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Stream Nacho Libre Online

rubi8940623 — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:47:16 +0000

Stream Nacho Libre Online.

Movie Title: Nacho Libre
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Nacho Libre is available for streaming or downloading.

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Much better than most comedies; you do have to have a sense of humor to enjoy it, so if you rarely laugh, don’t go to this movie. Kind hearted and humorous portrayal of Mexican culture; if you have lived in Mexico as I have, you should enjoy this. Also it’s refresing to see a movie that can be humorous without resorting to overt sexual conversations.

Its been a long time since I have laughed this much!!!! Getting down to “the nitty gritty” it is an enjoyable comedy. The chemistry between Jack Black “Nacho” and Hector Jimenez “Esqueleto” is what makes the movie so funny. His accent was not Mexican but very funny. My family and I just loved the movie, which I think we have seen 5 times in the theatre.

Stream The Princess Blade Online

rubi8940623 — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:20:39 +0000

Stream The Princess Blade Online.

Movie Title: The Princess Blade
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The Princess Blade is available for streaming or downloading.

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The Princess Blade is a decent film, and packs a fair punch into the modern Samurai style film genre.

The film centers around a young woman, Yuki, who starts off as an assasin for the House of Takemikazuchi.(a clan of X royal guards turned assasins for money) She turns on her house however, when she discovers that her mother was killed by the House years earlier. Yuki’s mother had been a royal figure in a disbanded kingdom, which leaves Yuki as the only remaining aire and the title of Princess. (Thus the reason for the flims name) Yuki soon finds herself hunted by her former comrades, and she must battle them to save herself, as well as get revenge for her mother.

At one point Yuki is wounded in one of the skimishes, and is befriended by Takashi, a young man who is in an insurrectional movement to overthrow the goverment that funds the Takemikazuchi. Takashi shares Yuki’s peril of having a tragic history, which is revealed during the film. He also has a sister who is in a post tramatic state which causes her to be detached somewhat from reality. Yuki hides out with the two for awhile and begins to discover that she can again find happiness in her life. Eventually however, she is tracked down by the Takemikazuchi, and must fight them in one final showdown.

The Princess blade was a good film both in story and in character development. The sword fights are well choregraphed, and the actors performances bring a genuine concern for the characters in the story. Also, there are a lot of similarities to Kill Bill, which was based in part on modern Japanese Smaurai style cinema.

The film does have a tragic ending however, and leads me to believe that a sequal was in mind when this film was made.(it may not be the ending the viewer is rooting for) Also, like in many Japanese films, the stroy slows down quite a bit during the middle, which left me begging for a few more sword fights. That being the main reason for a 4 instead of a 5 star rating. The film is not as action packed as Versuses, but it’s less gorey, and takes itself much more seriously.

The tech aspects include both a Japanese and English dubbed language track,(ADV does a nice job on the dub) trailers of other films and that’s about it.

Overall I enjoyed THe Princess Blade, and would watch it again. But I doubt it’s a movie that I would want to watch frequently. My advice is that renting it will suffice for most people, but hard core fans of Japanese cinema and modern Samurai style films might consider purchasing it. It does have it’s moments.

(Sorry for the pun…I couldn’t help myself.)

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This review is more to describe the quality of this DVD from Amazon.com, than it is of the film content–although, I think some reviewers here have been way too harsh on this film (great bushido action and SFX, good story).

I purchased “The Princess Blade” on ebay and saved a few bucks. What I got was a DVD with no menus in English and absoulutely HORRENDOUS sub-titles. It’s like they chose to translate every 10th Japanese sentence and even then, only into English sentence fragments. Despite this, I liked the film enough to order it from Amazon.com.

The new copy (from Amazon) has menus in English, an English soundtrack and subtitles so good you can follow the story and even follow nuances of the story.

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The lesson I learned is that not all DVD distributions are created equal.

Stream Conejo en la Luna Online

rubi8940623 — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:42:35 +0000

Stream Conejo en la Luna Online.

Movie Title: Conejo en la Luna
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Conejo en la Luna is available for streaming or downloading.

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This movie is very intense.

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the story plot is excellent and the actor are superb.

if you are a foreign movie junky and tired of the hollywoodism take a chance and purchase this movie.

It will make your heart jump from time to time.

I agree, this was a really great thriller. Very intense. I’m also a foreign movie junkie and bought it for my spanish movie collection.

Stream Megaman – Battle for the Future Online

rubi8940623 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:31:02 +0000

Stream Megaman – Battle for the Future Online.

Movie Title: Megaman – Battle for the Future
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Megaman – Battle for the Future is available for streaming or downloading.

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This dvd is the final half to the megaman series which once again boasts incredible action with catchy music and comedy. This continues the tale of Dr. Wily attempts to conquer the earth using his evil robots. However each and everytime he is thwarted by Megaman.

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I already talked about the series in the first dvd release so now I am going to tell you about the one stand out episode which in my opinion is the best of the series.

The episode is called Mega X and what it’s about is that Wily is attempting to steal this new energy source to power up his super cannon. After a failed attempt two reploids from the future arrive to steal some for their master Sigma. When Megaman attempts to stop the two he is easily defeated. Then through a rip in space and Time comes Megaman X who drives them away. Eventually the two Megaman’s team up to stop Wily and the reploids.

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What made this episode so great was that it not only was a crossover with the other megaman series but also hinted at the possability of a spinoff for Megaman X. Sadly that never happened (the X story is generally a lot darker, more grown up than Megaman) but still this is a great episode.

Overall a great buy short of any special features. Still recommended though.

Although the series, as stated in the review above, was vastly inaccurate, the series was still rather great, and these DVDs are a must have for any Megaman fan.

The second series was, in my opinion, better than the first. Having never seen the final episode (season three, in other words) I can’t rate it for anything. But this DVD is going to kick some major …, which is why I pre-ordered the moment I could. =)

Download American Experience: The Crash of 1929 Online

rubi8940623 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:04:49 +0000

Download American Experience: The Crash of 1929 Online.

Movie Title: American Experience: The Crash of 1929
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American Experience: The Crash of 1929 is available for streaming or downloading.

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I looked up “Why did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor?” online and BOOM! the answer was there immediately. However, years ago, I google “Why did the market crash in 1929?” and didn’t get a clear answer. This documentary helped me to make sense of it, or to revive what little I remember from American history classes.

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Teachers may love showing this because it proves the clich’e “the more things change.” Our current economic downturn is often spoken of in the same breath as the Great Depression and this doc explains why. Like in this decade, the 1920s had wreckless businesspeople and lax governmental regulations. Like now, folk were told to invest in stock that eventually did not pan out. They showed that some stock buyers would consult an astrologist; this reminded me of the Beanie Baby craze of the 1990s. This work showed the rich surviving bad things and the poor people getting majorly cheated.

The very last image here is important: it showed people celebrating New Year’s 1930. The point was to say that the depression didn’t happen overnight, but “the party was over.” Viewers who want to learn about the Great Depression should look elsewhere; this documentary was solely about the champagne days of the 1920s. It showed how the greed and extravagance of that decade lead to the poverty of the next. The work says few investors jumped out of windows, as most TV images suggest.

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This work may have relied on old footage, because doing the math makes me think that many of those interviewed could not possibly be alive in 2009. One interviewee made it hard to focus. He was recorded at a record store and I couldn’t shake that Melissa Ethridge and Tracy Chapman LP’s were displayed behind him.

This was a strong work that answered many questions for me. I think it would be highly informative to students. Perhaps young viewers could also watch the program with their grandparents and have some cross-generational dialoguing.

Stream Sanjuro – Criterion Collection Online

rubi8940623 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:09:22 +0000

Stream Sanjuro – Criterion Collection Online.

Movie Title: Sanjuro – Criterion Collection
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Sanjuro – Criterion Collection is available for streaming or downloading.

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I love Toshiro Mifune. It’s so wonderful to see him play this character. He cracks me up every time he does his little shoulder-twitch character trait. Brilliant!

SANJURO delves a little deeper into his samurai character. There’s some themes about killing and comparisons of his character to a good sword that should be sheathed. Other than that, it is flat-out adventure on the menu!

Again, Kurosawa is a wonderful story teller. I find his work (the three films I’ve seen so far — HIDDEN FORTRESS, YOJIMBO, and this one) to be so economical. He can add a wrinkle to the story with one word; one look. He truly transcends the language barrier because the storytelling is so good.

I thought Criterion did another good job with the transfer. The trailer does, indeed, feature Kurosawa directing Mifune in an action sequence, which is interesting. I wish Criterion would use pictures on its chapter lists. When I want to access a certain scene and am unfamiliar with the movie it is hard to do based on chapter names that make no sense to me. Other than that, no qualms about the rest of the DVD.

Next, I’d love to see HIDDEN FORTRESS on DVD. Criterion, are you listening ?

The sequel to Akira Kurosawa’s classic “Yojimbo” is very different in tone — rather than a straightforward grizzled-anti-hero-cleans-up-the-town tale, it’s a comic story about the grizzled hero getting stuck on a ship of fools. While it’s Kurosawa’s lightest samurai movie, it’s still a solid action/drama flick with plenty of comedy sprinkled in.

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A gang of idealistic young nobles are gathered in a decaying house, talking about how they are trying to battle local corruption. Suddenly a scruffy warrior (Toshirô Mifune) who calls himself Sanjûrô Tsubaki, appears and tells them who is lying and who isn’t — and that after confiding in the treacherous superintendant, they’re being set up for an ambush.

After he saves their butts and drags the none-too-bright young men into hiding, he begins concocting a plan to save one young man’s uncle, who is being held as a political hostage. After rescuing the lord’s wife and daughter, Sanjuro and his band of fools continue with their plots to save him from the evil superintendant — and he teaches his bumbling co-conspirators that exalted social position isn’t what keeps you alive…

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Kurosawa isn’t known for having made goofball comedies, but there’s a definite comic flair to this film, from the pampered prisoner offering nuggets of wisdom to the silent “happy dance” that all the young noblemen do. At the same time, there’s a poignant note to Sanjuro’s regrets about the men he’s killed — including men much like himself.

Even steeped in comedy, Kurosawa’s creativity is still intact — to give the feel that people are running, he shows short, rapid shots of several young men running down different streets. There are a few flaws (a lot of people get cut down without a speck of blood) but only a really determined nitpicker would let it bug them. And the finale is a shatteringly brutal scene, reminiscent of a western shoot-out, where you almost expect Sanjuro to put on a white cowboy hat and spit.

Mifune is wonderful as the grubby, grumpy samurai who is like an “unsheathed blade,” and who has more brains than his little gang. He gives the character a lazy, languid air, sort of like an unexploded land mine. His followers are well-acted, though they don’t have much individual personality. And small supporting roles — like the kindly, prim noblewoman and the friendly prisoner in his little closet — are very well-drawn.

Lurking under the comic flourishes is an intelligent film with likable characters, solid writing, and plenty of action. “Sanjuro” is as good as the film before it, though in a slightly different way.

Download Home Improvement – The Complete First Season Online

rubi8940623 — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:09:52 +0000

Download Home Improvement – The Complete First Season Online.

Movie Title: Home Improvement – The Complete First Season
Average customer review:

Home Improvement – The Complete First Season is available for streaming or downloading.

Click Here to Stream or Download Home Improvement – The Complete First Season

I’ve only recently started to watch Home Improvement in syndication for the first time, and as soon as I got into it it has become one of my favourite sitcoms. The humoar is very original and the concept was very bright and fresh when it came along on ABC in 1991.

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It wasn’t just that that made it one of the most popular shows of the 90’s, it was also the strengh of the characters. Tim Allen’s portrayel of accident proned chauvanistic tool man Tim Taylor helps make the show along with his sidekick Al, wife Jill and three kids Brad, Randy and Mark.

This show also provided more realism than a lot of other shows of its kind, for example the relationship between the boys and their regular fighting seems a lot more true to life than other shows that often represent people as constantly loving and everything always patched up by the end of the show. Home Improvement still has many tender moments that are always well acted.

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As well as the 24 episodes on this DVD set, you also get a gag reels of jokes from the show and a commentary by the creators. It’s good to see that a lot of these sets now have extras and that the companies are going to the trouble of adding nice touches to the tv shows we know and love.

So overall, this set is one that you should definetly add to your collection, whether you want to re-discover the classic first season once again or watch this show for the first time and introduce it to your family who may not have been around then; either way you are very unlikely to be diassapointed! “I don’t think so Tim!”

Highly recommended!

I liked this show, but the family values issues did get on my nerves a lot, and how Jill (the wife) would always jump down Tim’s back about the littlest things – it seemed.

The neighbor, Wilson, was pretty cool, always with some wise information for Tim and the others. And this first season, possibly the next one too, had Pamela Anderson in it as the Tool Time girl. Here’s a description of the episodes on this set:

“Pilot” – Tim wrecks the dishwasher, while trying to give it more power; Jill gets a job interview

“Mow Better Blues” – Mark breaks a tool of Tim’s, which Jill was told to stay away from

“Off Sides” – Tim hires a magician as a babysitter

“Satellite on a Hot Tim’s Roof” – Tim installs a satellite dish; one of Jill’s teachers visits

“Wild Kingdom” – Tim hears some weird noises in the basement

“Adventures in Fine Dining” – Tim bets Jill that he can teach their kids some table manners

“Nothing More Than Feelings” – Tim tells his Tool Time audience that his wife drove with the oil light on; the other guys say that their wives don’t respect their tools

“Flying Sauces” – The K & B Construction guys show how to make hot gourmet meals while on the job, on Tool Time; Brad and Randy tell Mark that Brad, Randy, and their parents are aliens

“Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble” – Tim puts another sink in their bathroom

“Reach Out and Teach Someone” – Tim does a Tool Time episode for women to teach plumbing; Brad worries that he’s going to do bad on a test at school

“Look Who’s Not Talking” – At a presentation for the Library Association: Jill gets stage fright

“Yule Better Watch Out” – Tim competes in a neighborhood Christmas light competition; Brad and Randy tell Mark that Santa Claus is dead

“Up Your Alley” – Tim and Jill go bowling; the kids get in trouble at a local arcade

“For Whom the Belch Tolls” – Jill doesn’t want an old college friend of Tim’s to stay with them

“Forever Jung” – Karen comes to visit; Jill teaches Brad to dance

“Jill’s Birthday” – Tim buys Jill a lifetime membership to a health club; after wasting all their money, Brad and Randy put together a scheme to get Mark’s money

“What About Bob?” – Tim competes against Bob Vila in a trivia game; Randy pulls a prank on a nerd at school

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – Tim’s boss has Tim and Jill go camping to promote some new camping gear. The problem is that they had a romantic weekend planned instead

“Unchained Malady” – Tim throws away a chain letter; Randy gets dared to do a trick on his bike

“Birds of a Feather Flock to Taylor” – Jill tells Tim that he’s a bad listener (happens to me all the time); Brad and Randy try to get Mark to eat a worm

“A Battle of Wheels” – Tim lets Al host Tool Time; Tim accidently breaks some of Jill’s pottery

“Luck Be a Taylor Tonight” – Jill’s sister and Al ruin Tim’s poker night

“Al’s Fair in Love and War” – Tim wants to read Jill’s old diary; Al tries to ask a girl out

“Stereo-Typical” – Tim and Jill argue over stereo volume

So buy this set, my favorite segments were always the Tool Time scenes of the episodes. There should be an option of the DVDs to view only the Tool Time scenes, oh well.

Stream Dinner at Eight Online

rubi8940623 — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:08:27 +0000

Stream Dinner at Eight Online.

Movie Title: Dinner at Eight
Average customer review:

Dinner at Eight is available for streaming or downloading.

Click Here to Stream or Download Dinner at Eight

DINNER AT EIGHT is often referred to as a comedy, and while there are some marvelous comic moments, this film is no more a comedy than THE GODFATHER. I think one reason it is thought to be a comedy is the final lines of the film, where the decidedly unbookish Jean Harlow tells Marie Dressler that she had been reading in a book (a revelation that visibly jolts Dressler) that in the future all jobs would be done by machines. After eye-balling Harlow from toe to head she assures her, “Oh, my dear. That’s something you need never worry about.” There are other humorous moments, but the truth is that while the tone of the film might often be humorous, the form of the film is tragic. Yes, the destruction of the Jordan shipping company has been prevented by Jean Harlow’s character blackmailing her husband, who has been trying to buy a majority of the company shares via a proxy, but it doesn’t change the sense of precariousness that pervades the film. In many ways, this is one of the great films dealing with the end of the twenties and the effects of the stock market crash. Although the film revolves around a hostess’s efforts to throw a lavish dinner party, virtually every individual invited is suffering from problems of one sort or another. The aging actress, long retired, is strapped for cash. The actor, a former matinee idol, has been revealed as a former pretty face by the advent of the talking film; he now is unable to find work and utterly broke. The shipping magnate, whose wife is organizing the dinner party, is suffering both from financial woes and ill health, and is in danger of losing the company that has bourn the family name for nearly a century. The only individuals, in fact, who are thriving and doing well are the crude, ill-bred Packards, who are gaining in wealth as rapidly as all of those in the upper crust of society are losing theirs. Few films in Hollywood history have been as fixated on class as this. Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufmann, the authors of the original stage play, were always attuned to such issues in their work, and there is almost an anthropological air as they analyze the changes taking place in the upper rings of society.

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The film features one of the most celebrated ensemble casts ever seen. Brothers John and Lionel Barrymore have no scenes together, but apart they provide many great moments. This was one of the last films that Lionel made while he was still able to ambulate normally. Throughout the thirties arthritis and a serious hip injury made it increasingly difficult for him to walk, sometimes feigning onscreen injuries (such as a supposed broken leg in YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, that gave him an excuse to wield a crutch), always sitting as much as possible. His brother John suffered even more decline, in his case brought on by the same kind of excessive drinking we see in his character. There is, however, a great deal of difference between Barrymore and Larry Renault, the actor he portrays. Renault is a has-been, a former pretty face with no real acting talent. Barrymore possessed prodigious talent, and despite his increasing drinking difficulties managed to find a great deal of work throughout his decline, even if what he mainly played was a series of drunks. The film creates an odd time warp for me, since in 1933 both John and Lionel were aging, yet 72 years later John’s granddaughter and Lionel’s great niece Drew is still quite young.

One of the joys of the film is being able to see the great Marie Dressler as aging former stage actress Carlotta Vance. Despite being extremely overweight and possessing looks that could only be described as extremely unpleasant, one noticed her appearance only briefly after seeing her in action. One of the great stage performers of her day, for some reason Dressler never managed much success in film during the silent era. Ironically, after age had ravaged her looks and her obesity increase, she unexpectedly became one of the first great stars of the sound film, winning an Oscar for one film and a nomination for another, and completely upstaging Greta Garbo in her first sound film. DINNER AT EIGHT is not Dressler’s greatest performance, but for most film fans it is the most readily obtainable one. Tragically, shortly after the film was released she was diagnosed with cancer, and she died less than a year after the film’s release. It is a fitting tribute to her that the best and final moment of this film was created by her stunned reaction to Harlow’s stating that she had been reading a book.

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The vivacious Billie Burke had been recently widowed when she starred in the film as Mrs. Jordan, her husband no less than the greatest of Broadway impresarios, Florence Ziegfield. She sparkles in every scene in which she appears. Wallace Beery always came across as a bit of a bull in a china shop, and here the china shop is anything to do with social grace. There is also a hint in his character of the way the country as a whole was changing, as the men who know their way around money started supplanting the traditional aristocracy. Jean Harlow’s hair always struck me as a bit surreal, but there is no question that she possessed an earthy sexiness and beauty that was unique in thirties Hollywood. Although she is the secret savior of the Jordan family, she is hardly an angel, playing someone who is a a former stripper or worse, a current adulteress, and hopelessly uncouth and crude. But she also manages to be the most charming character in the film. The film also features one of Lee Tracy’s finest screen performances. Tracy’s film career was more or less destroyed shortly after this one due to an international political incident he generated during a moment of extreme inebriation, but he is superb here as Barrymore’s long-suffering agent.

The film was one of George Cukor’s first great films, and while he is often said to have been a great women’s director, the truth is that he was simply superb with people talking. Cukor always managed to make people simply talking tremendously exciting.

The quality of the print used in the production of the DVD is extraordinary high. I’ve rarely seen a DVD with a brighter or cleaner image, and the film looks as if it could have been released yesterday. I’d have to rate this as one of the cleanest versions of an early 1930s film I have ever seen.

Dinner At Eight is an outstanding movie with great acting, a fine plot even if a bit complicated, and a wonderful cast! The movie held my attention every step of the way; and it’s a much more artistic film with much more social commentary than I expected.

When the action begins, Millicent Jordan (Billie Burke) is obsessively planning a dinner party. Unbeknownst to Millicent, her husband Oliver Jordan (Lionel Barrymore) is suffering from serious, life threatening heart problems–and their steamship freighter enterprise is going broke after a century-long life of being the family business.

As if that weren’t enough, there’s plenty more people with serious financial and personal problems that showcase human foibles as well the toll the depression took on even the wealthiest of people after the stock market crash. We meet Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler), an older actress who is broke. Carlotta sells her stock in the Jordan shipping business to stay alive; and she’s not the only one selling her stock on that fateful day when so much of the Jordan stock is sold that the family fortune just might be in jeopardy. There is Wayne Talbot (Edmund Lowe) and his wife Lucy (Karen Morley) who tolerates Wayne’s never-ending marital infidelities; and we also see that the only people climbing up the ladder are the comparatively crude and unsophisticated couple Dan and Kitty Packard (Wallace Beery and Jean Harlow).

Throughout the movie there are vignettes that display how cruel life can be. There is a rather long scene in which we see the poignant suffering of a man who was huge in silent pictures and who has gone broke and “washed up” now that the “talkies” are in style. John Barrymore brilliantly plays Larry Renault and his story is told with great care and sophistication. I admire the way George Cukor directed Larry Renault’s part of the story.

Of course, the plot can go anywhere from here–how will Larry Renault handle the fact that he’s through in show business? What happens when Lucy Talbot catches her husband Wayne cheating on her yet again–this time with Kitty Packard? How do the Packards even manage to stay together–they fight all the time. Moreover, when and how will Millicent Jordan ever come back down to Earth and realize that there are many things in life that are infinitely more important than her dinner party? No plot spoilers, here, folks–you’ll just have to watch the movie to find out!

The DVD’s best extra is a Sharon Stone hosted featurette on Jean Harlow which is very well done. The Vitaphone short “Come To Dinner” is amusing as well.

Dinner At Eight is a film that has so many wonderful actors and so much depth and meaning that it simply must be seen to be truly appreciated. I highly recommend this film for fans of the actors and classic movie buffs will cherish this DVD for years to come.

Stream The Bourne Identity Online

rubi8940623 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:30:35 +0000

Stream The Bourne Identity Online.

Movie Title: The Bourne Identity
Average customer review:

The Bourne Identity is available for streaming or downloading.

Click Here to Stream or Download The Bourne Identity

First, I rate the MOVIE Bourne Identity and the older Collector’s Edition DVD both as 5-star. I expected the Extended Edition DVD to include all in the older Collector’s Edition DVD AND MORE. What you get with the Extended Edition DVD is a FREE TICKET (EXPIRES AUGUST 8th) to MOVIE Bourne Supremacy and a weaker DVD release that is largely a promotion for the new movie.

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What you LOSE (Extended Edition DVD versus Collector’s Edition DVD):

an extended farmhouse scene; DTS sound; Doug Liman’s informative Director’s Commentary track.

Buy,Download, Or Stream The Bourne Identity! Click Here

What you DO NOT GAIN (Extended Edition DVD versus Collector’s Edition DVD):

the SAME alternate ending IN ROUGH, GRAINY QUALITY as in the deleted scenes of the Collector’s Edition; the SAME deleted/extended scenes (except for the ADDED alternate beginning noted below and the OMITTED farmhouse scene noted above); the SAME Extreme Ways music video by Moby and the SAME DVD-ROM access to web site; no featurette whatsoever providing director Doug Liman’s comments. (Did Liman tick off producer Frank Marshall or did he want to distance himself from this so-called upgrade by Universal?).

What you DO GAIN (Extended Edition DVD versus Collector’s Edition DVD):

a FREE TICKET (EXPIRES AUGUST 8th) to Bourne Supremacy movie; pain-in-the-arse indirect PLAY THE MOVIE via a Play SUB-menu to select theatrical vs extended version that STILL forces you to use MANUALLY your DVD player’s ANGLE button WHEN THE ALTERNATE ANGLE ICONS APPEAR ON YOUR SCREEN to access the bookended alternate beginning/ending version (both footages in UNFINISHED QUALITY that somewhat compromise the vendetta premise of the Bourne Supremacy); Special Features includes these SAME UNFINISHED alternate beginning and ending in isolation with producer Frank Marshall’s mea-culpa that this less-than-explosive footage was a post-production C-Y-A due to 9/11 that test audiences ultimately bounced anyway; some worthwhile featurettes regarding Robert Ludlum, CIA practices from retired CIA operative/film consultant Chase Brandon, and a real psychologist’s profile of Jason Bourne; a worthless transition promotion fluff to the Bourne Supremacy movie.

VERDICT: If DTS sound or Director Commentary tracks matter to you, DO NOT UPGRADE (yeah, right, upgrade); stick with or buy the older Collector’s Edition DVD. If you don’t already own the Collector’s Edition or these factors don’t matter and you intend to use the free Bourne Supremacy movie ticket BEFORE AUGUST 8TH, go with the Extended Edition DVD But shame on you, Universal for your promotional UPGRADE hogwash!!!

I’ll be honest, I haven’t read the Robert Ludlum novel, nor do I remember seeing the original film staring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith. So I’m not able to point out differences or inconsistencies, if indeed there are any. Having said that, I can’t imagine its predecessors topping Doug Liman’s version of “The Bourne Identity.” This is the sort of film I like to watch pretty often and each time I find something new to enjoy.

The plot, while nothing very original, provides a useful framework around which we get to enjoy some of the most believable action sequences I’ve seen. Let’s face it, an assassin suffering from amnesia is not going to lead a dull life, particularly not after his “friends” decide he’s gone rogue. There’s only so many ways you can film stunts and action sequences like a car chase but Liman has managed to somehow make the many action scenes seem fresh. I particularly liked seeing what looked like a mini-minor out driving the police using skill and good planing, rather than a high-powered engine or death-defying jumps.

Most of the movie follows Jason Bourne, (Matt Damon), as he tries to reclaim his life and survive to see each new day. In this way, the audience is allowed to discover the pieces of the puzzle along with him. On the way he forms an unequal partnership with Marie Kreutz, (Franka Potente). It is good to see a female lead portrayed without either weakness or an unrealistic macho streak. Hopefully, this film will launch Franka’s Hollywood career because she has more than earned her stripes in German cinema.

Jason and Marie inevitably bond but despite not taking a major part of the narrative, I felt their stop-start romance suited the film. Perhaps a woman with no home makes a good match for a man with no past. I also liked the several times the couple tried to split up, to get Marie out of Bourne’s troubles but I especially liked the realism when they finally managed to part. The plot really doesn’t need her but it seems Liman used Marie as a means of reminding Bourne that there is more to life than survival.

To some it would be nice to wake up one day and discover you were a sort of superman; able to speak half a dozen languages, had tens of thousands in a Swiss bank account and could out-fight Bruce Lee. His boss said it best when he described Jason as a $30,000,000 weapon. But more than advanced skills, Jason was gifted with intelligence and the experience of years of spy craft, even if he couldn’t remember it. The thoughtful approach taken to achieve each objective, even on the spur of the moment, made the film almost educational. Hey, read a map before running from the police, use distraction and decoys to sidetrack you opponent, use the resources around you and think laterally. It’s all good stuff for budding spies.

While Matt Damon played the part with little emotion, deliberately I assume, some of the smaller roles were outstanding. Each seemed to wring so much depth from so few minutes of screen time that I felt like watching a spin-off movie for each of them. Probably the most affecting was the performance of Clive Owen, a fellow assassin who dies describing his constant headaches and bitter loneliness. Also of note is Julia Stiles, the overworked safe-house administrator; she exudes competence while complaining of limited resources. All of these performance gems must be a credit to Liman’s direction.

It would be easy to dismiss “The Bourne Identity” as just another action flick. The action was great, but the true heart of the film was Jason’s odyssey to reclaim his soul from the depths of a CIA black-ops hell. He used to be an amoral machine, doing his job without questioning the rightness of his work, just like the rest of them. But amnesia gave him the chance to step back from the abyss and evaluate his fate, eventually choosing to tear a new path into the future. The moral? Perhaps it’s that “freedom” is more important than “patriotism.”

Flag Football Drills

rubi8940623 — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:02:23 +0000

initiate Area:

launch station is a flag football drill for quarterbacks and wide receivers. The purpose of the drill is for a wide receiver to acquire an begin position on the field in order to net a pass. Like many other offensive flag football drills, this drill illustrates how quarterbacks and wide receivers communicate. The defense should focus on the hips of the ball carrier rather than the shoulders because that is where the flag is.

Setting Up the start set Drill:

imprint an plot that is ten yards by ten yards, and then divide the players into groups of six, with five players on offense and one player on defense. Next, plot four players in the four corners of the set and state a lone receiver and lone defender in the inside of the spot. This drill can be worn by the whole team by dividing the players into groups of six and performing the drill in separate areas. Each group needs one football.

Outline of the initiate dwelling Drill:

The object of the originate state drill is for the quarterback to pass the football around the state until he is able to salvage an opportunity to develop a pass to the wide receiver. The length of the drill is thirty seconds, with six points being awarded for each successful reception, and three points awarded for each interception. Alternating the positions of the players enables the defender and receiver to catch some rest and experience the other elements of the drill.

Progression of the launch location Drill:

As the launch spot drill progresses you will want to lower the drill time to twenty seconds in length. Then try adding a second defensive aid to the plot. If the football is intercepted, try putting the quarterback who threw the interception on defense.

Quarterback Toss Drill:

The purpose of the quarterback toss drill is to practice tossing the ball to the running support and to manufacture valid tosses or pitch techniques. note an state twenty yards by twenty yards, and divide teams into even groups. Then line up players opposite one another about five yards apart. One team is the quarterbacks and the other is running backs, and the teams will be alternating.

Outline of the Quarterback Toss Drill:

The quarterbacks will have their backs to the running backs, and the coach will bellow out, “situation GO!” Each quarterback then holds the ball in front of them with knees twisted and feet apart, as the running aid moves true to engage the pitch from the quarterback at a distance of three to six yards. Alternate running left and upright. It’s a friendly conception to have players depart in tiresome motion the first time you do these flag football drills so they have a positive plan of the conception.

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