Reading Rainbow Favorites (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Move over "Sesame Street," it's "Reading Rainbow!" This is a wonderful children's series, which encourages children to read. Each segment has children giving a brief description of the book they read.
Be prepared to go on to a journey of make-believe, and have fun while you're doing it by reading the suggested books these children recommend!
I grew up on this show in the 80's, and it's amongst the best educational shows. The theme song inspires children to reach beyond the sky's limits and explore the wonderful world of reading!
This series is perfect and entertaining for the child who enjoys reading, and even for the child, who doesn't like reading.
Highly recommended for children, parents and teachers, alike!
Buy it today, you'll be glad you did!


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Reading Rainbow is one of the longest running and best loved children's series on PBS.Reading Rainbow is designed to inspire a love of reading and build lasting connections between children and books.As a half hour magazine-style series, Reading Rainbow mixes live action, music and illustrations.Reading Rainbows' target audience is children 4-8 years old. Included in this collection is Family Matters,Man's Best Friend, Music, Music, Everywhere, and Ocean Life.4-disc collection includes eight episodes and 120 minutes of bonus material. Full screen, region 0 encoded, audio 2.0

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Spongebob Squarepants - Where's Gary? (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)The episodes in this DVD are rare. Let me tell you a bit about the episodes
Have You Seen This Snail? [Double Length Episode]- Spongebob tries to beat a paddleball record and forgets to feed Gary for a couple of days. Gary runs away and is taken in by an elderly woman. Gary is loved and cared by the woman. but the problem is she keeps feeding Gary! Can Gary make it out before he explodes?
The Lost Matress- Mr. Krabs has a lumpy matress so Squidward, Spongebob and Patrick give him a new one. Unfortunately, that was where Mr. Krabs hid his money!
Krabs vs. Plankton- Plankton slips at the Krusty Krab and sues Mr. Krabs. If Plankton wins in the court, he may take everything Krabs own including the Krabby Patty formula!
Skill Crane- squidward becomes obsessed by winning a teddy bear. But the problem is Spongebob is only the winner. So Spongebob teaches him the secret. Squidward becomes the winner. Squidward is very excited that he starts to ruin Bikini Bottom!
Good Neighbors- squidward is elected as Good Neighbor President. The problem is Sponhebob and Patrick won't leave him alone. later, Squidward buys a machine that can destroy any intruders. When the machine breaks, Squidward's house comes to life and demolishes Bikini Bottom!
The Great Snail Race- Squidward and Spongebob enter their snails to see who's the winner. Unfortunately, none of them is the winner but it is Patrick!

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This SpongeBob SquarePants release features "Where's Gary?" Spongebob's first ever double length episode. The DVD also features 5 additional episodes.

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The Diary of a Nobody (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Mr. Charles Pooter, the diary author in "THE DIARY OF A NOBODY", is a nobody, but he simply fails to notice. He is content with life, almost. He presents his diary in a verbal (in this DVD)format, speaking directly to the camera. He most enthusiastically orates about his common middle-class social and family events (the very ones he's written in the diary.) He feels assured the world will eventually enjoy his written diary--when published. Is he the Suburban Snob of 1892? Certainly it's perfected pompousness.
I can not imagine "THE DIARY OF A NOBODY" being as funny without hearing and seeing Pooter (Hugh Bonneville) presenting the diary in dialogue. It's strictly British humor, but at it's Victorian finest. Bonneville's ability to project emotion and expressions is near perfection. Hugh Bonneville can say as much with a lifted eyebrow, an eye roll, a gesture, or a voice change, as what is provided in the script.
In Pooter's written (spoken in this DVD version) accounts, he makes the occasional joke--usually unappreciated by others. A time or two Pooter laughs so hard at his own merriment that he resembles Red Skelton's famous moments of belly-laughing at his own humor.
Pooter loves his 'Home Sweet Home' which is near the rail tracks. He had just moved into the new rental as the diary began, April of 1891. The diary ends in May of 1892. The home is called The Laurels (even though it has no laurels growing, but Pooter and his wife, Carrie, might plant some). It is London, suburbia, Victorian, and the train traffic makes the house quake frequently. But Pooter adjusts. The many views of the 6 or 7 rooms, as well as Pooter's employment location, provides a complete, delightful look at London Victorian living in a middle-class dwelling. Furnished with period pieces and accents, right down to the tea cups and boot scrapper (which is a constant complaint). And the Christmas holiday tops off the Victorian aesthetics. WOW!
So what does Pooter write about? Lupin, the not-so-perfect son and his engagement with a not-so-perfect, older, fatter, uglier, Miss Daisy Mutlar. Spouse spats. His boss, Mr. Perkupp, and Pooter's downns and upps with Perkupp. Social engagements gone afoul or well. Costs, especially with drinks. Stocks, encouraged by his son. Bad lobsters. Friends, Cummings and Gowing, and their comings and goings. And that darn boot scrapper.
The DVD features explained that the term "Pooterism" (taking oneself too seriously) evolved from this work first published in a magazine (1888), then book in 1882 (still in print today), this film via BBC (2007), and now this DVD. The book was written by brothers, George & Weedon Grossmith, biography also in the bonus stuff.
Plus more, but no subtitles--BOOGER!
4 episodes totaling just shy of two hours. In the end my wife and I had enjoyed actor, Hugh Bonneville, as Charles Pooter so much, we finally ceased smiling and laughing. Why? It was over. Sad to see it end.
If you like the subtlety of British comedy, then you'll LOVE this CLASSIC British humor book brought to film/DVD. An astonishing one man show. Listen to Pooter's words, watch him, "For he's the jolly good fellow."

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The British comedy classic adapted by Emmy®-winner Andrew Davies
First published in 1892, The Diary of a Nobody has never been out of print, and Evelyn Waugh (Brideshead Revisited) proclaimed it "the funniest book in the world." As adapted by award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice), this comic masterpiece leaps to life in all its quirky glory.
In a fantastic solo performance, Hugh Bonneville (Iris, Daniel Deronda) perfectly captures the small mind and large aspirations of Mr. Charles Pooter, a middle-aged, middle-class city clerk in late Victorian England who chronicles his daily domestic and social frustrations. Home improvements, petty humiliations, accidents involving an iron boot scraper, tiffs with his wife Carrie, pained encounters with their mildly rebellious son Lupin, visits from friends Mr. Cummings and Mr. Gowing: all are reported by the pompous Pooter in hilarious detail.
"I fail to see--because I do not happen to be a \'Somebody\'--why my diary should not be interesting," Mr. Pooter writes. No blogger ever said it better.
DVD FEATURES INCLUDE biography of authors George and Weedon Grossmith and Hugh Bonneville filmography.

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A Dog Year (2009) Review

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Sesame Street: Elmo and the Bookaneers (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I thought this would be a great DVD with pirates and singing, but it's a lot of on screen reading and my 3 year old gets bored. Tina Fey is entertaining, but kids don't see her as anyone different from the rest of the adults on the movie. The clay pirate short is cute, but for the first 15 minutes, the movie is mostly talking which doesn't capture my child's interest. The giant squid is a cartoon and is only on for a minute or so. I would think this would be better for 5 year olds.

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Everyone loves to read even pirates! The Bookaneers, led by Tina Fey, have come ashore on Sesame Street, and they want to plunder Elmo s bookshelf. When Elmo finds out how much they love to read, he can t wait to become a bookaneer himself. Can he pass the test and help them find their treasure? Bert and Ernie are also on the hunt for treasure in an episode from the fantastic new claymation series Bert and Ernie s Adventures. Plus, you can sing along with Abby in a song about something she treasures: words! In Elmo s World: Books, Elmo invites you to learn all about the books he treasures. Arrr you ready for a reading adventure?

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Midsomer Murders: Barnaby's Casebook (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Imagine Saint Mary Mead. Squared. Then add some extra blood and mayhem.
That about describes the setting of "Midsomer Murders," a morbidly witty British mystery series based on Caroline Graham's novels. And "Midsomer Murders: Barnaby's Casebook" brings together the the next round of seventeen cases in this cozy, dark little county, drawing from the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth seasons of the series. It's a great half'n'half combo of police procedural and cozy mystery.
Snotty society beauty Melissa Townsend is receiving some threatening letters, apparently because of the death of a tenant that stemmed from her neglect. Then she's found stabbed with a syringe filled with animal tranquilizers. Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) starts investigating the murder, especially the possible involvement of Melissa's best friend (and a bit more), a drunk driving case, and secret blackmail. And more murders, of course.
From there on, Barnaby and his assistant, Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey), are forced to investigate all sorts of crimes -- a group of bell-ringers that are being bumped off, a prestigious boarding school with a deadly secret, a farmer's wife's apparent suicide, a vibrant but obnoxious widow's murder, a bizarrely complex murder tied to a mental hospital, a dead body found during an art class, an investor found dead in a river, and an old-as-dirt feud between two halves of a Midsomer town, which may hold the key to a series of deaths on the set of new movie "The House Of Satan."
Then Troy receives a promotion, and does one last case with Barnaby: a gentle recluse in the woods is implicated in the murder of his late tormentor. Enter DS Scott (John Hopkins), a rather cocky new guy who arrives just in time for a deadly class reunion, a Celtic solstice ritual that turns deadly, the death of a barman, a pagan ritual involving a dead curate, and a literary festival disrupted by some seedy goings-on... including murder. Then there's the Christmas special, "Ghosts of Christmas Past" -- Barnaby's holidays are interrupted by a string of deaths in the Villiers family, nine years after aspiring magician Ferdy Villers killed himself.
Honestly, I think Miss Marple would feel right at home in Midsomer County -- such a pretty, homey, sunshiney place, full of kindly spinsters, farmers and aristocrats of varying stripes, from skanky to down-to-earth. The whole thing is set in the various villages in this county, which is picturesque, lush, and full of farms, cute little English villages, opulent manorhouses, and little brick cottages.
So of course, there are gruesome murders, plotting and tawdry secrets hidden in every corner; several spill out in every episode, and only some of them have to do with the main murder (some are red herrings, and some are side crimes). Every now and then they have a dud episode (such as the horrendously preachy "Straw Woman"). But the writers keep a funny edge in the stories, such as Barnaby being confronted by an impending vacation ("Joyce, it looks as if these people are sitting on top of an elephant"), or and some clever dialogue ("Well, gettin' blown up's got to be a bit tragic").
And these cops are pretty believable detectives. John Nettles is absolutely wonderful as the kindly, middle-aged cop with a brain like stainless steel, whose nice sedate family is a relief from all the Midsomer weirdos. And Daniel Casey is solid as his younger, brasher assistant -- and his departure from the show is handled in a believable but touching manner. Hopkins isn't quite as likable as Scott, mainly because Scott is kind of a jerk at first, but he starts fitting in a bit better soon.
Most of the villagers are played by excellent actors as well, no matter how weird their characters are. Slightly loopy historians, crazy old ladies and nasty little schoolboys are only a few, with actors such as Lucy Punch, Hugh Bonneville, Angela Thorne, Amanda Root, and "Lost's" Henry Ian Cusick as a slimy rich boy. And Jane Wymark and Laura Howard round off the cast as Barnaby's very understanding wife and daughter.
"Midsomer Murders: Barnaby's Casebook" is a big, solidly-written chunk of British coziness, with murder and scandal in every episode, and some new transitions for the homicide division.

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As seen on A&E and The Biography ChannelWHAT EVIL LURKS BEYOND THE WELL-TRIMMED HEDGES OF MIDSOMER...The cozy villages of Midsomer County reveal their most sinister secrets in these contemporary British television mysteries. The smash hit series stars John Nettles (Bergerac) as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, a dogged investigator and devoted family man, unflappable in the face of the macabre crimes and eccentric characters he encounters on the job.Inspired by the characters of novelist Caroline Graham, these 17 mysteries see the promotion of Barnaby s earnest assistant, Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey, The Wingless Bird), and the arrival of his brash replacement, Sergeant Dan Scott (John Hopkins, Love in a Cold Climate). Guest stars include Hugh Bonneville, Gemma Jones, Honor Blackman, John Standing, Freddie Jones, Susan Wooldridge, Phoebe Nicholls, Stella Gonet, and Henry Ian Cusick.THE MYSTERIES INCLUDE: Tainted Fruit, Ring Out Your Dead, Murder on St. Malley s Day, Market for Murder, A Worm in the Bud, A Talent for Life, Death and Dreams, Painted in Blood, A Tale of Two Hamlets, Birds of Prey, The Green Man, Bad Tidings, The Fisher King, Sins of Commission, The Maid in Splendour, The Straw Woman, Ghosts of Christmas Past, DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE John Nettles interview, essays by star John Nettles and co-creator Betty Willingale, Midsomer map, production notes, Caroline Graham biography, and cast filmographies.Plus two exclusive bonus discs: Map of Midsomer Murders, a behind-the-scenes documentary hosted by John Nettles, and Super Sleuths, a documentary about the show s first decade. Set contains 19 discs (including bonus programs); approx. 28 hours. Mysteries previously released on DVD as Sets Four, Six, Seven, and Eight, the original U.K. broadcast order.

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Wicked (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)When I went to the video store there was only 1 copy to rent on DVD. No tapes whatsoever. Obviously we're not talking about an A class movie here. Anyhow, it took me about 3 weeks to catch before it was in. Me being a Julia Stiles fan as well as enjoying dark/disturbing films I was fairly enthusiastic about seeing it. When I put the DVD in the machine i wasn't surprised there were little or no special features (filmographies and a few trailers). The movie itself is about a dysfunctional family in which both parents are committing adultery and the eldest daughter, Ellie (played by Stiles), has much tension between her and her mother, Lena. She turns to her father, Ben, for affection, in turn, creating a power struggle with Lena for control over him. The marriage then begins to fall apart. In a heated argument Lena threatens to run off with their two daughters. The next morning while Ben is at work and the daughters at school she is murdered. At this point a detective is introduced and starts a murder/mystery plot; although when I was watching it my attention was more closely tied with the control between Stiles' relationship with her father. She tries to fill the motherly role that's missing from the household. As her father pulls away she acts more and more like his wife. Of course he realizes their relationship can't continue as is and begins seeing his lover (whom he had been with during his marriage) again. As the movie continues you'll find out who killed Lena and add to that a delightful twist in the end. I think most people watch the movie and see a B thriller with poor taste. I'm not surprised as there are a few very controversial elements to it. Even still, I found the cringing moments gutsy and Ellie's development entertaining. You get to watch Ellie start as "daddy's little girl" and turn into an insecure control freak much like her mother was. ...

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WICKED - DVD Movie

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Black Books - The Complete First Series (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Black Books is a charming, absurdist situation comedy series set in a bookshop. "Charming," you ask? "The main character is a nasty, morose, chain-smoking drunk with a neurotic for a best friend and a bearded simpleton for an employee." Ah, but what's what makes it such a gem of writing and acting.
Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey met during the Edinburgh Fringe and were the top two contenders for the Perrier Prize. Moran came out on top, but remembered Bailey a few years later when he was offered his own show. Moran's character of an ill-tempered grouch is matched perfectly by Bailey's good-hearted goof, and their chemistry as Bernard and Manny is what makes Black Books such enjoyable viewing. Tamsin Grieg is a good comic actress, but I found Fran Katzenjammer to be a little grating at times. Her character does develop more in subsequent seasons, so don't discount her performance.
Fans of Father Ted, Spaced, BlackAdder, and Little Britain should adore this show, and if I have to explain that any further then you should go back to watching "According To Jim".
It's rare to find comedies that are as intelligent as funny, and Black Books is a prime example of such shows. Of course it'd never take off in America, but I thought the same thing about The Office. Please, please, please do not remake this as an American sit-com.
For reasons unknown, Comedy Central used to run this early Sunday mornings back in 2001 before dropping it from the roster. I had only caught two episodes before and was distraught at its departure. Cue to last year and its Region 1 release and my frabjous rapture.
Bring on season Two (and Three...)


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Black Books is a second-hand bookshop in London run by an Irishman named Bernard Black. He is probably the planet's worst-suited person to run such an establishment: he makes no effort to sell, closes at strange hours on a whim, is in a perpetual alcoholic stupor, abhors his customers (sometimes physically abusing them) and is often comatose at his desk. Help comes in the lumpy shape of Manny Bianco, a hairy, bumbling individual who (almost by osmosis) becomes Bernard's assistant. Manny is not exactly great at the job either but he is a million times better than Bernard. Next door is Fran, an anxious, frustrated woman who runs a sort of new-age shop selling the most unlikely bits of arty junk. Fran is friends with Bernard and, through him, with Manny; together the trio become embroiled in escapades that are sometimes extreme or violent or fantastically ludicrous, and always bizarre.

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