Child Star - The Shirley Temple Story (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)When this movie was first played on TV, I was so excited because I have been a major Shirley fan since I was 9(I'm now 21) but when I was watched I was highly dissapointed. The story is supposed to be based on Shirley Temple Black's autobiography "Child Star" and I only saw a handful of items that were actually taken from the book, the rest of it was just fluff. Plus they didn't go past Shirley's early teens when the book covers up until after she marries her second husband. They seemed to only want to focus on the happy aspects of Shirley's life but she and her family were not always so happy go lucky. Ashley Orr is horrific at playing Shirley-first of all she's too old to play 5,6,7 and even 8 year old Shirley and she was too sticky sweet, I know Shirley was too but not that sweet. I would have actually given this movie 0 stars if I had the option, it was horrible. So if you want to know the real story find her book "Child Star" and if you want to see the real Shirley work her magic on the screen go find any of her movies and stay away from this one.
"Bright eyes" , "Heidi" , and "Poor Little Rich Girl" are good movies to start off with.

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Warner Bros. and the Homefront Collection (Irving Berlin's This Is the Army / Thank Your Lucky Stars / Hollywood Canteen) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)These are three musical comedies from the WWII era. It's been some time since I've seen "This is the Army". I've seen the other two pretty recently. I intersperse the press releases with my own remarks.
This is the Army (1942)
Press release:
Irving Berlin showed his abiding love for his adopted country with, among other cultural accomplishments, decades of Broadway hits, the unofficial national anthem "God Bless America" and the World War II spirit-lifter This Is the Army. On stage it featured 350 real-life GIs, giving their singing-and- dancing all to raise nearly $2 million (then an astronomical sum) for Army Emergency Relief.
My remarks:
Irving Berlin actually sings in this one - and not too well. According to one story, after Berlin sang "Oh How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning", one stagehand was overheard saying to another, "If the guy who wrote that could've heard how this guy just sang that song, he'd roll over in his grave." I got this story from someone over at imdb, but I can believe it happened. Great music, but a rather weak storyline. However, you have to remember at this point it was early in the war and the outcome was yet unknown. With everything on the line, people needed this kind of escapist entertainment.
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
Press Release:
Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, and Dinah Shore come out to play in the joyous World War II-era Thank Your Lucky Stars. A breezy, behind-the-Hollywood-scenes story about young talents hoping for a big break glitters with specialty numbers featuring Golden Era greats.
My remarks:
The best of the three films in the bunch, this film does something that nothing else on DVD does to my knowledge - gives us a large dose of Eddie Cantor. Eddie Cantor insists upon being chairman of the Cavalcade of Stars benefit show, in return for the use of his vocalist, Dinah Shore. Eddie keeps disrupting the show and insisting on doing things his way. To complicate matters, there is a certain cab driver who very closely resembles Eddie. In fact, he can't get hired as an actor because of the close resemblance. Eddie does a great job of playing both roles. Other stars performing in the film as themselves include Olivia De Havilland, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan, and Jack Carson.
Hollywood Canteen (1944)
The real Hollywood Canteen was the invention of John Garfield and Bette Davis. It was a place where the stars did not only the performing but also waited on the troops. This is a light romantic tale involving a couple of soldiers spending three nights at the Canteen before they must return to duty. As with the other movies, the main reason to watch is the great entertainment provided by the Warner stars.
BONUS FEATURES
New Warner at War Documentary
Star/Historian Commentary
Outtake Song and Restored Overture
Exit Music on Irving Berlin's This is the Army
PLUS - On All Three: Warner NIght at the Movies:
Gallery of Music/Patriotic Shorts
Cartoons
Newsreels
Trailers
This looks to be a great collection and I'm looking forward to viewing both the movies and the extras.

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Genre: War/MilitaryRating: NRRelease Date: 11-NOV-2008Media Type: DVD

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Two and a Half Men: The Complete Fourth Season (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's good to see that Two and a Half Men - The Complete Fourth Season is coming out on DVD, for (in my personal opinion) it's the best and funniest sitcom series of this decade. As a single father, this viewer can find much to relate to... and laugh about.
For those who haven't had the pleasure of seeing this top-rated series on TV, it's about the lives of two brothers, one of the brother's son, and the many people, especially women, who surround them. When his wimpy younger brother Alan Harper (Jon Crier) becomes separated from his wife and moves out of their house, he has to move in with Charlie, his older brother (played by Charlie Sheen). Alan shares custody of his son Jake (Angus T. Jones), who was 10 when the series began and who stays with them part-time. The "half a man" in the title of this sitcom is in reference to the fact that Jake isn't an adult yet.
Charlie Harper is a successful bachelor with a house on Malibu Beach, a Mercedes in the garage and an easy way with women. His easygoing, often hedonistic single lifestyle is interrupted when his tightly-wound brother, Alan (a chiropractor), and Alan's son, Jake , move in with him. Alan's hung-up ex-wife Judith (Marin Hinkle) frequently makes matters worse, as does the brothers' narcissistic mother, Evelyn (Holland Taylor), whose wide-ranging sex life is a recurring gag throughout the series. The brothers' housekeeper Berta (Conchata Ferrell) is unapologetically sarcastic, and often has the best one-liners, trading insults with Charlie referring to Alan as "Zippy." Their household can't function without her.
There are a number of other series regulars, but in this viewer's opinion, Charlie's wacky neighbor and female stalker Rose (Melanie Lynskey) is one of the best. She has a habit of popping over Charlie's deck railing and sometimes enter his house at inopportune moments. It's alluded that she had a one night stand with Charlie shortly before the show started, which she believed to be more significant than he did. Rose's father Harvey is played by Martin Sheen, and in one episode he asks Charlie of his intentions with his daughter. At one point Harvey meets Charlie and Alan's mother and has an affair with her, and popping in and stalking her just like his daughter does with Charlie.
It should be said that this series and its actors have won a number of Emmy Awards and nominations. Those who are familiar with it can well understand why. This series is well worth it, and if you do like it, there are other seasons available:
- Two and a Half Men - The Complete First Season
- Two and a Half Men - The Complete Second Season
- Two and a Half Men - The Complete Third Season
And notice that they are all rated at 4+ stars by the reviewers here... my call is that they're all 5-stars. It's one of the best sitcom series... ever!

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Item Name: Two and a Half Men - The Complete Fourth Season; Studio:Warner Home Video

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TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Comedies (Adam's Rib / Woman of the Year / The Philadelphia Story / Bringing Up Baby) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of 27 sets of four movie packs that Warner Home Video plans to release in the next few years. Their purpose is to introduce classic film to people previously unaware of these films via very affordable bare bones versions of these movies. This set has four very good films, all featuring Katharine Hepburn.
Woman of the Year (1941) - The film that introduced Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and sparked a long relationship both on and offscreen. Here Hepburn plays an early feminist who goes around collecting causes. Spencer Tracy is the sportswriter that loves her. They marry, but things go downhill quickly since Kate is really already married to her causes.
Adam's Rib (1951) - Ten years have passed and Hepburn and Tracy have aged a bit, but the spark and the chemistry is still there. This time the pair are married lawyers. He is a prosecutor and she a defense attorney. Problems arise when Hepburn defends a woman who shot her husband when she caught him cheating on her and Tracy is the prosecuting attorney in the same case.
Bringing Up Baby (1938) - One of the original screwball comedies. Stars Cary Grant as an anthropologist who gets mixed up with a very dizzy young woman played by Hepburn. The plot involves a tame leopard - Baby - and a dinosaur bone buried by a dog - the exact whereabouts are unknown.
The Philadelphia Story (1940) - Reteams Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant as a divorced pair of socialites. Hepburn's character is about to marry a man of the people who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, and also happens to be one of the most annoying people who has ever lived. James Stewart oddly won a Best Actor award for what is essentially a supporting role. It is especially odd when you think about all of the other great performances in which he was the undisputed lead and he wasn't even nominated.
The only drawback to this set is that - if you want all the extras - you might want to consider Classic Comedies Collection (Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story Two-Disc Special Edition / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be) in the case of Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. Hepburn and Tracy fans might want to consider The Hepburn & Tracy Signature Collection (Woman of the Year / Pat and Mike / Adam's Rib / The Spencer Tracy Legacy). However, both of these sets are considerably more expensive than this basic four-pack, and low cost is really the point of this set in the first place.

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THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Best Actor Academy Award winner James Stewart star in the tale of a faultfinding, bride-to-be socialite who gets her come-uppance. George Cukor directs this screen pinnacle of sophisticated romantic comedy.BRINGING UP BABY When scatterbrained heiress Katharine Hepburn meets mild-mannered museum curator Cary Grant, the results are riotous. Howard Hawks directs a giddy romp thats been hailed as the most glorious laughter-inducing movie ever!ADAMS RIB Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play a married prosecutor and defense attorney assigned to the same sensational attempted-murder trial in this clever courtroom battle of the sexes. Judy Holliday co-stars and George Cukor directs.WOMAN OF THE YEAR Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn show what chemistry is all about as George Stevens directs this witty Oscar winner about the bumpy romance of a meat-and-potatoes sportswriter and a world-renowned political pundit.

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The Charles Dickens Collection, Vol. 2 (David Copperfield / The Pickwick Papers / The Old Curiosity Shop / Dombey and Son) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Part of Dickens' genius was the ability to enable the reader to FEEL
the time and place of the storyline unfolding, as well as the visualize
the gamut of intriguing characters.
The BBC has, again, done the same for the viewer. Selection of
locations, environments and characters is simply wonderful -- sure to
keep the viewer engrossed, even though the dialogue is uncompromisingly
British.
The only caveat is that the viewer must remember that these are
ADAPTATIONS of Dickens' novels -- and, therefore, there are omissions
and modifications to the originals.
The modifications make it very easy for teachers to determine whether
or not a student has actually read the novel or just enjoyed the DVD!

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These four acclaimed adaptations bring to life the legendary characters, devastating drama, and coarse humor of one of the world's greatest novelists.

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Two and a Half Men: The Complete Second Season (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)For a change, Australia is ahead of USA in this release. I've owned this now for a little while, watched the whole season through, and watched it again. I love it as it's one of the best tv comedy shows out there. There are 24 episodes on these disks and this is the way they pan out.
1 - BACK OFF MARY POPPINS - Charlie's male support group includes lots of Hollywood celebrities like Sean Penn and Elvis Costello - but not Alan.
2 - ENJOY THOSE GARLIC BALLS - Alan is jealous that Judith has a new beau ... and delighted that he may be off the hook for alamony.
3 - A BAG FULL OF JAWEA - Teacher's Pet. Trying to be a good uncle, Charlie romances the teacher who threatened to suspend Jake.
4 - GO GET MOMMY'S BRA - What is Evelyn's bra doing in the back seat of Charlies car? The answer is ... uh...unnerving.
5 - BAD NEWS FROM THE CLINIC? - Charlies falls for a female verson of himself. And man, does she make him look miserable.
6 - THE PRICE OF HEALTHY GUMS IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE - Is Alan a Jekyll and Hyde? A childhood shoplifting story has him convinced there's a "bad Alan" inside.
7 - A KOSHER SLAUGHTERHOUSE OUT IN FONTANA - Charlie and Alan's party for Evelyn turns into an affair to remember... for al the wrong reasons.
8 - FRANKENSTEIN AND THE HORNY VILLAGERS - Confusing love and lust, Alan promptly proposes when he dates a woman who's sexually adventurous.
9 - YES, MONSIGNOR - Charlie's old flame Lisa has everything: beauty, wit, intelligence, charm ... and a brand-new baby.
10- THE SALMON UNDER MY SWEATER - Right 'toon, wrong tune. Jake hates Charlie's theme song for the TV version of his favourite comice book.
11- LAST CHANCE TO SEE THOSE TATTOOS - What a tangled worldwide web we weave. Charlie discovers he's the subject of an unflattering website.
12- A LUNGFUL OF ALAN - A homely girl Charlie and Alan knew in high school visits - and the boys are in for a surprise.
13 - ZEJDZ Z MOICH WLOSOW (GET OFF MY HAIR) - First an earthquake, then a real disaster: With her house quake damaged, Judith moves into Charlie's beach pad.
14- THOSE BIG PINK THINGS WITH COCONUT - Aland tells Evelyn she's no longer welcome at the house. But his mother is, as always, a step ahead of him.
15- SMELL THE UMBRELLA STAND - Vegas, baby! Charlie's attempts to leave for Las Vegas keep coming up snake eyes.
16- CAN YOU EAT HUMAN FLESH WITH WOODEN TEETH? - Faced with a sudden IRS audit, Alan needs someone reliable to take care of Jake. Someone like ... Charlie?
17- WOO-HOO, A HERNIA EXAM! - Back attack. When Charlie injures his back, he refuses chiropractic help from Alan.
18- IT WAS "MAME," MOM - Charlie wants to make a good impression at a gay ad exec's party. So he asks Alan to be his 'date'.
19- A LOW GUTTURAL TONGUE-FLAPPING NOISE - Second best? Alan is attracted to a beautiful woman who once had a fling with Charlie.
20- I ALWAYS WANTED A SHAVED MONKEY - Angry at the women in their lives, Charlie and Alan do the mature thing. They turn on each other.
21- A SYMPATHETIC CROTCH TO CRY ON - The death of Evelyn's second husband Harry, affects everyone in the family differently.
22- THAT OLD HOSE BAG IS MY MOTHER - He's traded his sould for a Porsche. That's what Charlie thinks when Alan accepts a car loan from Evelyn.
23- SQUAB, SQUAB, SQUAB, SQUAB, SQUAB - Bad parenting? The guys are wracked with guilt after leaving Jake with Evelyn for an evening.
24- DOES THIS SMELL FUNNY TO YOU? -Poetic license. Jake's "How I Spent My Weekend" report differs somewhat from reality.
This show is so hilarious. Charlie Sheen does a fantastic job of delivering his lines with perfect comic timing and all the cast members are funny too. Holland Taylor as Evelyn is one of the best, and this show doesn't slow down. it's no wonder they're always nominated for awards. I can't wait to see and own the third season. I love this.

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Welcome back to the Harpers' Malibu beach house, home to one of the funniest TV comedy hits in a long, long time. Bachelor Charlie's trying (but not very hard) to remember the name of the girl currently taking a shower upstairs. And Alan, Charlie's divorced, uptight brother, who's proud to have been named the San Fernando Valley's Chiropractor of the Year. And Jake, Alan's 11-year-old son, who's happiest with a juice box in one hand and the TV remote in the other. After a year of living together, the guys have figured out how two and a half men equal one family. Sort of. But there are plenty of hilariously rough spots along the way. And you'll share them all in this 4-disc collection that includes all 24 episodes of the series' smart and sparkling second season.DVD Features:FeaturetteGag Reel

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Survivor All-Stars - The Complete Season (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Who ever is the genius idiot who decided to put the faces of the people eliminated on the disc they are eliminated? Did anyone ever think that some people may not have watched the show and did NOT want to know who was going to win, which was clear from the order of the faces on each disc? Once you know this the element of surprise is gone forever.. How sad...
Don't look at the pictures on front of every disk if you want surprises. If you don't care then you'll know who exactly get voted off with each disc and worse, you'll know who wins when you see them on the last sole disc.
Otherwise, this show was GREAT!! and therefore gets 4 stars, but really zero stars for ruining the surprises. Fire that putz that decided to blow it for people that have not watched it. Me, one of them.
The only other thing that was pathetic was the commentary by Lex, Kathy and Alicia who spend their valuable audio time on the bonus commentary biggering like teenagers over Boston Rob. Making ridiculous statements that Rob betrayed Lex etc. and that people were lying. Duh!!! The game is about outwitting, betraying, lying, and outsmarting everyone. Their bitterness of not winning makes me sick. What did anyone expect? That they were going to hold hands all the way to the finish line?

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Although these all-stars may be familiar with the show’s premise, a few things have been changed for the show’s eighth season in order to offer some change into the mix.Players were divided into three tribes named Chapera, Saboga and Mogo Mogo, and marooned on separate beaches off the Panama coast where they cope with the most unpredictable weather yet.Promising to be the most manipulative season yet, SURVIVOR: ALL-STARS would not be complete without a little conflict between the players, and this time around, there is plenty of that to go around.. Commentaries on 10 episodes by (variously) Rob Cesternino, Jenna Morasca, Rudy Boesch, Tina Wesson, Lex Van Den Berghe, Alicia Calaway, Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien, Shii Ann Huang, Rupert Boneham, Jenna Lewis, Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano

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Abbott and Costello: The Christmas Show (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Every year, I look forward to new Christmas releases of shows and specials from long ago. This year, I was thrilled to find out that the original Christmas special from Abbott & Costello's Colgate Comedy Hour would be released.
This was long overdue, but worth the wait- it's wonderful. It features a restored, colorized version of the hour long special, as well as the original black and white version, for those who want it just as it was shown. Abbott & Costello's routines are very well timed, as usual. It's fun to see them in a different light, compared to the many Universal monster spin-offs that we all love. Sprinkled in between the acts are original commercials for household items like Palmolive soap, and Colgate toothpaste, and last but not least there are special guest appearances from musical talents such as Margaret Whiting, the Four Pipers, Al Goodman and his orchestra, and other great guests such as Tom and Jerry the acrobats.
The bonus features add a nice touch to this nostalgic release. There are individual Christmas messages promoting the Christmas Seals program from stars like Virginia Mayo, Rosemary Clooney, Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and many more (8 different messages to be exact). These add even more holiday enjoyment, reminding us of those times when issues like tuberculosis were at the forefront of our every day living.
So, when you choose this great vintage treat, sit back, relax and enjoy your Christmas season with two of the funniest men of all time, and Christmas wishes from our very best stars. This is not only a piece of our holiday history, but it's something any family will enjoy, young or old.

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This delightful Christmas special stars the brilliant comedy team of Abbott and Costello as they perform on The Colgate Comedy Hour. The show also features Margaret Whiting, The Nicholas Brothers, Buster Shaver and Olive and Tom and Jerry. Included are skits, singing, dancing and commercials. In color for the first time, digitally re-mastered and restored in high definition, this DVD also includes a newly restored black-and-white version.

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