The Postman Cometh

Better than season one!
I've just finished watching the first side of disk one(there are three two sided disks just as in season one.) which contains the first six episodes of season two plus creator Sherwood Schwartz commentating on the episode "The Little Dictator". The color is fantastic as is the sound. The picture is so clear that you'd swear you were watching the shows in their original run. Much clearer and much more colorful than the syndicated television versions, and best of all, UNEDITED! syndication chops off probably 5 to 8 minutes of each episode. Unfortuneatley, there isn't much for bonus features, but just having each episode unedited in great color and clarity is more than enough, with a great price to boot.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The episode where Gilligan dreams that he is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde actually would be number 81 "And Then There Were None". Such it will be featured on the upcoming DVD set featuring the complete third season. There is nothing missing here at all. The 32 original episodes from the show's second year are there in all their technicolorical glory!

Just Sit Right Back And You'll Hear A Tale
The first thing that struck me while watching "Gilligan's Island" on DVD was the sharpness of the images and the vibrancy of the colors. After a hit and miss first season, the castaways really came into their own in the second season. For an uncharted, deserted island, they had an amazing number of visitors. The island was visited by four native tribesmen, an exiled dictator, two Russian cosmonauts, a sixties rock group called the Mosquitoes, female tycoon Erika Tiffany Smith, a robot, a lion, a Mr. Howell impostor, a secret agent dressed up as a ghost, and a mad scientist. The episode with the mad scientist is my favorite.

Dr. Boris Balinkoff (Vito Scotti) takes the castaways to his island castle where, with the help of Igor (Mike Mazurki), they perform experiments on them. The Doctor takes the brain of one person and puts it into the body of another person. He makes a mistake by putting Ginger's brain into Igor's body, because Igor breaks the chains holding the...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Home Run Showdown

Great Family Movie
This is a great family movie! Not sure why it didn't get a wider theater release! Story was sweet, the kid actors are incredible! Especially Kyle Thomas, he's a very cute kid and his potrayal is tender and sweet! Very convincing. I will definitely be giving this as a gift this Christmas!!
Highly recommend!

A Great Movie!
This was a fun family movie that reminds me some of the bad news bears (at least in some ways), but really is a story of determination to overcome adversity not only for the character of Lorenzo, but also for Joey DeLuca. Both have a journey that as a viewer of the movie you get to see and experience and it is through this journey that they grow and learn. The movie was fun, but also had a number of meaningful messages within it that brought out some great conversations within my home after we watched it as a family, and it can do the same for your own family. Good acting and character development throughout, which led to a movie that I am proud to have shared with the family!

Good Movie
I enjoyed the movie,but, i wish they had explaned more of why Michelle was so overprotective over her son.
But, for me, its rated PG-13, there was language not just by some of the adults, but the kids as well. But, with that being said, i did enjoy the movie, but, its in the spirit of Badnews Bears and Mighty Ducks, so, it would be better for older kids.

Click to Editorial Reviews

Journey To Grace: The Hansie Cronje Story

Great movie for the whole family!
This is a great story of the struggles we can face in life, how we can fall and the grace of God that redeems us so freely. Not knowing Hansie Cronje's story before I watched this, there were twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Very good actors, I thought, in a believable story. Definately recommend.

Great Movie
I love it when someone learns from their mistakes rather than allowing it to destroy them. great story and wonderful that it is true too.

WOW!
This was an excellent movie - the documentary section was every bit as good as the movie.
Very informative about the characters in the movie

Click to Editorial Reviews

Hide Away

"ONE DISTRAUGHT MAN FINDS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!"
A heartwarming and emotional story of one man who is a successful businessman, yet on the inside he's shattered glass! An intriguing story about his life, and how he finds passion to survive the pain and suffering of his past. He attempts to resurrect his life by purchasing a sailboat. Although disturbed by nightmares and continued to be haunted about his past, he finds a beacon of hope through repairing his boat as he repairs the broken pieces of himself. Packed with drama throughout, Enjoyable, Great acting performance and Inspiring. Highly Recommended!

A Year In Mourning: Rebuilding A Boat As A Metaphor For Life
None of the characters say very much in the mournful, but picturesque, indie "Hide Away" but when they do they're likely to quote from Homer's "The Odyssey" and Longfellow's "The Children's Hour." While poetic, it lends this slight picture an air of pomposity that doesn't serve the film's more simple themes. "Hide Away," in truth, isn't much of a movie. It is more of a mood, a sullen atmospheric experience that is pretty to look at but doesn't amount to much in the end. Luckily, the film stars Josh Lucas. An interesting and underrated actor, Lucas is generally fascinating to watch and his participation in "Hide Away" almost makes it a satisfying experience. As a minor character study, the film gains some traction. But the experience reads like an introspective short story about mourning and even at only 88 minutes, the film feels overlong.

Originally titled "A Year in Mooring," that tells you everything you need to know about the film plotwise. A man spends a year...

Josh Lucas haunting in skillfully crafted, dark night of soul
Give yourself plenty of unrushed time on this one. Lucas's performance is gripping as a man drowning in the extremes of surviving that which does not seem survivable. The haunting ways life finds motivation to take care of itself. Loved the extremes, the remoteness of location, the way small but critical kindnesses appeared when needed. Profoundly moving moments....Dialogues short, terse, dry witted or just without pretense. Much is revealed...unhurridly. Locals prod gently, carrying their own deeply complicated histories in wise respectful silence. Select, superb cast. Found myself longing for more repairing scenes, juxtaposing the discipline of restoration with patching human abysses. Lucas elevated this story to award winning levels. Director Peter Vanderwall is masterful with mostly nonverbal, primal survival scenes. Hide Away is a rare treasure of a film.

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Dictator - BANNED & UNRATED Version (Two-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

LOL
First of all, I dont see why so many people have given this a bad review... You must know what you are getting into before you watch it. Obviously there will be racy situations, poor judgement, awkward moments, and be offensive. This movie is hilarious (to me) All you people who got offended watching to movie why didn't you just turn it off? Every time I go to the theater to watch one of his movies people always are walking out... I ask myself, why the heck did you come in the first place? Seriously, this movie is not for the easily offended.

"Are you having a boy or an abortion?"
Sacha Baron Cohen does a great acting job in his latest film, "The Dictator." The gags are mostly good and although some are tacky and racist (with a few being crude) it still held my attention on a very rough day for me because it works as a parody of dictatorships. There is little about the plot and the film that I can add to the reviews already posted here; but I can certainly vouch for other reviewers who write that the film is actually pretty good entertainment, a parody and nothing truly offensive even if Sacha Baron Cohen is very daring when it comes to topics for jokes and gags.

The plot is not terribly deep; but it moves along well and you shouldn't get bored. Sacha Baron Cohen (who plays the brutal dictator of the fictional, northern African country named Wadiya) surrounds himself with excellent actors all turning in convincing performances that make the film even funnier. Sir Ben Kingsley plays Tamir, the rightful heir to the dictatorship occupied by his...

Soo funny and satirical!
For what it was, it was hilarious! A complete satire on terrorism and dictatorships. I feel this is a very underated movie and Sacha Baron Cohen has once again proved his comedic genius. This is one for the ages and will go down in history, like Dr. Strangelove. As for all the bad ratings, what can you say, true greatness is often misunderstood by the masses. Artistic Genius!

Click to Editorial Reviews

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation

Great Movie, Terrible TV Quality
First off, I wanna say if I were just rating this movie alone it would be five stars. I grew up watching it as a kid and loved it. Especially Plucky's story line. It is pure classic 90's silver animation.

However, who else noticed how lazy they were with this DVD? It looks like a thirteen-year-old burnt it on his laptop. The menus are obviously templates and the themes have nothing to do with 'Tiny Toons' or Warner Bros. at all (except for the main menu). I expected the movie quality to be bad since it was converted from tape just like the episodes. But damn, it looks worse than it did on VHS. Hopefully no one who buys this will be watching it on a big screen. Your eyes may bleed.

Regardless, I'm glad it's out on DVD. I just wish they would have spent a little more time cleaning it up. 90's TV animation gets no respect in regards to video quality.

About time!
This was one of the best direct-to-video releases I can remember...however, that was 21 years ago. Lots of the jokes (Roseanne Barr singing the national anthem comes to mind) aren't going to register with new, younger viewers. Most of the movie should hold up well enough, though, that's it's worth purchasing. The DVD cover, however, is rather unfortunate. It's not an accurate portrayal of anything that happens in the film plus it would make the movie appear more juvenile than it actually is (there are several instances of more adult humor in this movie, although they should sail right over most younger kids' heads). But it's a very funny movie with very good animation made when a very good early 1990s animated franchise was doing some of its best work.

It's GRAINY!
This is a 5 star movie, don't get me wrong! My kids (12, 1 and 1) LOVE IT! I used to watch this as a kid and I love it too. However, I got this in the mail today, put it on and it looks AWFUL! It is not even a bit remastered, the Tiny Toons series looks better than this! Very grainy and the colors are dull! I own A LOT of TV cartoons and this is by far the worst quality DVD I own! I watched this on a 63" LCD, 42" plasma and a 32" LCD TV - the movie was equally bad on all 3 screens. I am so disappointed!!! The copy on YouTube looks similar, and it's free. I should have waited for it to drop in price, I am really upset I spent $13 on this! Great movie, but not worth the price the way it looks. The DVD deserves one star, the movie 5... I gave it 3.

___________

UPDATING to add that I have decided to return this. Only adults handle disks at our house (very carefully may I add) and somehow this disk has started to freeze. It froze about 24 minutes into the movie and I...

Click to Editorial Reviews

The Aristocats

The approach Disney seems to have forgotten
Considering Disney's recent track record, it would appear that they think the average kid is maturing faster than before. Thus, they seem to put out movies that are dark and inappropriate for the average kid. The only exceptions to this trend are the wonderful Toy Story movies and A Bug's Life. Flash back a decade or two, and you'll find a different Disney, a Disney that made movies everybody could enjoy. Aristocats comes from that era. True the animation from this decade is weak, and the story loses a few points in some areas. The villain is also quite tame. All of that, however, disappears under the movie's charm, upbeat attitude, and general fun. It's certainly more fun than Hercules. People looking for something intense should avoid this. Families with small children and those who love adorable cats will love this movie. From this era, I also recommend Robin Hood. As I've said before, you just can't beat old school Disney.

Wonderful film!
I'm so glad that Disney made this film. I much prefer the more innocent Disney movies of the past. Movies like Lady and the Tramp and The Aristocats are truly fun, wholesome entertainment. Don't get me started on the new Disney films which are way too interested in pushing hit pop songs and attracting adults with more action, violence, and suggestive dialogue. I know things can't stay the same so I'm glad we have this film from a more innocent era. I particularly like the fact that the pacing is relaxed and the villain is not very scary. I'm always looking for what I call "calm" movies and videos for my 2 and a half year old. I don't want him seeing frightening or fast-paced images. Lady and the Tramp and Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas are other great shows for young viewers. Unlike the sterile environment of the Teletubbies, these movies are full of wonderful images and interesting music. I find the backdrop drawings extremely interesting and stylized...

Fine Family Fun, but: All Reviews for Previous Editions Lumped Together
There are over a hundred reviews for The Aristocats as of this date. They all refer to the previous edition (Disney Gold Classic Edition or whatever they called it years ago when it first came out on dvd).
So now we will have those reviews mixed up with new reviews for the Feb 5, 2008 version which offers more extras and a different aspect ratio. This may make things a bit confusing.

Moving on...
People compare this film to 101 Dalmations. This is Disney's "cat" movie, they say. You can't compare them; they're too similiar somehow.
But they are both decent, cute family films.
Yes, Cruella is scary compared to the bumbling butler Edgar. There is a sense of jeopardy but Dalmations is much stronger in that sense.
Both films were made using the 1960's Xerox method where the resulting animation is more sketchy looking and more close to the original animator's drawings.
The Aristocats is more of a musical, definitely. A few forgettable songs, but...

Click to Editorial Reviews