Red Hot Chili Peppers - Off the Map (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)I wasn't sure what to expect from a RHCP's live performance with John Frusciante back in the lineup. By far my favorite guitar player they've had, I didn't know if he could still play after his drug abuse problems in the years away from the band. Their "Californication" did little to alleviate those fears, his playing and soloing being so sparse and sort of un-practiced sounding. Don't get me wrong. "Californication" is a great album but it's much different from the chops galore "Blood Sugar Sex Magic". (And I don't mean that as a slam-BSSM is a masterwork in no small part due to Frusciante's intricate, interweaving lines throughout).
"Off the Map" put all my doubts to bed. Frusciante plays his [behind] off. Just check out "If You Have to Ask". Shredding, but he's so much more than than just a shredder. Something magical happens when his Strat, through a Wah, hits a Marshall. It's the tone for sure and then his note selection and use of space that really sets him apart from "shredders". I had read recently in a guitar magazine interview that he's trying to change his style, henceforth the new, sparse approach he's used on the last two albums. It's pretty funny to watch actually. When they play the new songs his playing shifts dramatically to the new style he's developing.
And don't let me forget Chad Smith and Flea. They are powerhouses here. Flea's gone from slapmaster (oh, he can still slap!) to improvisor and it suits him well. Chad is like a rock holding John and Flea's improvisations together.
This is a fun and inspiring dvd. The only reason I don't give it a 5 star review is because it does falter here and there. But that's what you get when your live show isn't prerecorded canned [stuff] and you take musical risks. That where the fun happens with these guys.

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Off the Map is the first concert home video since 1991 from one of rock's greatest live experiences, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Off the Map is also the band's first concert DVD--the only way to witness the funk-funk-rockmetal-rap musical orgy of one of today's most popular bands. Songs: Around The World, Give It Away, Usually Just a T-Shirt #3, Scar Tissue, Suck My Kiss, If You Have to Ask, Subterranean Homesick Blues, Otherside, Blackeyed Blonde, Pea, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Easily, What Is Soul?, Fire, Californication, Right On Time, Under The Bridge, Me And My Friends.

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Tom Brown's Schooldays (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Tom Brown's Schooldays" was originally published in 1857. Thomas Hughes had attended Rugby School, an English public school for boys from 1834 to 1842, but it seems the title character was based on his older brother George. The book is considered the first in the genre of school novels, spawning a host of imitations during the Victorian era, the most successful of which would be the Harry Potter novels of the 21st century. The BBC did a mini-series version of "Tom Brown's Schooldays" in 1972, where as this 2005 television adaptation by ITV runs only 93 minutes. I was going to say that this was by far the shortest BBC literary adaptation I had ever seen, but it turns out it was by ITV.
The relative short length of this production is especially interesting since it omits the chapters at the start of the novel dealing with the childhood of Tom Brown in his home in the Vale of White Horse. There young Tom spends days riding his pony and leading a happy, carefree existence, before being sent to the living hell of his schooldays. Instead, the script by Ashley Pharoah takes the two major stories that make up the actual school days, Tom being bullied by Flashman and Tom being told by Dr. Arnold to look after young George Arthur, and weaves them together instead of having them comprise separate parts of the story. So in this version Tom Brown (Alex Pettyfer) shows up at Rugby School and immediately becomes the target for the bullying Flashman (Joseph Beattie, and, yes, this is the character that George MacDonald Fraser made the "hero" of his "Flashman" historical novels). Meanwhile, headmaster Dr. Thomas Arnold (Stephen Fry) is trying to reform the rowdy school into a more Christian place, insisting that he will take the students at their word, just like he would a grown man, a policy that Flashman will sorely put to the test.
The conflict between Tom and Flashman is at the heart of this version, featuring an escalation of effronteries by the older boy that exceed what is in the novel. Flashman's big crime in the novel was to get exceedingly drunk, and Pharoah's script comes up with bigger and badder things in this version to expedite the villain's demise. The problem is that while I like the way the script makes Flashman's bullying a lot more threatening to a contemporary audience, the twist regarding George Arthur (Harry Smith) changes the ending way too much. Instead of thinking of the lessons that young Tom Brown has learned from his schooldays, I am watching the final credits wondering if this is supposed to be an implicit rejection of George Arthur's Christian idealism. Just because I appreciated some of the major changes in the story does not mean that I do not think there are certain lines you should not be crossing over, and I have to round down because of the line this one crosses at the end.
Young Pettyfer does not have to do much as Tom beyond reacting to the indignities heaped upon him by Flashman and the others and coming to the defense of Tadpole (Dane Carter) and other younger classmates who are the prey of the older bullies. Beattie plays Flashman with great relish, both when he is bullying the little boys and when he lies right to the face of Dr. Arnold. The key performance is that of Fry, who does a nice job of playing restrained anger when he finally lowers the boom on Flashman. My favorite scene is when the good doctor learns a lesson in irony as to what happens when you believe a liar and do not believe someone who is telling you the truth. But primarily "Tom Brown's Schooldays" is about a bully getting what is coming to him, and I hope the kid who terrorized my life when I was the same age as Tom got his own comeuppance sooner or later. At the very least, I would like to believe that Hughes is completely right on that score.

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This new adaptation of Thomas Hughes' famous novel tells the tale of a young boy's courage in the face of vicious bullying. Set in Rugby Public School during the mid-1800s, the eponymous Tom transforms from timid, homesick schoolboy to courageous student as he learns to confront his fears, stand up for his friends, and hurdle the obstacles of adolescence.

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The Little Vampire (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Witty, well-acted kids flick that parents will enjoy as well.
A very winning cast, great location, superb kids' story to work with, good production make for some campy scariness for kids with entertainment for mom and dad as well. Charming little movie that appeals to the kid in all of us.The predicament of the cows really did make me laugh out loud.
The acting by one and all was excellent, especially Richard E. Grant as the head of the vampire family. He brought a non-threatening, yet nerve wracking (well, for kids, anyway) presence to the movie. His charming powers over Mrs. Thompson were hysterical, and the entire cast did very well with this movie.
One for the kids that mom and dad will enjoy sitting through, which is a rarity anymore, except for the likes of Shrek.
Oh, and I can't omit Rollo Weeks, as The Little Vampire himself. He was so charming, so perfectly nailed the role of Rudolph. As well as the role for arguably the cutest kid in movies, Jonathan Lipnicki, as Tony Thompson. The crush Anna had on him was acted out adorably by Anna Popplewell, as well. There was just great acting all around in The Little Vampire.
A job well done by all involved. Entertaining, campy, scary enough for the little ones without freaking them out even slightly, and still entertaining for the adults.


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Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire, Stuart Little) stars as 9-year-old Tony who befriends a young vampire named Rudolph who asks Tony to help him find an ancient amulet that will grant Rudolph and his family their ultimate wish ... to be human again.DVD Features:DVD ROM Features:Original theatrical website; Ability to jump from the script to the scene in the movieFull Screen Version:Widescreen and fullscreen versions of the filmInteractive MenusOther:Three interactive kid-friendly games; Hilarious vampire and monster jokes; Easy-to-make recipes for spooky snacks; 5.1 Surround Sound and 2.0 Stereo SoundScene AccessScreen Saver:Cool flying vampire cow screensaver

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Lights and Ladders (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)My nephew is 5, and he loves this series so much that we had to have a Mighty Machines themed birthday party! I bought him this DVD back in May, and we've since collected 2 other titles. It's greally great value--90 minutes long at such a great price. I definitely recommend this video!

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It takes a lot of work to keep the city running, but these tough machines are on the job!Explore a real fire truck and see how it works.Find out where the garbage goes, and watch enormous tractors roll it into place.Follow street sweepers and tall tree trimmers as they keep the city clean and green.It's off to work we go!

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Never Back Down (Single-Disc Edition) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just got back from seeing Never Back Down and I have to say this movie was awesome! I really was not expecting much and figured this would be a Fight Club rip off. After watching it it was nothing like I expected and I ended up being really entertained and got in to the whole story. Sean Faris plays Jake Tyler a high school football player, who is dealing with the guilt of his fathers death. When his mom moves the family to Orlando Jakes fighting and angry past follow him. He meets a girl named Baja who is being used by her boyfriend Ryan to get Jake to fight him. Baja lures Jake to a party only to have Ryan beat him up pretty badly. After being humiliated Jake takes his friend Max's advice to learn a mixed-martial from a man named Jean Roqua. He will not only learn valuable lessons and discipline to deal with his angry past, but also to settle a score and define himself. In the tradition of Fight Club, The Peaceful Warrior and a bit of inspiration from The Fast and The Furious movies Never Back Down is one action packed rush!

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Genre: Feature Film-Action/AdventureRating: UNRelease Date: 29-JUL-2008Media Type: DVD

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Diggers and Dozers (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have a 3 year old nephew who cannot get enough of this DVD. He claps when the dynamite goes off and names off every machine as they come on the screen - I highly reccomend this for any preschooler.

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Building, blasting and crushing!It's all in a day's work for front-end loaders, diggers and dozers!Huge shovels dig foundations, a towering crane builds a skyscraper, dynamite sends a smokestack crumbling to the ground, and a colossal crusher grinds up rock.So grab your hard hat, and let's get rollin' !

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Sex Education: Pesky Puberty DVD (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)This DVD is amazing simply for the irony value.
Remember those crazy sex education videos they showed you in high school. That's what these are.
The tracks get more and more ironic as they go on. What I did with the DVD was put it on in the background at a party and as we got more wasted we just could not stop watching it and cracking up.
I think the funniest is when they tell the girls not to kiss boys or they will get pregnant and have to quit school. We howled with laughter.
I could easily see these things played in the background at a hip club or something.

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This DVD is a good reminder that while attitudes towards teenagers and sex have changed with the times, the cold hard facts of life and sex have stayed the same. No matter what age we live in, teenagers are going to go through some very confusing and embarrassing changes and adults are going to have to find a way to help them understand what is going on with their hormones and their bodies.All of the films on this DVD were shot around the 1950s and are remarkably straightforward. We often think of the 1950s as an era that was very conservative when it comes to sex, but these films make the case that when they had to be parents and teachers could be pretty direct on the subject.That isn’t to say that some of the clips are not amusing when looked at through the lens of time. The opening clip starts out talking about white wedding dresses and then descends, for example, into a conversation about menstruation. That said, other clips on this disk pull no punches. It’s definitely worth a look at all of the films as they are in very good condition.

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Billy Elliot (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Beginning with an exuberant title sequence, this charming, offbeat, coming-of-age story revolves around Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell), the younger of two sons of a widower coal miner (Gary Lewis) near Newcastle in Northern England. It's 1984, and the National Union of Mine Workers is engaged in a long, bitter strike, marked by street battles with riot police and protests against the busloads of scabs crossing the picket lines.
Following the family tradition, Billy is expected to learn boxing at the Everington Boys Club where, instead, the 11 year-old becomes enthralled by the girls' dancing class, led by a chain-smoking teacher (Julie Walters) who soon recognizes his raw talent. He loves watching Fred Astaire in old movies and is instantly drawn towards the ballet class, but when his macho father and rabble-rousing brother (Jamie Draven) discover he's taking ballet classes, they ridicule Billy - "Lads do boxing and football and wrestling, not friggin' ballet!" - forcing him to hide his slippers under the mattress and sneak off to class. Then come the auditions for the Royal Ballet School and Billy's defiantly joyful, foot-stompin' "I Want to Boogie" sequence.
What makes this heartfelt English import such a gem is the collaboration of screenwriter Lee Hall, cinematographer Brian Tufano ("Trainspotting") and former stage director Stephen Daldry ("An Inspector Calls"), who - despite the simplistic predictability of the plot - create eccentric, lovable characters and evocative imagery. One haunting sequences focuses on a little neighborhood girl dragging a stick along a brick wall, which dissolves into a phalanx of plastic police shields. Another involves the father grimly chopping up Billy's mother's beloved piano for needed firewood. While some of the authentic, heavily accented dialogue may be indecipherable to some, the musical soundtrack, combining classical and pop, is terrific.
In the title role, newcomer Jamie Bell embodies awkward determination, juggling grim reality with a surreal fantasy world, explaining, "Just because I like ballet doesn't mean I'm a pouf!" As Billy's father, Gary Lewis ("My Name is Joe") is tough-yet-tender, and Julie Walters ("Educating Rita") scores as Billy's crusty yet compassionate teacher. ("I feel like a sissy," Billy tells her. "Well, don't act like one," she retorts.) Jamie Draven and Stuart Wells lend strong support. Jean Heywood is touching as Billy's senile grandmother, whom he tenderly cares for and who repeatedly recalls, "I could have been a professional dancer."
While the bleak setting, in the 1984 miners' strike in northeastern England, is reminiscent of "The Full Monty," the energetic mood evokes "Flashdance" - and it was a bit hit at both the Toronto and Cannes Film Festivals. On the `Lund Movie Scale' of 1 to 10, "Billy Elliot" is an exhilarating 9. Combining comedy and poignancy, it's all about being able to express yourself.

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BILLY ELLIOT - DVD Movie

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Entourage: First Season -Disc 1&2 episodes 1-8 (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Fame, fortune, luxury, and letting it all go to your head; agents, managers, publicists, and everyone else that will lie, cheat, or steal to get a piece of you; and remembering your real friends. These are all key ingredients that make "Entourage" thoroughly entertaining, as well as freighting when you think about how it's based on reality.
I take the show as a cautionary tale; the entertainment industry is where I have just barely started to get my feet wet. There is a lot of truth in this fictional show: either everyone wants a piece of you or no one knows your name and can't spare a minute of their time. From my limited time spent dealing with people of the industry, on either coast, I have already found more jerks and egos-out-of-control than I care to recount. "Entourage" does an excellent job of exposing the dangers of the L.A. lifestyle, while simultaneously managing to present them in a thoroughly enjoyable manner.
The superficial world that is the entertainment business is navigated successfully through the four different personalities that make up the entourage. The four personalities of the Rising Star, Has-Been, Bum, and Level-headed Average Guy balance out the cast and provide a character for everyone to enjoy or relate to. Their friendship and their dependence on each other make the characters a success, as well as a success in the world of the show.
Jeremy Piven's role as agent to rising star, Vincent Chase, is thoroughly entertaining as well as aggravating. He's not quite the villain, but the perfect embodiment of the guy you don't want working against you. His quick one-liners and perfect delivery make it a joy to watch the show, whereas a real-life encounter with a guy such as him would probably make you want to deck him.
"Entourage" is rife with inside jokes, but not enough to lose the average viewer. Instead, the average viewer might just see the show as a bunch of losers whining about the good life and living high off the hog without really working. I enjoy it, but it's certainly not for everybody. I see it as another example of why I don't, and never want to, live in Los Angeles.
Show business is unlike any other business: they work by their own rules and decide who to let into their little clique. It's about as safe as sleeping in a pit full of vipers, but our glimpse at what it's like to live on top is good a one.

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ENTOURAGE:COMPLETE FIRST SEASON - DVD Movie

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Jumping Ship (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)I admit to it, I watch the Disney Channel more than MTV. The Disney Channel isn't only for little children, but they have movies AIMED for a teen audience.
Jumping Ship is a great follow up to Horse Sense. A little more excitement in it, not to mention all 3 Lawrence brothers. The plot is great, not predictable and the shooting location is absouletly beautiful.
A vacations starts out great, until Michael is pickpocketed. After a group of 3 pirates sees how much money he is really worth, they are out to collect ransom and "throw them to the sharks." Now the 3 boys are stuck on an island with 3 pirates on their tails. Now only a coin and a brave move can save them...
:) Watch the movie, it's worth it.

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Joseph, Matthew, and Andrew Lawrence (TV's BROTHERLY LOVE) star in this thrilling, action-packed sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie HORSE SENSE. It's first-class adventure on the high seas for Michael Woods (Joseph Lawrence) and his cousin (Andrew Lawrence) when they charter a private yacht for a fun-filled cruise off the coast of Australia. But the yacht turns out to be a broken-down fishing boat complete with rusting hull! When they find themselves being chased by modern-day pirates, they decide that JUMPING SHIP with the boat's captain, Jake Hunter (Matthew Lawrence), is the only option. Stranded on a desert island without any conveniences from home, these three castaways must work together as a team if they hope to survive and be rescued.

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