Though there are certainly many devastatingly sad aspects in the starkly beautiful How to Survive a Plague – the documentary about the early stages of the AIDs epidemic in the U.S. and the origins of ACT Up and TAG – it is also refreshing to see just how more compassionate we have become in this country in comparison. The Oscar-nominated film follows a group of gay men and lesbians…
I came into The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey expecting a fairly solid fantasy film but something that would only be a pale shade of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Director Peter Jackson is able to imbue this introductory Hobbit flick with the same gravitas while establish a considerably different feel to An Unexpected Journey. Lord of the Rings had a number of single-film releases before getting a definitive Blu-Ray…
In a coincidence of sorts, the indie movie Collaborator, about a playwright caught up in his own personal drama actually plays out very much like a play itself, with a keen focus on dialogue helping to ramp up the tension. The lighting in the final, violent scene even comes off like a stage show and you are almost waiting to hear the audience gasp. The small, but very…
It’s not surprising that HBO’s Veep is heavy on DC insider jokes considering it was created by the same team behind the brilliantly funny political movie In the Loop. Thankfully, in a time when approval ratings for politicians are in the basement, it found a big enough audience that the network offered it a second season. The show centers on Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the vice president, quickly realizing she holds…
Bob Dylan 1966-1978 After the Crash is an amazing documentary about Bob Dylan. Fans are likely familiar of Dylan’s initial music or the fare that ey has been peddling for the last twenty years, but few will have any sort of idea about the late sixties and the seventies. Pride DVD has created an documentary that looks into these dark days and prominently features some of the biggest voices of…
Kenya Moore was a former Miss USA and is better known for eir work on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. On the Booty Boot Camp DVD, purchasers will be provided with three distinct exercises. While the title of this DVD relates to a specific set of muscles, what is captured on this DVD ensures that one’s overall fitness will be bolstered considerably. Moore and Nikki Veal are able to keep…
This 2011 title from Israel may seem foreign (the Hebrew language used may be part of it), but Off White Lies speaks to the feelings of loneliness and continual misplacement that are common in one’s teen years. Libby is forced to move to Israel with eir father, Shaul as the second Lebanon war begins. Thrown into a tumultuous life with Shaul (who is homeless at the onset of Off…
One of the very first things that I used my cellular phone for was to find ringtones. It was always a difficult experience to find a program that would cut up an MP3 (I always used Goldwave) and to go through the track to find precisely the right beginning and ending spot. The process meant that I would normally be spending half an hour to an hour to make one…
binary options are tremendously difficult to understand and require someone with the ability to teach individuals. There is a website that provides this sort of information for free, and is able to properly capture the variances that exist in the market. The website is designed in such a way that those that are wishing to learn about binary options will find the information that they need immediately, rather than having…
Children cannot get enough of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, and Best of Widget is a value-priced collection that contains 7 episodes for about $7.50 online. These episodes provide parents and childrens with over an hour of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, and are comprised of those episodes that have a decidedly Widget focus. This means that Widget is given the opportunity to become a race car driver, to build an incredible TV,…
The wildly successful Storage Wars starts to show some signs of stress with Volume 4: show regular Dave Hester (aka the asshole) was arguing about his contract so he is missing from most of this season as they try out various replacements (none of whom are as interesting as Hester). This season they also start to experiment with horribly obvious product placement (before I open this storage unit, let me…
Foyle’s War is a mystery, set during the second World War, that focuses on creating an authentic experience for viewers while keeping them firmly riveted to their seats. Foyle’s War: The Home Front Files provides viewers with a few extra features; the making-of features provide additional context to the filming process while proving viewers with quick views into the camaraderie that was enjoyed on the set. The interviews conducted…
Undersea Edens is a look into one of the ill-explored parts of the Earth, providing viewers with what occurs at levels below that where most swim. Taking full advantage of spots off of Australia, New Zealand, and South Georgia Island, the Smithsonian Channel showcases the incredible biodiversity that is present in one biome. I feel that the Smithsonian Channel has provided additional worth in this release as it is…
Wreck-It Ralph is a title that the widest possible swath of viewers could appreciate. This all-in aspect of the film and heart-warming tenor of the title makes this a must have for any family or fan of the movie. The fact that the inspiration for the film had been bouncing around the Disney vault for decades is absolutely astonishing, while the quality of the finished film is similarly so.…
Lay The Favorite is a 2012 film adaptation of a true story (novelized); the film stars Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughan, Joshua Jackson, Rebecca Hall and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Director Stephen Frears (The Grifters, Dangerous Liasons) helms this fast-paced comedy cum drama. Lay The Favorite focuses on Dink (Willis) and Beth (Hall); Dink is able to pick up on the naiveté of Beth and involve eir in a scheme to rip…
The Mayo Clinic Diet has been associated with considerable weight loss, along with a greater percentage of those initially starting the program maintaining that weight loss. The instructions that are provided during this DVD are simplistic enough that even those individuals whom have never taken on a diet regiment before will be able to stick with what is presented here. I believe that where the Mayo Clinic Diet DVD…
Three Stars is a film that looks to clarify the Michelin ranking system by providing interviews with 10 of the chefs from these restaurants. The list of those that were interviewed during Three Stars is absolutely stellar, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten (Jean-Georges in New York), Nadia Santini (Italy’s Dal Pescatore), and Sergio Herman (Oud Sluis, from the Netherlands). Rounding out the coverage is a feature with…
This 2011 French-language film was a huge success in Europe, and I believe that the film’s plot will speak to American audiences in the same way. The duo – Francois Cluzet (Philippe) and Omar Sy (Driss) – has tremendous chemistry together. Driss is on unemployment and comes into Philippe’s life merely to get job search papers signed. By putting a wager of one week of service on the line,…
Very few in the way of films that are based off a video game work; there just are considerable plot points that are either missing or are too difficult to properly capture (Halo, Mass Effect). Company of Heroes is a title that is based on a trope that is equally popular in video games and films, ensuring that the title is considerably better than those set in sci-fi or historical…
Bath Salt Zombies is a classic zombie film that will perform admirably in party or film buff circles. The cast unites to make a tale that is classic and contemporary (the bath salt epidemic) fashions. The film is given additional replay value through the inclusion of an amazing soundtrack, featuring cuts from Antiseen, The Meatmen, The Murder Junkies, and The Dwarves. After a government ban on bath salts block…