Melancholia

This movie touched me in a lot of ways.....
I've read some of the reviews here and I think a lot of people are looking at this film in a wrong perspective. The idea for the film originated during a therapy session Lars von Trier attended during treatments for his depression. The therapist told him that depressive people tend to act more calmly than others under heavy pressure, because they already expect bad things to happen. It's not about science fiction and it's not a disaster movie. It's a film that examines the human psyche during a disaster. The film is very subtle and yes slow at times but as someone whos struggled with severe depression I related to and understood Kirsten Dunst's character so much. We're dealing with such flawed and sad characters so the slow pace made sense. I would say this is more of a psychological drama than anything else. This film is so beautiful and the acting is superb.

Loss
"Melancholia" may be the most accessible Lars Von Trier film I've ever seen. (However, for a director who often goes out of his way to alienate, repulse, and irritate his audience, that is not saying much.) "Melancholia" is beautifully shot and visually lovely to look at; gone is the difficult visual minimalism of films like "Dogville". Also gone is the gory brutality that is often part of Von Trier's films (especially his last film, "Antichrist".) "Melancholia" is a thoughtful, fascinating film told in two distinct, yet overlapping, parts.

The first part, "Justine", is a realistic, sad family drama which tells the story of a young bride who implodes on her wedding day. Just married to a handsome man, promoted by her boss, and treated to a lavish party by her rich brother-in-law, Justine has every reason to be happy. Except she's not. Behind her forced smile, she's hiding a dark depression. By the end of the night Justine's depression, along with the selfishness and...

The most beautiful film I have ever seen
This is, hands down, THE most beautiful film I have ever seen. I'm sorry, articulation is not my strong point, but all of these one star reviews... baffling. I cannot imagine we were watching the same film. Von Trier has taken existential dread to new heights with this one. Everybody's worst fear, fully realized right there on the screen...

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4 Kid Favorites: Flintstones

FIVE STAR SERIES, ONE STAR FOR REPACKAGED DVDS
NOTE: "EDITORIAL REVIEW" INDICATING THAT THIS COLLECTION ONLY INCLUDED THE FIRST 14 EPISODES OF THIS SERIES WAS NOT AVAILABLE AT TIME OF PURCHASE.

The Flintstones as a series is fantastic but the if you're expecting a mix of all 6 seasons in this dvd collection, you are going to be greatly disappointed. What you are actually getting are the first two DVDs from the first season collection--no Pebbles and Bamm Bamm episodes since Pebbles isn't born until the middle of season 3 and Bamm Bamm doesn't arrive until the beginning of season 4. So, no, you cannot "revisit Jurassic jokers . . . Pebbles and Bamm Bamm . . " because they didn't exist in the series yet.

On these two discs you will receive the episodes: "The Flintstone Flyer", "Hot Lips Hannigan", "The Swimming Pool", "No Help Wanted", "The Split Personality", "The Monster From the Tar Pits", "The Babysitters", "At the Races", "The Engagement Ring", "Hollyrock, Here I Come", "The Golf Champion", "The...





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4 Film Favorites: George Clooney (Michael Clayton, Ocean's Eleven, The Perfect Storm, Three Kings)

Great
Great movies, great value, sounds super. I especially enjoyed Michael Clayton, a movie that should have gotten a few more awards

Who doesn't love Clooney?
George Clooney is one of my favorite actors - I think I have all of his movies. I purchased this one for my daughter as a Christmas gift. I do not know if she loves these movies as much as I did, but I sure hope so. Michael Clayton is one of Clooney's best.

Good deal
George Clooney (1961) is slowly emerging as the major film star of the 21st Century. He made his debut in TV in the late 70s, made a few forgettable films ("Return to Horror High", "Grizzly 2") and then landed a continuing role on "ER" (1994-99) where he earned 2 Emmy nominations and 3 Golden Globe nominations. From that platform he re-started his film career with a few modest productions ("From Dusk to Dawn", "One Fine Day", "The Peacemaker") and then got the lead role in "Batman & Robin" (1997) which announced his arrival on the A list with box office grosses over $100 Million.

The first of the four films featured comes while Clooney was still doing ER. "Three Kings" (1999) is a satirical action adventure yarn set in Iraq during the 1st war with Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube as 3 US soldiers who get a chance to lift millions of dollars of gold. "Three Kings" was #39 at the box office and earned $100 Million worldwide. It was received well by critics and earned 94%...

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The Best Of Caillou: Caillou's Outdoor Adventures

Cailou is my son's favorite
It is great to keep him busy plus I think that Cailou teaches too.
I also like that the DVD incorporates culture with various ethnics in it.

"Amazon Verified Purchase" Well worth the money...
I ordered this DVD for my 2 yr old Grandson. This DVD keeps him entertained and the little songs are not included on the sprout televised episodes, so he really gets excited and loves it. The Best Of Caillou: Caillou's Outdoor Adventures

:)
My son loves this show! I'm not a big fan but it keeps him happy on long road trips in the car.

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Deliverance From Evil

Pleasantly surprised by this horror indie.
**Small spoilers ahead***
Deliverance From Evil follows in the footsteps of traditional supernatural horror movies that involve a house or person haunted by evil spirits. The film was released independently, and in my opinion it's almost always a good thing. To keep this review simple, it's about a couple and their kid that move into a spooky house. The young boy dies early on in the movie and soon the couple realize they shouldn't have bought the house. There were some scenes that are creepy and just genuinely unsettling that I think will bother some younger viewers. There is a scene with a toy phone that creeped me the hell out, it was simple yet very effective. The cinematography was very impressive for a low budget horror, and I thought that the cast was pretty good as well. Though I liked the movie there were some things I didn't really care for at the same time. There are a couple of establishing, emotional scenes at the beginning when they lose their son. I think there...

terrible acting
Don't waste your time. This movie is passable as a B movie and thats about it. The acting is horrible. The story line is ok. I'd say pass on this one.

The best from Pumpkin Patch Films!
This is by far the best effort from the Quiroz brothers! The story is solid and believable. The special effects are minimal, but effective. Jose Rosete gives a top notch performance, and is definately an actor on the verge of blowing up! A worthwhile purchase and addition to my DVD collection!

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Battle Royale

The Shocking Japanese Classic Available As A Stand-Alone Or In Four Disc Set
With the emergence of "The Hunger Games" phenomenon of the last few years, the inevitable comparisons between that franchise and the cult novel "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami have been plentiful. Sure, the two do share strong thematic and narrative similarities, but each has a distinctly unique vibe and explores the back story behind the violence in a different way. The film adaptation of "Battle Royale" by director Kenji Fukasaku garnered almost instant international notoriety in 2000 for its disturbingly bleak portrait of kids set upon one another in a violent death match. Despite being banned and reviled by many, the story's visceral and emotional punch was hard to deny. It was nominated for numerous Japanese Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay and won that country's "Popularity Award." The rumor that Hollywood was flirting with an American remake has been circulating for years, but some seem to think that the film adaptation of...

We, who are about to die...
"Battle Royale" is a superb film, subtle and sad and over-the-top and loud all at the same time. The story is often compared to "Lord of the Flies," but that is a bit of a misnomer. "Lord of the Flies" was about reverting to primitivism, whereas "Battle Royale" is a futuristic cautionary tale in the tune of "1984" and "Brave New World." The caution at work here is the threat of absolute bureaucracy, and the dangers of the loss of the value of life and respect in a rules-dominated society. This is a threat quite apparent in modern Japan.

The actors in "Battle Royale" all deliver excellent performances, including the amazing talent "Beat" Takeshi Kitano playing the appropriately named "Kitano." The film was not directed by Takeshi however, so it lacks his beautiful visual style. It does however feature one of his riveting paintings. There is a good range of responses from the various actors playing the students, from outright suicide, to panic, to a drive to win to a drive to...

Disappointing Director's Cut
Before you type out a retaliatory positive review- read on!

I want to start off by saying I absolutely LOVE Battle Royale- It is most certainly on my list of favorite movies. HOWEVER- this 'Director's Cut' is total garbage.

Sadly, as with the case for many 'Special Edition' DVDs, Battle Royale: Director's Cut adds unnecessary footage that does nothing to enhance the film. The end is extending by 8 minutes or so - and delves into a sort of epilogue and series of dream sequences.

The Battle Royale wiki explains the changes here: (...)

No attempt was made to clean up the subtitles: I can ignore misspellings and incorrect conjugations - however at one point the subtitles ran off the screen. The subtitles in the added scenes were far worse than that of the rest of the movie.

I am not bashing Battle Royale; I want people to buy the regular version and forget that this Director's Cut is even an option.

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Clara et Moi

A Beautiful, Intelligent, and Sensitive Contemporary Love Story
Arnaud Viard has written and directed a quintessentially French love story that simply has everything going for it. The dialogue is richly imbued with both light hearted comedic elements as well as radiant moments of verismo that make this little story one that, once seen, will be indelible in the memory of the viewer. This is a love story awash with all of the nuances of contemporary life in Paris - and in the entire world.

Antoine (Julien Boisselier) is a thirty-three year old actor, having given up his business career to pursue his dream, yet a young man without a partner. Serendipity strikes on the Metro as Antoine sees a shy woman his age Clara (Julie Gayet) and from the silence surrounding their exchanged looks it is obvious something will happen. Antoine demurely writes a note on his pad and without speaking shows it to Clara. Clara responds with a written message, and the game ends with Clara giving Antoine her telephone number! At a surprise birthday party that...

depends upon how you look at things...
and where you are in life. this move is heartbreaking. because its about a burgeoning love that faces what so many of us see as an insurmountable obstacle. antoine (beautiful) falls in love with clara (more beautiful), but its clear early on that antoine has issues with selfishness. its no wonder then when they find out that clara is hiv positive, he rejects her. in the months that ensue, he pines for her. how could he not. its clara. his dream woman. she is the most amazing woman that he could ever want to have and to love. and he cant let go of her illness. it asks of the viewer: how do you view this illness? do you think that it damages a persons value. this is why i titled this post as i have. its very easy to determine that you would do one thing or another if you are not faced with this situation. one cannot help but understand antoines fears: will i lose her, will i contract this disease too, will she get sicker and suffer before my eyes, rendering me helpless. will i fall even...

The French "Love Story"
An ardent Francophile of late, I stumbled on this French movie on Amazon Prime fully intending to continue surfing if it didn't shape up in the first few minutes. Despite the unimaginative title, it hooked me from the beginning and held me throughout. A beautifully acted and tender love story in which there are no villains. It is a quintessentially French version of America's "Love Story", but in the age of HIV. Like Jennie, the female lead in "Love Story", Clara gives a hauntingly sad and wistful performance that leaves you thinking about what true love means and the price it sometimes demands.

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