books and can tell me about all of the characters. This little Hedgehog is a superhero for kids and there's not a lot of violence like in some of the other superhero stuff.

My 4 yr old loves it!!
Since I bought this for my my 4 yr. old, I haven't really watched it much but I must say he loves it and watches it a couple times a week! It is classic Sonic!

Sonic underground
This DVD contains the episodes Wedding bell Blues, To catch a queen, The Jewel of the Crown and Country Crisis so if you can't wait to see some part 2 of the series this is for you

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Star Trainers: Cardio

Fantastic :->
These five workouts are really great. They are full of energy, and the instructors are all knowledgeable and friendly. They cue well and get you motivated. After advertising their prefered brand of water (Propell), they go straight into it. One of the five exercisers usually has a calorie burner moniter on, and at the end of the workout, you find out how much they burned during the workout and you'll know you roughly got the same. The music is great and the set is nice and hip.
Each of the five workouts are approximately 25 minutes in cardio (then there is a warmup and cool down). There is kickboxing, dancy combos, grapevines, shuffles and mixes of low and high impact to name a few. I love how you can mix the workouts up so you'll never get bored, and while some are a little tricky to follow, it's fun trying to get there and improve on your last try.
You don't need any equipment for these routines and they really are so much fun. You have to give them a go. You'll...

Great variety, great cardio, great instruction
Sometimes there's nothing like a good, pure cardio workout, which you'll get with this DVD, along with other benefits. Violet Zaki's kickboxing/martial arts will sneak in some toning, and the cardio bursts in Kimberly and Kendall's workouts will get you some added burn. Rob Glick's workout is a bit more challenging as far as choreography, but not overly demanding physically, and Gay Gasper's is good, old fashioned aerobics. You can't go wrong here. I'll admit the propel plugs are annoying, but it was probably necessary to fund production. Each workout is roughly 30 minutes, so you can mix and match depending on what your goals are. There's something here for everyone.

Good variety
Awesome DVD! There are 5 solid intermediate workouts for a great price and even better when you find it on sale! There is good variety and while some are more complex then others (Rob Glick is fairly complex) I think there is a little bit of everything in there. The advertising is brief but present... and I'm willing to deal with it if it means they can pack THIS many workouts on one DVD. My favorite workouts were from Kendell, Violet, and Kimberly for differing reasons. Violet will leave your legs screaming but in a good way, Kendells is just fun, and Kimberly because she's just enjoyable to work with.

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The Brothers Solomon

You had me at "Odenkirk"
Ok so like, I was a huge fan of the Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show and SNL was never as funny as when Odenkirk was active there. So of course now I have "Let's Go to Prison" and now "The Brothers Solomon" in my collection. Ironically, for both movies I wasn't too impressed with the first time I watched each. But there's something about Odenkirk's movies that when you watch them the second time that you realize just how hilarious they are! What's up with that? Or is it just me?

Once I realized that this movie REALLY IS Dumb & Dumber part 3 the movie had me in stitches almost non-stop. Coen and Farelly brothers beware, Odenkirk is on the prowl! Rawr! :D McBride almost steals every scene hes' in in Odenkirk's flicks. From eskimo kisses to a sobbing janitor I think McBride's roles are essential for the success of both films. So far the combo of Odenkirk, Arenett and McBride has worked. I wonder what awaits next from Odenkirk? If nothing then I'm fine with that,...

Much better than I thought it would be.
Normally, I hate these types of comedies, finding them to be too stupid to sit through. I happened across this movie by chance earlier tonight, and something made me stop and watch it. There were a couple of times when I turned away, but I found myself turning back to it, and actually starting to care about what happened. I even found myself smiling at the end, which was unexpected! For a stupid, run-of-the-mill modern comedy, this was pretty good. It's not ever going to be on my list of favorites, but I would not be adverse to watching it again. Good for those times when I don't really want to think too hard about what I am watching, but I still want to feel good at the end of it.

Probably Not What You're Expecting....
Give this movie a shot. It isn't over-the-top, you won't laugh until you fart and then spill popcorn in your lap. The humor is mostly subtle, dry, honest, but at times, edgy.

At the core of this movie are two innocent, loveable and awkward brothers who would do anything to make their dying father happy. Not to mention, it doesn't hurt to have two of the funniest actors currently working in the industry as the main characters.

So while it isn't entirely "Dumb & Dumber", it is almost as enjoyable.

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Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease: Vegas Strip

Wow, amazon's rating system is becoming pointless
It's a shame that amazon mixes the ratings for all the other Carmen Electra DVDs with this one. It takes a little time to filter through them all to find which ones are for this particular DVD, which is a pretty terrible routine. I couldn't even finish it...boring moves, lots of lag time that wasn't edited out...just Carmen waiting for the music to start. And she wasn't really engaging. It was horrible as a workout; I probably could've walked in place and gotten a better workout. I like the first set, cause it is new and fun, but this follow up is kinda pointless.

Didn't learn a D@MN THING!!!
I brought this video based off of the rating. What a mistake. Please read the negative reviews first so you can save your money.
This was ridiculous. I am pretty sure Carmen is a nice person and a great dancer but she is a bad instructor. If you want to buy this dvd for a great workout are a new routine, please be prepared to rewind rewind rewind each portion of the routine. Also she had too many steps within each portion. And the worst part of this video is the end. Once you spent however many hours learning the routine, she shows you the last part then says "lets take it from the beginning". Then it goes to a club scene. The routine becomes all about her and forgets that it is an instructional video. I was dumb founded. Such a waste of my MONEY.

Cheaper at Target
Just wanted to give people a heads-up since I found this out a little late.

I bought this DVD along with the In the Bedroom DVD for $26 (free super saver shipping) from amazon because it was cheaper than buying from Carmen Electra's site (high shipping fees).

They came in the mail yesterday, but I had gone to Target for some other things and happened to notice that Target has an "exclusive" pack of the 2 DVDs together for only $19.99. So it would have been cheaper (and faster) to buy them both at Target.

Have not opened the DVDs yet to review them, but hopefully this helps some of you save a few bucks.

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The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron

Fun, but not enough Brian Dennehy or Mike Farrell
For a movie about naked, corrupt greed that by rights should make you angry, "The Crooked E" is still fun because it won't let you forget it's a formulaic, cheesy TV movie. It's billed as starring Brian Dennehy, but he's really a peripheral character who shows up less than half a dozen times as a mentor of sorts for the main character, a fresh-faced, newly hired Enron underling. Dennehy elevates the movie every time he shows up, though. Because the movie revolves around the underling's ups and downs, Mike Farrell as Ken Lay is also mostly wasted in a largely two-dimensional role, giving pep talks to the troops about the stock even as he was dumping it.

If you go in understanding that this movie isn't about Brian Dennehy's or Mike Farrell's characters, and is rather cliched in its moralizing, you'll have a good time.

This was pretty good!
Honestly, I think the more negative reviews are because the subject of the story is so painful to watch. Then again I watched this because I LOOVE Christian Kane. I almost didn't though because it was such a depressing and sad memory but acting-wise, it was really a pretty good movie.

And of course, Christian was excellent. He played a young college-grad who got caught up in the big leagues and big money and ignored the warning signs of pending doom; he was progressively horrible to his fiancee and finally see the big e falling. You had to get through the beginning of the movie but I actually liked it in the end. Worth watching. Well done, CK.

THE BRIAN CRUVER STORY
The movie is about Brian Cruver who hired on to Enron in 2001. His life at Enron runs parallel to the company as he over extends his credit based on future earnings. About the best thing you can say about the movie is it shows us how the microcosm reflects the macrocosm, or vice-versa. This is a dummy down version of what happened.

It is not political, nor does it do justice to havoc Enron did to the world, but rather focused on a small group of people in one department and how it affected their lives, including buying more Enron stock as it was tanking because they were all drinking Enron Kool-aid. Don't expect a hard hitting docudrama.

This is a rather lame, made for TV type movie, which also focuses on how Enron ruined "the relationship." Mike Farrell (Alan Alda light) gives us a stinker of a performance as Ken Lay, clearly miscast for the role.

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Star Trainers: Abs

Loving the burn in my abs ;->
This is the second Star Trainers dvd I have and I really love it. It's five trainers, doing five different 10 minute ab routines. There is Rob Glick, Gaye Gasper, Violet Zaki, Kimberly Spreen and Kendell Hogan. They are all terrific and motivating and know what they're talking about.
There are regular types of moves like plank work and crunches etc, but also some good standing work like lunges with rotations. Those may not always feel at the time like they're doing much, but trust me, they are. I tried to do the entire dvd in one go, but I couldn't even do it and I'm fairly experienced and fit. You can easily do two to three at a time and get great benefits. That's another reason I love this dvd; because you can do half an hour of abs in different order than yesterday or tomorrow and that makes it less boring.
If you are going to consider buying this, get their cardio dvd too and put them together. That way, this workout will be much more effective and get better...

5 stars for Zaki!
I am a huge fan of trainer Violet Zaki. Her workout in this video is enough reason to buy it. Your abs will be screaming sore for about a week after this. Her attitude is great and she gives perfect cues. She is very original and her moves are highly effective. Being as she shows many modifications of each exercise this video will work for levels beginner to advanced.

A Must Have Abdominal DVD!!
As a fitness professional who is very conditioned and has been performing and teaching abdominal exercises for several years, I was really happy with this DVD. I can honestly say that this is the best abdominal DVD I have purchased since Tamilee Webb's "I Want Those Abs." I was so impressed with the professionalism and the creativity of the instructors...even advanced exercisers will feel a serious burn during this workout! The best instructors by far are Rob, Gay, and Kimberly. Rob's routine was amazing from start to end. He really hit the abdominal cavity hard from all angles, and he included some fun isometrics for a great burn and he finished strong with back extensions and breast strokes for overall balance. Very nice. Gay was also all business from beginning to end. Her attitude was so fun and encouraging, and she really targets your obliques in her routine. She has some really fun oblique combinations (but they do require some coordination, so if you're not so...

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Surveillance

Assante makes this b-movie a B+
This is in most every way a standard b-movie: weak script, basic production values, cliched lines and shots left and right, but Assante takes his character and overplays it so hard that he actually lifts this film singlehandedly into the watchable and even enjoyable categories.

The whole horror subplot was thrown in afterhand, as the producers admit in the doc on the dvd. It feels that way, and is basically pointless. This is really nothing more than a character study of a true American weasel, the moronic policeman/security guard/power freak who has no real brains of his own, or ideas, or heart. So he lives to screw happy, decent people over.

Assante brings it all home most convincingly; his overacting fits perfectly. He really cracked me up at moments. This is a three-star film at best, but his almost five-star performance makes it worthwhile.

Great action flick!
I really enjoyed the flick. Good acting (even a bit over the top) by Armand Assante! Great afternoon or evening's entertainment.

Highly recommended mystery/action thriller
Harley is a reclusive mall security guard whose life's obsession is to apprehend potential shoplifters through a state-of-the-art electronic surveillance network. Trouble is, the would-be shoplifters mysteriously disappear. Dennis, Harley's young apprentice, starts to dig into the shady past of his introvert boss. What he discovers is not very pleasant.

The concept behind "Surveillance" escapes the stereotypical clichés of the genre. The movie is solidly built around a robust script with emphasis on plot and character development rather than special effects. Armand Assante delivers a convincing performance as the enigmatic Harley. Direction is by legendary director Fritz Kiersch, whose credits include the cult horror classic "Children of the Corn." The producers include none other than Academy Award winner Gray Frederickson, whose resume boasts "Apocalypse Now" and the "Godfather" series. The production was filmed for very little money in Oklahoma City. Especially...

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Intimate Affairs

interesting script, spot-on acting
i can see why this film has gotten low ratings. it is not at all in the tradition of big hollywood blockbusters, which many people expect to see. but those films bore me to death. also, those who come in expecting 'intimacy' or 'affairs' may be disappointed.
the truth of the matter is, the movie plays out like a play- through interesting dialogue and good acting. most of it involves the all-star cast sitting around in a circle and talking. the premise there may scare many viewers away. i, however, found the script intriguing, the acting witty (all these big-name actors give strong performances), and the scenery (set in the prohibition era) beautiful.
that said, halfway through the film, i was already searching for it on amazon to grab myself a copy.
this is definitely worth watching for those who love the theatre, or appreciate well-designed period films, or delving into the funniness of sexuality. (yes, funniness- i laughed several times)

Exploration of human sexuality
This is supposed to be a film that explores human sexuality. a group of young male intellectuals and artists gets together to ask themselves tough questions about nature of love, marriage and sex. They hire two young women to take notes during the brainstorming questions. Before long, sparks start to fly and love interests between them become blurry.

There is a mix of dreamlike fantasy, reality and secret desire. But film looses its heat very early and watching it is a serious effort shortly after the first 10 minutes of it.

Pointless
This movie has little to do with either intimacy or affairs--or at least not with affairs of an intimate kind. The hype promises "an arousing and provocative exploration of mind and body." What I thought would offer a thoughtful consideration of sexuality proved to be a rather dull series of sessions all too like group therapy for men of little imagination who ought to have something better to do. I surely had something better to do than watch this movie, and I wish I'd done it.

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American Pie Presents: The Threesome Pack (Band Camp / The Naked Mile / Beta House)

Great deal
for those of you that were wondering...this box set is in the same format as the 3 movie pie pack franchise collection. (all three movies in one cardboard dvd box, not 3 individual dvd cases placed in a slipcase) also, this was a great deal. i bought mine 2 days ago at best buy for $25, when just beta house was $20. band camp was really good, the naked mile was okay, and beta house was hilarious.

Well It's Pretty Good But The Cast Isn't All That Great
I watched Band Camp and I thought it was funny,crude and everything you would expect. Naked Mile was a 4****(4 star) movie but not 5. Beta House was a 5*****(5 star) but almost every ten minutes there was nudity. So don't watch Beta House if you're easily shocked by nudity

American Pie Lovers
This series is fun, no matter if it is with the original cast or not. It has a lot of humor and entertainment.

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American Pie Presents: Beta House

Funny but very crude, and WARNING....
First the warning and some quick intro here. If you are bothered at all by crude humor, look elsewhere. Like The Naked Mile, this movie goes for crude humor and plenty of gratituitous skin in what some would consider inappropriate areas. If you aren't looking for that type of movie, look elsewhere fast. As I wrote about The Naked Mile, this isn't golden globe or academy award calibre type stuff and you should know that going in. Complaining about the lack of taste in these movies is just a sign of ignorance of the product.

With that said comes this WARNING -- this particular movie includes or implies depiction of beastiality and a later simulated scene of same, so even those that aren't easily offended may find this movie takes things more than just a bit too far. END OF WARNING.

The humor is low brow, revolves around sexual exploits and college partying (alcohol and sex mostly) and mostly offers up excuses to show skin, skin and more skin... In doing so...

Topless and naked girls all over the place
Once more they managed to increase the amount of nudity compared to the previous pies. Nevertheless there is some kind of story and a lot of funny situations.

The only thing I did not like were the two vomit scenes. Especially the "group vomit fight" is quite discusting.

Make sure to buy the unrated version in order to get the full frontal nuditiy!

T&A GALORE
this movie was great, if you like lots of T&A then this is the one for you. rude, crude and lots of naked flesh. And these girls are hot enjoy the show.

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Rush Hour 3 (Two-Disc Platinum Series)

Ignorance
I have a question, why are people giving this movie bad reviews that state themselves they didnt even really like the other two movies to begin with? Im not gonna go write a review about harry potter or something I hate and trash talk it cuz my opinion is irrelevant. If you liked the other two movies then this one will not be disappointing. This movie was supposed to be a comedy with some martial arts action poured on top and thats exactly what it was. Chris Tucker was hilarious in it and if he annoys you then dont watch the movie. I was in a completley packed theater and every person was laughing so hard people were losing their breath. So obviously SOMEONE thinks Chris Tucker is funny. All the haters need to back off of this post.

2.5--Sometimes this is what we get to what we ask for.............
I remember 2007 has been the year of the three-quel's, and at long last--after the ambitious excess of "Spiderman 3," the lackluster of "Shrek the Third," the love-it-or-hate-it logic to the "Pirates" finale, the return to glossy form of "Ocean's 13," and the tense, engaging "Bourne Ultimatum" (which gave a great ultimatum to its own franchise)--we come to its end with the fun, campy adrenaline-rush of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker re-teaming for "Rush Hour 3." At the end of watching this I though it was okay but I felt a bit sad that it had to come to an end like this because I enjoy the first two very much.

Jackie Chan (Lee) acts well as usual (have some problem for pronouncing things but I didn't mind that) and Chris Tucker is still hilarious and he's still loud as ever. The jokes are decent and I had my shares of laughs here and there, the only problem I have with the comedy is that sometime they try to stretch it far to much and you're ending up saying "We get it...

No Need to Rush out and Buy it
I loved the first Rush Hour, and found the second to be amusing enough to purchase. This one however, just fell flat. The action scenes were not of the caliber, quality or ingenuity of the previous films, or of a standard Jackie Chan film. And as for the comedy, it really wasn't that funny. The movie felt as if large parts of the dialogue were unscripted in the hopes that Chris Tucker would "Say something funny" which never happened. Sure there were a few lines that made me smile, but nothing made me actually laugh. The plot would have been okay if it hadn't been used already in a previous Rush Hour (spoiler: bad guy is posing as a friend who sent you to get bad guy in first place) then you add in the tired old "It's his brother/sister/dad" part of the plot, which I hope was not supposed to be a twist, because I figured it out as soon as they introduced him.

The biggest problem with this movie is that it is a rehash of Rush Hour 1 without everything that made Rush...

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Maximum Cage Fighting

Worst movie ever made, but it has Renzo Gracie.
Renzo Gracie has been a good friend of mine for 10 years now so that was the motivation to watch this film. Otherwise I wouldn't have made it past the 10mn mark. The story was beyond absurd. The heal of the film is a minor league MMA fighter(like 3-0 I think).Sso desperate over losing a karate point sparring match as a teenager, kidnaps the hero's kid to force him to fight him in the cage to avenge this soul crushing loss. A 10 year old kid could have come up with a more realistic reason than this. So the hero travels to Brazil to learn Gracie Jiu-Jistu from Renzo Gracie(who plays himself). This is the best 10mns of the movie. Renzo is by far the best actor in the movie and he's never acted in his whole life. Just a clumsy film with weak dialogue, story & poor film quality. If you're a Renzo fan than it's cool to check out. Otherwise avoid this like the plague.

PREETY GOOD + IT HAS RENZO GRACIE
MAXIMUM CAGE FIGHTING

I love mixed martial arts and everything about it, so naturally ant thing about it I will buy with out a doubt. Much like I bought "Red Belt" for Randy Couture I bought this film for Renzo Gracie. So I was looking forward to this movie since it had Renzo in it I figured it had to be good, so I watched it along side my girl and my brother. Turns out that while the movie is not horrible it is not that great either. It has a good story line kinda and decent to bad performances but that has never stopped me from liking a movie before, still I could not bring myself to love this film aside from Renzo. After viewing this I can say that this is much better some movies but as far as MMA movies "Red Belt" beats this one hands down, maybe it was the budget, I don't know.

The movie is about Jimmy Garren a Tae Kwon Do instructor for kids and a former world champion is moving on with his life after his wife died and he is left rearing a daughter alone...

One star above terrible but missing something added
Movie had professor Renzo Gracie which makes it worth the watch. The plot is a beyond belief I need a movie that is at least believeable. The chief actor Jason Field needs more acting lessons. Maybe he has improved since this movie but in this one he was still an amateur? Anyway there were a few good parts in it but overall I wasn't impressed. It had the expected plot and ending and little believeable about it. I enjoyed seeing Renzo Gracie in it and the girl did a good job acting.

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Star Trainers: Strength

I workout daily at med to high intensity...and this one is a new favorite dvd!
I workout daily with the majority of my workouts being done to fitness dvds...because of this I've collected quite a library of them so I have much to compare 'em to...Still, every now and again I add to the collection for new motivation. This one a recent addition when Amazon had a sale and I have to say, in spite of having over 100 fitness dvds, this is a new favorite.

It's rare to find such variety in one dvd so if you only want a small library to work out with..or even just a couple dvds I would most assuredly suggest this one because you get variety with it...5 different top trainers chosen from the exercise channel. That, to me, makes it like getting 5 different dvds in one. Or 5 personal trainers in your own home, depending upon how you view it! <grin>

But none of that matters unless it WORKS, right?

CALORIC BURN AND RESULTS: I wear a bodybugg to measure my daily caloric burn. I mention this only so you'll know what I say is based upon...

For Beginners or MAYBE Intermediate Levels
I purchased this video, because I saw that Gay Gasper is included, although I must say she gives a lackluster performance from what I am used to from her. All the instructors are good in their own right, however, this video does not thrill me as I was expecting.

If you are an advanced level exerciser, then I would NOT recommend this video. The instructors are knowledgeable and fun, however the quick segments, even taken back to back, do not, in my opinion, offer a challenging workout. Until the Violet Zaki segment I was thouroughly bored, as many of the same moves were redundant from the other trainer's workouts.

If you are in an advanced workout regime I would recommend Cathe Friedrich or maybe Kelley Coffey for cardio and Jari Love prehaps depending on your taste for strength.

Excellent :-)
Wow - what a workout and star line-up. There is a lot of variety here and 5 different instructors. Along with Rob Glick, there is Violet Zaki, Kimberly Spreen, Kendell Hogan and Gaye Gasper. All are terrific and keep this workout fresh and interesting.
All the workouts are led by great professionals who cue really well and focus on different body parts. Rob focuses more on lower body and Kendell is upper body. It's the variety that I love. It's great value for money and you don't get bored. They all make you work, and know what they're doing. They are all outgoing and guide you through the moves really well.
This is a terrific workout and I really am enjoying it. I think I'm going to look at the other Star Trainer series of dvds, because if they are as good as this, then I'm going to be a very happy exerciser.

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Underdog

Furry Family Fun
When I first heard that Disney was going to be putting out a live action version of "Underdog," I cringed at the thought. How could one make a live action film based on a cartoon who's key character was A) a dog, B) interacted freely with humans and other animals and C) was definitely a product of its times? Sure, the "Scooby-Doo" films have been out for awhile, but Scooby (and his cousins) were the only animals that interacted with anyone and their update was a fair success. Although Disney's answer wasn't 100% perfect, it was definitely a good response.

What the writers did was simplify the original tale somewhat. Instead of having Underdog interact with humans by being a shoeshine boy, he became an out-of-luck former police dog who's picked up by the caring-but-tense family of James Belushi and Alex Neuberger. They name him "Shoeshine." They also made the rest of the animals, namely Polly and Riff-Raff, only interact with Underdog and not the humans. Lastly, they firmly...

wonderful
My 6 year-old loved this movie, and frankly, so did I. It is a straight forward, good-clean-fun movie. When I walk through the local movie rental chain, I am disappointed at the gore and darkness that people consider entertainment. If you want something lighthearted and enjoyable for the whole family, you can't go wrong with this one.

The First Canine Rapper, Underdog, LIVE-ACTION!
Back in the sixties, that long-ago age,
An animated super-mutt was truly the rage!
Voiced by Wally Cox, the lovable geek,
The dog always rhymed, whenever he'd speak.

Underdog was the Mighty Mouse of his time,
Saving the city and always in rhyme!
And while some may feel a 'live' update is trivial,
I find this new movie entirely convivial!

Frederik Du Chau directs with a wink,
And the result isn't as silly as many might think!
Jason Lee's voice, while not as nerdy as Cox's,
Is warm and beagle-friendly, whenever he talks!

The animals, not humans, are the stars of this flick,
Although Peter Dinklage's Barsinister is a real kick!
At 4'5", he's teamed with 6'3" Patrick Warburton,
And they steal every scene until the final curtain!

I loved the references to "Superman, the Movie",
And as a sixties kid, I found everything groovy!
Of course, since it's Disney, it carries his...

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Shirley Temple and Family Collection

Movies that are in this box collection
The Duel of the Century
The Heroic Ones
The Battle Wizard
Two Champions of Shaolin

Cut to the chase, the list above is what you get.
Great price, good addition to your Shaw collection.

Shaw Brothers Collection
I've written already about the market of the Shaw Brothers. There isn't much more to say. Love just about everything also I forgot Master Ti Lung. Even as Jackie Chan Father in Drunken Master.

GOOD STUFF
Some of the movies in this set were better than others. Forget about the plots, the stories, the background settings, they are absolutely terrible in that regard. But then the awful storylines and dialog are all just a vehicle for delivering some of the best choreographed martial arts combat scenes ever crafted. If you like excellently filmed and pefectly timed fight scenes, this set does not disappoint. Some of the fights are pure fantasy, impossible in the real world, but very entertaining to watch regardless.

- Mike S.

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Mobsters [HD DVD]

The Big Wait, equals Big DVD disappointment
I loved this movie when it first came out OK, so the actings not great at all, and the casting could have been better BUT after whoever finally decided to release this movie on DVD, they gave MINIMUM EFFORT in its creation.

DO IT PROPERLY, OR DON'T DO IT AT ALL!

LIST OF PROBLEMS

1) Several Scenes are missing on the DVD version eg, Richard Greicos' love scene when they go to meet Sam Rothestein. Basically on the UNCUT version on VHS he just takes one of the ladies at the party by the hand and they go off to a room together and he starts to seduce her by moving an ice pick gently all over her body while talking softly to her about how to kill somebody properly, after finishing telling her how to kill a man properly he slides off the top with the ice pick.

In this DVD version, his love scene is cut back dramatically, basically he takes off one side of her top with the ice pick, kisses her, then takes off the other side. no talking about how to...

This Movie was Great
This movie was a thrill to watch. It shows how 4 friends remained just that when there were rough times. It also portrays the rise of infamous Luciano, Lansky, Seigel, and Costello. Great Movie to watch if you like movies that portray the Mafia.

An OK telling of the rise of Luck Lucian and pals, but glamorizes them far too much
While this is an entertaining telling of the rise of Lucky Luciano, Myer Lansky, Benny (Bugsy) Siegel, and Frank Costello, it has the flaw of making them seem like rough and tumble fraternity members rather than the murderous monsters they really were. Still, given the material and the approach of the movie, Christian Slater (Lucky), Patrick Dempsey (Lansky), Richard Grieco (Siegel), and Costas Mandylor (Costello) are good in their roles. Two really nicely done performances are Michael Gambon as the vicious boss of all bosses, Don Faranzano and Anthony Quinn as his rival Don Masseria.

Since this is a movie about Depression / Prohibition era gangsters you would expect some violence, sex, and other immorality and the movie does provide them, but not in as extreme a way as more recent movies. I am not claiming this is a virtue or an excuse, just letting you know what is in this film.

The story takes us from the four gangsters as kids and seeing their lives in...

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Bring It On: In It to Win It (Widescreen Edition)

They really do it by the numbers in this fourth "Bring It On" offering
"Bring It On: In It To Win It" is the fourth of these competitive cheerleader flicks to come down the pike in the past seven years, and either it is going to be the last or somebody is going to make it their personal mission in life to make sure the franchise finds a better end than this 2007 direct to video offering. One thing for sure: each of these films makes the original look better, and every time they try to come up with another cheer routine laden with irony and caustic wit it always pales in comparison with the opening bit of the original "Bring It On." Since it is assumed that you are checking out this movie because you liked the original (and perhaps one or more of the others in the series), such comparisons are inevitable as is the inevitable judgment that this is an inferior product.

You know that the end of the movie is going to be the big competition, so the goal is to set up as much conflict before the inevitable final battle before the cheering crowds and...

Skip this one.
Okay, so many of you who are going to see this movie will have no idea that it is a ripoff of a far superior movie musical, "West Side Story." Yes, the Jets and the Sharks, which are rival gangs in West Side Story, are now rival cheerleading teams. And there is even a romantic triangle between the Jets and the Sharks. But, this is as close to a good movie as the fourth "Bring it on" movie gets. The dialogue in this series of movies has gone from bad to awful. And then, there's the rivalry between the two cheerleading teams. You would think that the finale of the movie would involve the Jets and Sharks fighting for a cheerleading title. But, no... instead, well... you be the judge whether the ending was a good idea. Having an antagonist at the end of the movie who you rarely see until that point kind of made the ending anti-climactic.

Now, the bits about the curse of the cheer stick were at times funny, all the characters are nice to look at, but the film was all...

Bring It On: In It To Win It (Full Screen)
This is a great movie. I like the way it shows the importance of working together as a team so that both chearleading tems can compete as one to win. It also shows the importance of beliving in yourself and not in luck or curses if you want to accomplish something.
Which is what Carson has to learn to trust herself and that she is good enough and that curse or no curse if she does her best she is good enough to win. The jets and shark have to play of each others streangths to off set each others weaknesses. They have to learn to get along and let the differences go if they want to win. I recommand this movie to anyone. Especially if you liked any of the other bring it on movies. They are all good. If all of the i like this one the best.
Another one you may loike that falls in this catagory is
Man of the House ~ Tommy Lee Jones, Cedric the Entertainer, and Christina Milian (DVD - 2005). Another Movie i highly recomend it is funny.

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Death Sentence (Unrated Edition)

Revenge and other forms of Madness
DEATH SENTENCE is a tough movie to watch, not because it is a poorly made film, but because of the degree of violence that, once started, is mayhem on a roller coaster ride. Though based on a novel by Brian Garfield, the script by Ian Jeffers is a patchwork quilt - the holes show whenever the police arrive on the scene. James Wan, of the 'Saw' movies fame, directs with a keen eye for breathless action sequences and almost intolerable suspense timing that makes the film fly through the 111 minutes of the Unrated version.

During the opening credits we are introduced to the perfect family via home movies and domestic scenes: Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) is the devoted father, Helen (Kelly Preston) his bright and loving wife, Brendan (Stuart Lafferty) is the golden boy son with all the hockey laurels, and Lucas (Jordan Garrett) the younger 'also ran' son. The glitch in this family's happiness happens one night when, out of gas while driving home from a hockey game, Nick stops at a...

Death Sentence is death wish for a new age
Revenge is best served....period
This movie is a wicked ride. For all you Death Wish, Straw Dogs, and The Crow fans out there, this film is dark and gritty. Fast paced action and some good raw emotion. I won't ruin the story but if revenge is your kind of dish i recomend you pick this up, grab a snack and sit back and watch Kevin Bacon kick so much @$$ you'll probably go blind.

I don't agree with the critics on this one
I usually agree with the mainstream critics about movies, for the most part. However, this movie, like the 1st Saw film, is a major exception. If you are looking for a best picture candidate, you will not find it here. However, it is a very entertaining, engrossing movie that will probably not appeal to the squeamish. The movie fits right into the Parent Revenge mold quite well. The oldest son is killed by gang. Dad avenges death. Gang fights back. Dad goes crazy and kills gang members, before the whole thing culminates in a final shootout full of graphic carnage. If you are looking for an insane action movie, this isn't quite it. In particular, the first half is very deliberate in trying to convey Bacon as a real guy, trying to avoid violence, but ultimately succumbing to it. I found this journey that he takes to be quite believe, up until a scene near the end in a hospital in which he turns into Rambo. Rather than being moving, it is slightly laughable. Then the movie turns into a...

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Vernie

Perfect Stocking Stuffer!
Although I am technically related to the writer of "Vernie", I never really liked him very much. So, it pains me to say that this is an excellent movie. It is both heart-warming and hilarious. I hear there is going to be a commentary track, which I am most excited to experience. Buy it for yourself and for someone you love.

So excited!
I saw this movie on Lifetime Movie Network several times and LOVED it. Didn't know it was going to be released on DVD but now know what all my friends and family will get for Christmas!The writing is both hilarious and touching. Can't wait!



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Morning Glory

Great performances from both Christopher Reeve and Deborah Raffin
A surprising find, one of those rare films that most have never heard of, yet packs the wallop of the best of love stories or Oscar favorites. Deborah Raffin is enchanting, and Reeve was at his physical peak (one of his first films in his post "Superman" era). The film feels a bit like a cross of "Somewhere in Time" and "Old Yeller" as bizarre as that combination might sound! Enjoy!

Love Story
I enjoyed the movie though it was a typical ex-con gets framed story. The acting is well done and it was nice to see Christopher Reeve walking and healthy. Takes place when times were hard and people did what they could to survive. Ends well.

Surprize and then fastforward
Warning: there are two graphic sex scenes in the movie. I threw the DVD in the trash; I will not watch it again or condone the scenes it by selling it or giving it away to some one else.

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So Smart!: Letters

Best Baby Videos on the Market!
So Smart! is a series of award-winning videos and music, specially designed for young minds. Organized around fundamental subjects, So Smart! introduces babies and toddlers to shapes, letters, colors, music, foreign language, and more.

I purchased my first So Smart video (Volume 1) when my son was around 6 months old. One night, my son woke up in the middle of the night screaming. Nothing I tried settled him down. Exhausted, I finally brought him in bed with us, turned on the TV and VCR, pushed the Play button, and turned on the So Smart! video. After a few minutes, my baby started watching the video and immediately stopped crying. He was mesmerized by the simple objects and soothing music. He sat in my arms (at 3 a.m!) and quietly watched the video for 30 minutes. I was astonished (and pleasantly surprised.) It was a god-send!

I immediately ordered two other So Smart! videos and was equally impressed. By watching So Smart! Volume 3: All About Letters with my son, he...

THE BEST
The viewer from Concord has it spot-on. The So Smart videos are simply the best -- there are no commercial tie-in's (like Baby Einstein), the music is classical and is not the toy-like sounding music that the Baby Einstein videos use. We play the So Smart videos sometimes during dinner because the music is the same you would hear by playing a CD or the radio, and our kids will watch while we listen and eat in peace. My oldest son also learned his alphabet from watching this video with me -- almost by accident. One day he just started telling ME what the letters were. Pass on the Baby Einstein -- So Smart is much better.

Wonderful video for teaching letters
This is a great video for teaching letters. My daughter is 15 months old. She's watched the A-F portion of this video, maybe, 10 times and she can now say ABCDE & F. She is also starting to recognized a few of those letters. This video has great graphics and wonderful music.

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Camjackers

Very Interesting and Strange Film
There were some parts where I really liked it, some I didn't get and some I didn't care for. Unique story, something different, worth one watch.





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Forget About It

Better than 5 Stars
I am not a critic and all I have is my opinion. I thought this movie was very excellent. It seems when Burt and Raquel get together something special happens. And with 4 other stars of equal caliber to enhance Burt and Raquel's performance, nothing but fun, laughter and the shennanigans of three retired kids makes this movie great. While this movie is funny it is skillfully put together to make a good story. I will enjoy watching it over and over.

don't forget about it
Ok, this isn't the greatest movie ever made. It isn't the worst movie ever made. Somewhere in the middle is "Forget About It". I am biased, as some of the film was shot at the airport where I worked (except for the terminal and airline the movie was shot at Mesa Falcon Field).
The plot line is thin, the acting would do a ham proud, but it is entertaining and funny. Odd part is that a couple of swear words were edited out, but there is a scene in a "adult" bar that wasn't. So not for young children.
Have some popcorn, a soda and enjoy the movie

Cute
It is a cute comedy, with good laughter. The real reason I bought it was that I was an extra in the movie.

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Redemption of the Ghost

A Nearly Perfect for the Whole Family, Grandparents Included!
So many so-called family movies slip in decidedly unwholesome elements that one is often not sure that it is truly family fare. This, with one minor exception, is one movie that even the most conscious of morality will not only find safe but will find to be exciting and satisfying. The one minor exception is that the kids resort to lying about the 'ghost' with whom they've made friends. Parents can easily discuss this with their young children. I think in this case the children rightly sensed that this kindly 'ghost' was seeking redemption for his crime as much as the children were seeking a father figure after the death of their police officer father. This, I believe, would move the ethics of protecting Whit (the 'ghost') into a grey area.

It wouldn't be fair to parents to tell them the end of the story; however, it does need to be mentioned that Whit is wantonly beaten and then shot in the back by the sleazy police officer who is hot on his tail. This, just after...

Redemption of the Ghost
This is a really inspirational movie. It held my attention the whole time. The "ghost" and the children where very likeable and endearing. I think everyone in the family will enjoy watching it.

Redemption of the Ghost
I love this movie!.....it has good values and is a wonderful family oriented film that can be shown to viewers of all ages! I couldn't find this movie in any rental stores.....so was so happy to be able to purchase it on Amazon.com. I first saw this movie on TV as a special presentation about a year ago.....hadn't seen it since anywhere.
Again, thanks to Amazon.com!
Sincerely,
Sharon:)

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Karen Voight: Quick and Slim

Another Winner from Karen
This is a great little aerobic workout. It's 30 minutes long as follows: Warm Up - 6 min (a stand-up warm-up that gets you moving right away), Cardio 1 - 10 min (kickboxing flavor), Cardio 2 - 10 min (side, front & back lunges with lots of upper body movement and plyometric impact optional), and Cool Down - 4 min (pure yoga stretching). Karen's instruction is clear as always, and I found this one easier to follow than most. Only if you've never done aerobics before will you have trouble with this one.

Fun & Effective Cardio
This is a great, short workout with absolute perfect instruction & form from Karen Voight. I have her Burn & Firm, which is circuit training and love it as well. The cardio flows well, and it really gets the heart rate up. I am in good shape, and feel that this dvd can be beneficial to everyone - no matter the level. I love how she incorporates arms into the movements, making low-impact aerobics VERY effective. I do agree with one reviewer that she goes straight into the stretching RIGHT after you finish a heart pumping squat jump section, however, there is a quick break in the dvd that alerts you that the cool-down is about to begin...I pause it for about a minute while I march in place to cool down a bit, and then move on with the stretching... no big deal. Other reviewers have already offered a breakdown of the dvd, so I will just say that this is definitely worth the purchase ~ Karen is awesome, one of the best instructors around.

Great 30 min workout
I'm home with a little one that likes to take short naps, so I needed a workout that I could fit into a 30-min window. This one is great! I love Karen Voight, and this one is my new favorite. It's cardio, but has a heavy emphasis on lower body toning with lots of squats. A definite keeper.

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Elise Moore: Pilates for Life: Pilates on the Ball

Great for Core, but lacking some Pilates Fundamentals
I am a yoga and pilates instructor. This is a nicely done DVD, but there I have a few critiques.
1. There is not nearly enough moves for the hips, glutes & thighs--these are part of our Power House and should be toned more in a Pilates routine.
2. Some of the breating cues are off and are confusing.
3. Leg Pull Plank is out of sequence in the DVD. It should come before the belly twist. You will notice that the participants in the DVD go from sitting to on their backs with no transition. Not a huge deal, but when I move into my restorative postures, I never go back into an active one. It creates an awkward flow.

Great Workout, good intructor.
Never having used a home workout media before, I have been quite pleased with the instructions on how to do the exercises. There are a few I have been physically unable to do, but after several times of doing the workout I am able to add those into my routine as well. I feel like I have just finished working hard when the routine is over. I have done my own home workouts before, but having the instructor actually telling me where to exhale or inhale really seems to help the workout be more effective.

pilates dvd
I have been using this DVD for a week now, and find it easy to follow. The movement are easy for a beginner like me, but also more challenging moves that I can strive for. I'm getting a good workout along with enjoying doing it. Worth the money spent!!!

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War

3

Last Of The Belles [Slim Case]

Nice piece of history
Basically a story within a story, the movies shows us the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald as he produces his work "The Last of the Belles" which is played in the second half of the movie. Both tell the story of a woman whose peak in life was as a much-in-demand Southern Belle who time comes to pass and she must move on to something she perhaps is not dreaming about. Blythe Danner plays the wife who undersands that she has lost her identity in the world of F. Scott Fitzgerald, that she is no longer the "Belle of the ball" and longs to find something that she can call her own. Richard Chamberlain is fine as the flip live-for-today author who realizes he needs to move forward as well or his ship will be sunk. And Susan Sarandon as the "last Belle" is charming and a little scheming and coy, though probably no more than any popular girl in any time in history. Good acting, nice piece of nostalgia, well worth the time it takes to watch if you are a fan of period pieces and quiet drama.

GREAT MOVIE ONE OF THE BEST I EVER SEEN
This movie was really wonderful. An artistic masterpiece, I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Some parts were difficult to watch, but you have to take it with a grain of salt.

Garbled Blanche
Richard Chamberlain's lines are crisp, clear, and easy to understand. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for his colleague. Her speech is incoherent to the extent of being annoying. Alas, I won't be watching the conclusion of this movie.

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Cielo Rojo

CIELO ROJO-RED SKY OVERLY DRAMATIC & ENTERTAINING
Cielo RojoRED SKY A RAW DRAMA FROM THE '60s about two lovers Rodolfo & Maria (Mr. RODOLFO DE ANDA R.I.P 2010 & Ms. PATRICIA CONDE HUSBAND & WIFE IN REAL LIFE) FILMED IN MEXICO'S BEAUTIFUL ACAPULCO. Rodolfo is a CLIFF DIVER AT THE FAMOUS TOURISTIC LA QUEBRADA, a dangerous occupation that barely pays him to survive so he becomes an opportunistic young man who stops at nothing for money. To add to his troubled life his girlfriend Maria, also a poor girl from the port area, gives Rodolfo the unespected news that she is pregnant with his child. What evolves from this point is a story about moral responsibility & choices for these two young people whose lives are forced to the brink of murder. Again, excellent acting by Mr. DE ANDA & THE VERY TALENTED Ms. CONDE. She retired early from her acting career while still a young woman. CIELO ROJO - RED SKY - THE COLOR OF BLOOD!!





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Horseland: The Fast and the Fearless

great for girls!
My kids are 5 and 10 - both love this show! The website is great too! I reccomend these dvd's for girls of any age.

GREAT Horseland DVD- best yet!
We love Horseland at our house, and we have all three DVDs. This one is our favorite- highly recommended!

Very Ecxiting To watch!
"The Fast and the Fearless" is a great DVD for young horse lovers. During a lesson when Molly (rider) tries to do a jump with her horse Calypso, she falls off!!! She refuses to get back on Calypso. Then when Sara and Molly walk their horses in the pasture, scarlett (Sara's horse) becomes terribly ill with colic! Molly must get back on Calypso and jump over the fence to go get the Vet before Scarlett gets even more sick. Will Molly save the day??? On the next episode, Zoeys horse Pepper becomes hurt. Zoey fears that Pepper might get put down! So then Zoey even thinks about getting a new horse! Everyone at Horseland tells Zoey that she shoud not get a new horse. Will she? Now the horses convince Pepper to get back up on her feet to prove to Zoey that Pepper is alright. Will Pepper do it??? All of the characters are very ecxiting!!! It would be so awesome to get!!!

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NFL Greatest Super Bowl Moments I- XLI

Not worth your time
This DVD is basicly a highlight of all the Superbowls. The problem is you get only two plays from each Superbowl and many of them aren't even the greatest moments. It's definetly a waste time.

Great DVD to own for NFL lover
Great DVD to own for anyone who is a football fanatic. Bought one for my boyfriend as a birthday gift and we liked it so much that I ended up buying the DVD for my dad's birthday as well!



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Jesus and the Gospels - Answers to Tough Questions

Answers to Tough Questions
this was difficult, at first, for me to really grasp, because there are 3 men who talk in this DVD. I purchased this for my grandson, but after watching it, I think it is too confusing for him to watch. It talks about Jesus and reveals truths and misconceptions, which I think for one who is not a Bible reader, would be very difficult to understand. I read alot, plus am an avid Bible reader and do study alot, so since it was rather confusing for me to understand, I don't want to make my gr'son more confused than he is. So I do not recommend this DVD for a new Christian, nor for one who does not do Bible study. The men do reveal the truth about Jesus, but they also talk about the misconceptions that are going around which I feel has made this hard to get hold of. In my opinon, this DVD could have been presented in a better way than it is.





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Resident Evil: Extinction (Widescreen Special Edition)

Death, Destruction, Despair, and other Holiday Tidings
The deadly T-virus has now escaped the Umbrella Corporation's rigorously controlled environment and infected the world. There are few who can remain alive in such a hostile atmosphere where nature has reclaimed her own and flesh hungry zombies seek the warm life blood of the living. Earth is desolate. The entire planet shown from afar is now visible as a barren Necropolis of broken dreams, empty lives, and the fruitless pursuit of existence. It's over. . . or is it? Operation Alice is back, bigger and better than before. The fight for earth has begun . . .

Continuing the ever growing Resident Evil franchise, the latest installment in this seemingly endless movie series has actually managed to redeem much of the harm done in prior movies. While this is still not a "thinking man's" film by any means, the numerous action sequences, interesting special effects, and superior scenes of zombie carnage combined to produce an entertaining and enjoyable film. Perhaps there is hope...

Thus marks a great trilogy
This is an awesome version of the DVD. It contains lots and lots of bonus material that is very gratifying. It's also a very good movie. This is the biggest the infection has gotten in the series and it pulls a lot of references from the games. very well directed and written and the ending gives way for the next sequel.

Going Extinct on Blu-ray
So, attempts to contain the T-virus to Raccoon City have failed. Great. Now the virus has spread throughout the world, and those who have not been effected yet live a life reminiscent of Mad Max. However, all hope is not lost when you have a saucy, zombie-butt kicking super woman wielding a set of kukri knives and telekinetic powers. Alice is back, and she's not happy.

We learn just how evil and how large Umbrella is in Extinction. Dr. Isaacs is attempting to create a anti-virus of sorts that he hopes will domesticate the undead. I wouldn't call them domesticated, but they are now slightly smarter, stronger and significantly faster! Alice must pull out all the stops if she wishes to defeat the super undead, zombie crows, outlaws, and tentacles...yes, the infamous Tyrant makes an appearance.

The majority of this movie takes place in well lit areas - an oddity for a zombie flick, but it works well. The speed and ferocity of the super undead makes up for the lack of...

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Solstice

Okay, Five Teenagers Go To A Spooky Old House In The Woods And...
....everything you'd expect doesn't happen. Following a setup delightfully lifted from every slasher film, five students head off to celebrate "Senior Week" at a spooky old house in the Louisiana woods. En route to the place, the happy kids pass a creepy-looking old man standing alongside the road....

....and they get to their destination safely, where they promptly begin to do all of the things kids in slasher films do. They get drunk, go swimming, sit up late by firelight, and two of them sneak off to have sex. But when morning comes....everyone is still alive! However, some decidedly odd things have begun to happen.

While the film gradually builds its storyline out of elements both real and possibly supernatural (or are they figments of the imagination?), director Dan Myrick ("The Blair Witch Project") skillfully aims his camera into the story, wisely including a few scenes which viewers must surely be expecting (there is a "shower scene", a sequence of...

A sneaksihly good movie
I am drawn to a dvd that has a cover like Solstice does. Reminds me of all the 'wanna be' movies that came out after 'Scream' and I guess even 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'. I usually expect them to be bad, with maybe a decent moment that might...MIGHT...make me jump or feel uneasy or look up at my second floor balcony that peers into the living room where shadows look like ghosts in the dark.

With this movie though, I watched it with a big group of friends since I was at work and nothing much was going on (and I'm in Iraq so its not like I get to go home to watch it on my TV..heh). The whole group I was with was pretty much into the movie. Of course watching a movie like this will have a bunch of guys, when together, blurting out to the TV for someone to 'just take your top off already' or 'man this movie would be a lot cooler if she'd take her top off'. Guy talk. But after about 20-30 minutes of that, most of everyone was sitting still and getting into the movie...

A surprisingly good mystery.
I am always on the hunt for a good thriller/mystery that I can watch with my whole family and I discovered this one over the weekend.

My headline says "a surprisingly good mystery" because I have to admit that any thriller centered around teenagers or young adults (20 something) is often, in my view, very lame due to overacting by half-dressed stereotypical teenagers, a cliched-ridden script, a "been there, done that" formula plot, and blood and sex thrown in just for the sake of having them there as if that compensates for all negatives. This film is nothing that you would expect, thankfully.

It is important to note that there is nothing original here other than it combines different genres cleverly and gives you the opposite what you think you might get. This, of course, is all good even though it does copy ideas and moments from better films. Based upon the box description and general early feel of the film, I thought this film would be something like a...

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