Peter and the Wolf

Technically stunning, and thematically dark
"Peter And The Wolf" (2008)
Technically stunning, and thematically dark, this amazing adaptation of Sergei Prokoviev's classic children's piece, features marvelous stop-motion animation from director Suzie Templeton.

The film places "Peter" squarely back into its Russian origins, but rather than an idealized rural-agrarian past, it places the story in a more modern setting, amid glum, drab, rundown shacks and tattered forests, a grim vision of a Soviet-era or post-Soviet Eastern Europe, complete with gun-toting thugs (the hunters of the original story here seem more like cold-hearted militiamen) and the nearby village appears as a rundown, dismal cinderblock outpost. Amid this crushing gloom, Peter finds wonder and joy, unlocking a secret garden where he and his friends the bird and the duck (both crippled and unable to fly) are able to play and forget the bleakness around them.

While this may sound a bit miserable, the film itself is a marvel: the amount of...

Beautiful, stark and amazing!
Suzie Templeton may be little known outside of the world of stop motion animation circles, but she is an incredible talent with a penchant for dark, thoughtful and sometimes twisted short subjects. With Peter and the Wolf she delves more into the mainstream and handles her biggest project to date.

Templeton has weaved together an international co-production between studios in Britain and Poland, using stop motion animation and digital effects to create a modern retelling of the Sergei Prokofiev musical.

There are plenty of reviews of the movie itself, but the amazon.com description does not include information about the plethora of extras on this new Region 1 DVD. Included are:

The musical themes
The story in pictures
The making of Peter & the Wolf
Behind the scenes documentary
Audio commentary
Educational workshop

If you are worried about buying an $18 DVD for just a 32 minute feature, you can rest assured you are...

Peter without the narrative (or Prokofiev's ending)...delightful, brave and touching
For a young boy, unhappiness can be a natural state. Peter and his aged grandfather live in a scrabbly old farmhouse on the edge of a forbidding Russian forest. The grandfather has built a wooden fence around the dirt yard and forbids Peter to go into the forest, where dangerous things lurk, like wolves. Peter hates this. All Peter has for a friend is a scruffy, long-necked duck. When he goes into town two hunters bully him. Still, Peter is a good kid. He helps a bird with an injured wing fly again with the help of a balloon. He sneaks out and plays on the iced pond, skittering and sliding and joined by the duck. He accepts his grandfather's fat, fat cat as a creature perhaps not to like, but not to hurt. Peter even manages to catch the dangerous, hungry and mangy wolf in his net. Peter stops his grandfather from shooting the wolf. When he and his grandfather take it to town, Peter is a hero. But it's not to last. Those hunters show up to taunt and bully the wolf. Peter stops them...

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Sleepless in Seattle (10th Anniversary Edition)

My absolute favourite movie @>---
Other than The Breakfast Club, Sleepless in Seattle is my all time favourite movie. I know it's older now, but to me I will always watch it over and over again. I like to watch it a couple of times a year because I always enjoy it and never tire of it.

As everyone probably knows, Tom Hanks and his son move from Chicago to Seattle after Tom's wife dies and they need a new start. Hoping to find a new love for his father, Jonah calls a radio station to speak on a talk show to help his dad out. Their radio call name is Sleepless in Seattle. Listening to the conversation all the way in Washington DC is Meg Ryan who has just announced her engagement to Bill Pullman. She seems to fall in love with Sam (Tom Hanks) instantly as she finishes his sentances and is hooked by his story. Being a writer, she does a story on him and finds herself wanting to get in touch with him. She makes the journey over to Seattle and manages to say Hello to him (before almost getting hit by cars...

Christmas Magic
Some people have songs, my husband and I have a movie. We not only met in Seattle, my husband lived next to Lake Union, very close to where this movie was made. He actually saw them filming scenes from the movie.

You could say the roles were a bit reversed, being I was the one getting over a relationship and he was not really looking at the time. Having lived in Seattle for many years, I especially enjoyed seeing scenes from Pike Place Market and West Seattle.

Rosie O'Donnell adds to the wit with lines like: "You want to be in love in a movie." Tom Hanks gives a sensitive performance as Sam who lost the love of his life. He and his son Jonah, live on Lake Union. Annie (Meg Ryan) is caught up with plans for her wedding. She is engaged and not looking for love. Yet, as it so often happens, love does appear when you are not looking.

One night Annie hears a radio show where Jonah has called in to ask how his father could find a new wife. The radio host...

Two guy heroes, only one girl does not a "chick flick" make...
Most people think "Sleepless" is meant to please a female audience, but I think it is a dad/son bonding story all the way. I like it, I see parts of it as often as it shows up on cable, and it portrays man/woman love in a very good light. In this age of easy and too-often divorce, that's a positive. Yes, it is sentimental, but there is nothing wrong with provoking sentiment in an honest fashion. It is perfectly cast, competently written, directed and filmed, and only a Grinch could hate it.

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Deadfall [HD]

Best of Everything.. Don't miss this one!
Hardcore movie fan, especially Thriller/Mystery/Suspense/Horror-> I really enjoyed this movie. Unique story line that all weaves together in the end. Some amazing Graphics Scenes. The actor's chosen were great for their roles. Some gore...more shocking not scary. Definitely not a watch with children..intense sex scenes and believable "shocker scenes" (don't want to spoil it) I rated this 5 stars and would watch again. Don't miss if you want to watch something with great acting, unique twists, suspense, and just enough romance.

Feels Like a Film Noir
This film has action, violence, sex, and not a few stories about dysfunctional families. The script writing is fine, the actors are terrific and I loved seeing some old timers like Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson. I think the cold desolate Canadian filming locations certainly add to the overall feel of the film and definitely play background to the cold hearted killer's mentality. I could have done without the sex scenes, (we certainly didn't need them back in the day when Noir was gorgeously done.)and the love story was weak, but the overall subject of the film - don't treat your kids bad or they may turn out twisted - does work. There is a wonderful climactic ending - for once (in awhile) Hollywood gets it right. In a weird aside, I wonder what the film would have been like if Bana and Hunnam had reversed their roles AND if the film was shot in black and white. BTW, Bana was very good.

TWISTED CONUNDRUMS and one messed up Thanksgiving
A FANTASTIC THRILLER: with realistic action and broken people. Few characters in this movie are perfect, if any.

OK, I was really impressed by this little gem and had suspicions it was done on a limited budget despite the quality and effort clearly put into it. So I did some research. It was shot on $12M. After seeing that figure the first time I was actually disappointed because it seemed large to the ordinary person. Then I thought again - Many of the stars they brought together have probably commanded 12M just for their own salary for one picture. Clearly this was a labor of love by people who thought it should be made.

Seriously- Olivia Wilde - Kate Mara - Eric Bana - Sissy Spacek - Kris Kristofferson and others.

PLOT: A brother and sister team from a broken home in the south are fleeing an Indian Casino robbery they conducted not far from the Canadian border(in the dead of winter of course). Their car crashes on an icy road in the middle of...

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Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas

Mickey and company enter the digital age in spectacular fashion!
This is a movie you could watch every day for a month, and not fry your brain.

I know, because I had to. My son was obsessed.

The five shorts comprising "Twice Upon A Christmas" are all delightful, and perfect family viewing.

First I must say that the digital re-creation of our favorite animated characters has been done to perfection. Eye-popping crystalline perfection.

The Minnie-Daisy ice skating duel features those dancing hippos and crocs from Fantasia, and beautiful digital effects and designs.

Huey, Dewey and Louie's journey to the North Pole has a classic caper feel to it; it's fast and funny. When one of the little guys drifts a little too close to a snoring Santa's breath, he initially winces. Then he smiles and says, "Hm! Peppermint! With a hint of mocha!" It's cute. My wife and I laugh, and my 2.5 year old wonders why.

Goofy and his son Max has some nice musical numbers in it. Again, seeing these characters...

Stunning Animation and Great Slapstick
After getting this DVD from the library last year, I knew that my son was a big fan of Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. In fact, so was my husband. He's an artist, and very critical of shoddy animation. However, with this DVD, he often comments on the well-done, vibrant images of computer animation. (If you're a parent of a child, you probably already know how shoddy some of the CGI can be in kid videos! Happily, this is not rendered poory like some movies.) In fact, I was amazed at how Mickey's sweater looked so real, as well as the snow-covered trees, holiday lights and Christmas trees, Minnie and Daisy's gossamer skating outfits, and so on.

An open "Storybook" presents each tale, and we are whisked away into five magical stories showing true-to-life situations involving relationships. (And you KNOW how the whole family/relationship thing can get during holidays... *wince*).

Clever writing abounds, as well as numerous sight-gags. My son and I think it's...

Great stories. Wish it were longer though.
My only disappointment with this DVD was that it wasn't longer. The five shorts on this DVD were great, especially the one with Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck as dueling ice princesses and the story of Pluto's adventure's at the North Pole hanging out with Santa's reindeer. I thought this last story could've been a feature length tale in itself.

While I agree with many that seeing the characters in full-fledged 3D animation, I don't think this new rendering of these wonderful characters could have been done any better. No, it's not animation of the quality in the top budget motion picture releases, but it's nonetheless extremely well done.

If you love Christmas and you love Mickey and the gang, you and your family will love this DVD.

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Castle: Season 1-5 Box Set (2013)

Best way to catch up!
Getting the boxed set at this price, and still factory sealed, was a great way to add all past seasons of the show to the collection, and get this wonderful series for keeps! All that needs to be done now is to simply add Season 6 when it is released. This is one of THE best shows to come out of the last twenty years of television that isn't a stupid survivor-type show (there are too many....), a purely-drama cop show, or a show devoted to either some crass (and possibly rich and spoiled) family (like the ridiculousness of the Kardashians or the Honey Boo Boo idiots), or stuff that shouldn't be on prime time at all because the line of gore has been stepped over (such as Walking Dead).

If you like none of those types of shows and want pure entertainment, Castle is just plain fun -- gripping and suspenseful like any cop-show such as CSI, but full of occasionally smart yet sexy moments that really don't preclude someone of younger age watching it; good humor; life-reflecting...

Castle seasons 1-5 box set
I love mysteries. I love romantic stories. This show has it all. This show is funny, well written and has great chemistry between Castle and Beckett. The chemistry between all the of the people is wonderful. This show and Dr. Quinn are my favorite tv shows of all time.

Castle rocks
Love Castle, writers are doing sign excellent job in not letting the romance between Beckett and Castle take over the content of the show

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3: Dog Days

Refreshing and unexpected...
This was fun! I wasn't expecting it.

This was not movie I would choose to go watch.

We only went to see it, because the kids wanted to go to a movie, and this was the only one that was showing that they could go to (all other kids movies that were showing, we had already seen). This was the only one left, for us to go see, at the local theater.

I'm glad it was, and that the kids pressed on.
For me, it was refreshing, for once to watch a great non-animated kids movie. I (and the rest of the family) love animations. Disney/Pixar, DreamWorks etc. So Dairy of a Wimpy Kid, would not be something we would normally go for.

I have to say, I liked it very much. Lots of laughs. Mom, and the kids (7 and 12) liked it too.
Every now and then, I was looking to my right, just to watch our 7 year old luaghing out loud. He had a great time! So did his older sister.

Funniest One Yet, Don't Have to Have Read the Books to Enjoy It
I have not read these books, but 2 of my 3 kids have (all elementary school age) and they wanted to see this movie. We've seen the other two movies, but I think this was the most entertaining of the three, for both kids and adults. It's summer in this one, the kids are therefore home from school, and more of the drama is family-based than school-based. Greg and his Dad are at odds - Greg wants to play video games all summer, and his Dad wants him to get outdoors. Both think they have little in common, and Greg ends up deceiving his family about a summer job in order to get his Dad off his back. Of course everything comes out in the end, and he learns valuable lessons about honesty, and both he and his Dad learn lessons about acceptance and loyalty. There are MANY laugh-out-loud scenes, including one involving their new dog and a pot roast, another when Greg's older brother Rodrick (who almost steals the movie) is saved from drowning in the pool, and more when Greg and his best friend...

Fun family film!
Go ahead, call me immature (though I prefer young at heart), but I really did enjoy this movie.

School is out and there are 73 days of summer vacation. Greg Heffley imagines the days ahead to be filled with video games in the family living room. Unfortunately for Greg, his parents have other ideas, urging him to play outside, read literature, and get a summer internship. That's when Greg has an idea . . . if he tells his parents that he got a job at the local country club, he can spend his days at the country club pool (where the girl he likes, Holly, spends her time) AND make his parents happy. What could possibly go wrong?

Hilarity ensues and, in the end, Greg must pay the consequences for his deception (which I appreciate because I may be immature, but I am still a parent).

This is a fun film!

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Cowboy Bebop Remix: The Complete Collection (Anime Legends)

"Satellite from days of old, lead me to your access code!"
Look up the word `cool' in any dictionary and it says "see Cowboy Bebop"...well, not really...but it should, because Cowboy Bebop is the quintessence of coolness. If you don't already know, Bebop is a stylish 26-session masterpiece chronicling the thrilling triumphs and tribulations of those space-sailing, chain-smoking, bounty-hunting buddies, Jet Black and Spike Spiegel. Jet is a bald and burly bonsai tree collector with an artificial left arm and a comma-shaped piece of metal under his scarred right eye. A former ISSP officer--known on his home satellite, Ganymede, as the tenacious "Black Dog"--Jet is now the owner/pilot/mechanic of the spaceship Bebop. The wiry gunfighter and martial arts master, Spike, has fuzzy green hair, mismatched eyes and a checkered past. These two intrepid space "cowboys" hop from one astral gate to another to hunt down wanted criminals all across the galaxy, hoping to earn enough woolongs to enable Jet to finally add some actual beef to his famous...

I don't like anime
I really don't like anime. It's true. Growing up in the '80s and seeing the reruns of '70s imports (like Speed Racer), not to mention the whole Pokémon thing that hit while I was in high school, I know some people out there like those things but I find them repulsive and annoying. Silly caricatures with gigantic eyes and frame rates of about 2 per minute, almost like watching a slide show with really bad narration.

Then a friend pressured me to watch Cowboy Bebop on Cartoon Network. He knew my reservations about Japanese cartoons, but pushed me into it anyway (it was a Saturday night, I wasn't doing anything anyway...) and I haven't stopped thanking him.

This series is good. Not good, great. This is the program that anyone who says "cartoons are for kids" should watch. The first thing that I noticed was that the episodes were each standalone. Most of the popular animations of today are very series-oriented, if you miss one the next one probably won't make...

Quality and affordability in one Set
Instead of giving some hack review of the story, I'll skip it and assume you either know the story already or know how to google for it.

This box set of a solid anime is finally released in its newest form (improved and cleaned-up picture and 5.1 surround mix) at a very affordable price. Honestly, $40 is a steal considering what you had to pay for all of the discs individually. All 6 discs are in a clamshell case, similar to that of the Back to the Future. No insert inside, just the DVDs.

What I think of the improved picture:
It's not bad. Not perfect but not bad. You'll notice the picture is cleaned up a lot if you compare it with pre-improved releases. Scenes that are brighter or more colorful really come through. But I did notice something that kinda bothered me some. Scenes where there is a lot of black (which are many; the story is mostly in space. who knew?) seem off. What I mean by that is, the black areas aren't a consistent black. This could be a...

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