Sunday, September 29, 2013

Wonder: The Lives of Anna and Harlan Hubbard



Great documentary
Remarkable tale of Harlan and Anna, their decision not to work for THE MACHINE, but to find a way of living natural lives as free of money as possible. Long before popular movements of the eco-kind, they made their houseboat and floated away. They were young, they made music, they invented solutions on a daily basis, made friends and grew together in laughter and work.Years later, they built a wooden house, grew as much food as they could and lived fulfilling lives. Sadly they had no children, but inspiring story!

Review based on having visited with Mr & Mrs Hubbard several times growing up
Picture quality good. It is a full hour of information. A documentary. Just wasn't what I expected. I grew up going to the Hubbards with family, school trips, and church outings. Seeing first hand their home and artwork. Will keep my copy. I would suggest going to a local showing if you have a chance and then decide wheter to buy your own copy or not.

"Wonder" by Morgan Atkinson
A remarkable litany concerning the iconoclastic lives of Harlan and Anna Hubbard who lived a Walden-like existence on the Ohio River for 40 years, w/ contributions from Wendell Berry, Will Oldham and Ben Solee. Gives one pause re: our gadget filled, smart phone obsessed lives and what constitutes true fulfillment.

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Myrna Loy & Williams Powell: Collection



All but one of the Powell/Loy films are now on DVD
This collection contains five titles currently not on DVD that were made starring the famous duo during the same time frame as their "Thin Man" series. With the exception of 1947's "The Senator was Indiscreet", this puts all of the Loy/Powell films on DVD. The extras described below are from a press release from Warner Home Video. The biggest let-down about this set is the lack of commentary for any of the films, but Warner probably figures with the amount of documentary material they put in the Thin Man Boxed Set, they would just be going over old territory. The films, in chronological order, are as follows:

Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
This is more of a movie with Powell and Loy than one about them as a couple. The focus is more on Clark Gable and William Powell, who play two orphans who grow up together but wind up on opposite sides of the law. Myrna Loy plays the woman that both characters love. Gable plays the gangster in this film, Powell the guy who goes up the...

A TRUE 5-STAR SALUTE FOR ONE OF FILMDOM'S GREATEST SCREEN TEAMS!
When it comes to screen chemistry between two stars, there were probably only four that stood the test of time...Fred & Ginger, Flynn & de Havilland, Tracy & Hepburn, and my personal (non-musical) favorites, the unbeatable combination of WILLIAM POWELL and MYRNA LOY.

A million thank-you's to those amazing folks at Warner Brothers who keep managing to find a way to drain my bank balance...and I couldn't be happier. Every set from Warner is a winner, but this one is particularly appealing, because I've practically worn out my 6 Thin Man discs!

Here we get a broader spectrum of this terrific twosome. Their screwball shenanigans take center stage in laugh-filled romps such as DOUBLE WEDDING, I LOVE YOU AGAIN, and LOVE CRAZY. All hysterical. All worth countless viewings. Equally compelling are the more serious films in this set, the box-office smash MANHATTAN MELODRAMA, where CLARK GABLE shares the screen with Loy and Powell, and the highly underrated EVELYN PRENTICE...

Nick and Nora step out
After a considerable wait, the remaining five movies which starred Powell and Loy is available on DVD and it is really great to be able to enjoy their efforts. Powell and Loy were stars of the very successful "Thin Man" series (the title character was actually the murder victim in the first series, but most of the fans thought it referred to Nick Charles). Along with the six movies in the Thin Man series, the pair made seven other movies (not counting the Powell vehicle "The Senator was Indiscrete" in which Loy makes a cameo appearance) leading many to believe that they were in fact married in real life.

The movies in this series run the gamut from the sorts of melodramas that MGM famously churned out in the 30s. To be honest, I prefer the later comedies. Clearly, after the success of the first of the Thin Man movies, producers understood that the pair was very well suited to light comedy and animated banter. In films like "Love Crazy," "I Love You Again" and "Double...

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Amazing Love: The Story of Hosea



Saw a preview and this is an incredible story for all youth groups to see.
Amazing Love, Directed by Kevin Downes, is a great movie for families and youth groups. It is a sharp reminder of the danger of cliques. The scenery is incredible and the scenes (flashbacks) to Israel and Hosea are spot on. I plan to show this to our church youth group.

great movie
Too many Christian movies tend to be cheesy, or have not quite up to par acting, but this one should stand out as surpassing expectations. Great acting, and a great plot. It bounces back and forth between modern and Biblical times and shows a great picture of God's love for us. A top-notch movie the whole family can watch

A nice movie
Amazing Love is a nice Christian film that is partly about a youth group and partly about the biblical story of Hosea. It is a clean film and worth watching.

I have seen two other films by the director and I am a big fan; they are "Time Changer" and "The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry." However, I was a little disappointed with part of their new movie and was not able to enjoy it as much as the previous two films. It took awhile to get going. The film did not get to the Hosea story for thirty minutes. The thirty minutes spent focusing on the youth group could have either been shortened, or made to be more entertaining. For example, more conflicts with the troubled girl other than just the spilled coffee could have happened. Camping features more than just fishing, and the opening thirty minutes could have also had the characters doing other camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, or hiking. All of these could have been pulled off in the same amount of time, and would...

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Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956 Television Version) / Patterns (Movie Version) -Written by Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame



good television
Requiem for a Heavyweight has to be one of the best television dramas ever conceived and aired. Same with Patterns

best version
this version of requiem for a heavy weight is much better than the anthony quinn version which hurts me to say it as I love anthony quinn. Jack palance is one of the only famous actors that used to be a heavy weight pro boxer in real life. his acting is perfect. it is a great story. the other version is over dramatized and over acted. the ending is also different and better.

Classic Rod Serling
I've seen the movie version of Requiem many years ago and found it quite good. Rod Serling often wrote about man under pressure with regard to his work. I did not know there was an early TV version of this story until I found out about this one starring Jack Palance, Keenan and Ed Wynn, and Kim Hunter. What a cast. It's nicely done for early tv, and the ending is different than the movie. Patterns is a theatrical film, also written by Mr. Serling and once again about work pressures, this time in a big business in the city. The performances here are also quite good, featuring Ed Begley. It reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode _A Stoop At Willoughby.

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Coldplay: Live 2012(CD/DVD) [Explicit]



Amazing Concert - not captured well on film
Out of 500+ concerts, this year's tour by Coldplay blew me away and jumped into my top 5 immediately. I flew to Dallas to see the show and then to Tampa, it was just so amazing and I am not the world's biggest Coldplay fan. I cannot explain the euphoric feeling that was at these shows, especially with the lit up wristbands.

The Blu Ray is a complete let down. I do not understand why people make concert films now that don't focus on one frame more than 2 seconds. This Blu Ray could cause a seizure, as it basically snapshots of 2 seconds of different angles, audience shots and fireworks chained together for the length of the film. I wanted to see the band play and I do like seeing the audience reaction, along with the stage show. There were some amazing effects on this tour, and sadly you get to see tiny little clips here and there. There's just no sense of cohesion to this "film". I cannot get engaged with the band on stage because of the fast edits, nor can I get...

Over aggressive camera work prevents this from being a 5-star release. The included CD suffers from the loudness wars.
Coldplay's first new live release since the Sidney, Australia, 2003 DVD is a welcome one, albeit a completely different type of live release. Where "Live 2003" was the entire night of an Australian show on the Rush of Blood to the Head tour, "Coldplay Live 2012" was shot at several venues and incorporates elements of a film/documentary instead, with five insightful interviews with the band members dotted throughout the "set list" as "intermissions".

High marks for the Blu-ray, which was released in scope format and will have black bars at the top and bottom of your screen even if you're watching on a 16:9 widescreen HDTV. This IS normal, no need to try and adjust your set. Coldplay released this in the cinemas for a short engagement and that is likely the reason behind the aspect ratio choice, although I would have welcomed it being released re-cut to 16:9 for home video release given that it is a concert film and no real loss would have occurred unlike what can happen with...

Very disappointed
I was there (in Paris, Stade de France with my Mimine (french fancy name given to my girlfriend)).

Nothing in this Blu-ray falls short of the amazing concert we attended to. I wonder what a guy like Steven Spielberg would have done with the filmed material. The image just doesn't capture the emotion of that early night of September. The editing is so jerky it must have been done by a teenager and the sound is muffled.

This is un insult to this amazingly creative band!

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World Of Discovery - Wolf: Return of a Legend (Amazon.com Exclusive)



Very good
Beautiful footage. I have always held a deep love for the Sawtooth Pack and actually saw Jim's second film 'Wolves at a door' and Living with wolves' before this one. They are much more informative on the pack itself and Jim and Jamie's life amongst them. You begin to perceive each wolves personality and it's impossible not to grow fond of them. Wolf: Return of a legend was created in the early years Jim began forming the pack and though they leave quite a bit out on the individual wolves themselves, it's extremely informative. I had always known that many viewed wolves as ruthless killers and a threat to livestock but to see some clips and footage of the audacious acts to exterminate them was heartbreaking yet eye opening. Wolves are far more similar to us than most would even imagine. Their passion, concern and love for one another is reflected the same as we love and cherish our own. I would recommend this film to anyone and ask that you also watch 'Wolves at our door' and ' Living...

A must have!
I wore out my VHS version of this story. Wolves are my favorite animal and I have enjoyed watching the DVD already. I received the order quickly and the price was unbeatable.



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Ramrod



Range wars and then some
One of the bitterest of all range war westerns, Ramrod is an early example of Andre De Toth's muscular intensity that characterises all his work in the genre through the string of very satisfying Randolph Scotts in the 50s to the extremely bleak Day of the Outlaw (1959). Joel McCrea is just fine as the initially weak cowpoke who tries to keep peace on the range in the face of two rival camps, one led by rancher's daughter Veronica Lake (in a ferocious, chilling performance) and the other by tough hombre Preston Foster, who loves and is rejected by her.

De Toth handles the complex plot and screenplay with his usual sharp explorations of shifting allegiances and betrayals of trust; Don Defore's edgy performance as McCrea's erstwhile friend is pivotal in embodying the film's dark mood and tone which some commentators have labelled noir.

It's great to see some of the Scott/De Toths on or soon to be released on DVD. Why not this film? Its brooding sense of evil is...

great movie..... not so spectacular BR disc....
I loved this movie.... and boy is it packed with star power from McRea and Veronica Lake to Lloyd Bridges and Donald Crisp and lets agree that Andre De Toth knew how to direct. I'd give this a solid 5 star review if the BR disc was priced at $15 and was a beauty to behold. As it is ...its $25 bucks and not restored ...full of dust and other issues which should be addressed at this level of price in today's market place. I'm happy to own this disc but I can't give it any more than 3 stars when you consider its high price and low quality of image.

I've had good luck with Olive Films blu rays but it seems they just spit out whatever they get so I'll proceed with caution going forward. The Trap starring Richard Widmark was another of theirs I picked up today and its just a dreadful transfer.... truly horrible and again $25.

DAVE NASH--RAMROD.
A ramrod or segundo is the owner's man, his or her representative standing between the owner and range crew. In this case Dave Nash, newly appointed ramrod, is called upon to stand not only between his boss and the crew but also every other cattleman on the range. The reason is that the the 66 outfit is contemplating introduction of sheep to what has been up to now only open range cattle country.

As the film opens, we seem to be getting 'in medias res' after certain things have happened, events of which we have no information. As things move along many things become clear, however, the cheating, lying, murder, and out-and-out villany continue to unfold anew. As one character eventually states, too many men have died in this unofficial range war. For it has become open season, with many characters, including Dave Nash, to have seemingly changed their typical, accepted pattern of behavior.

This film of 1947 follows the Macmillian hardcover book by Luke Short...

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