Arts Movie Reviews

I have been a fan of Jennifer Larmore ever since her early, spectacular recording of Handel's "Julius Caesar," but have unfortunately never seen her sing. This video, then, fills an important gap in my collection, and I cannot praise it highly enough. Larmore is both a fine artist and an entertaining singer: though some of her acting seems a little contrived when compared to, say, Janet Baker, she is never overly silly or annoying. The way she "acts out" the three Rossini songs that comprise "The Venetian Regatta," for instance, is amusing without being irksome, and to see her settle into the crook of the piano to deliver Kurt Weill's French cabaret songs is simply delightful.

In addition to all this, Larmore is in excellent voice and the program is well-chosen, except for the two songs by Jake Heggie which are drivel. It is also interesting to watch the way Larmore positions herself and manages her vocal equipment: you can tell that this is a singer who works very hard to appear "effortless" in both sound and motion. She surprises one with her sensitive renditions of Purcell and Debussy, then launches into more popular material like "Brazil" and "Art is Calling Me" with no suggestion of preciousness. In short, Larmore leaves a good taste in the ear...she is always worth hearing and, on this wonderful video, definitely worth watching.

This is an excellent concert for musical lovers. Especially Jerry Herman fans. I recommend it highly. Michael Feinsteins rendition of "I Won't Send Roses" will give you chills and Leslie Uggams is impeccable.

If you love Musical Theatre, you will love these great performers. The best!

To the point : Jerry Herman's Broadway at the Hollywood Bowl is a top showcase of his songs and lyrics. As Carol Channing said ' Double the pleasure, listen to the words '.Apart from Lorna Luft, Michael Feinstein and a lost of great singers, just to hear Bea Arthur sing is worth buying this DVD.

If so watch the incredible documentary on this DVD. You get to see Jim get lost on the road, kill in a comedy club, bomb in a comedy club, and everything in between. He tells his version of why he left Saturday Night Live. While the actual performance on the disc is great as well, it is the documentary that makes this a must own.

Jim Breuer's Heavy Metal DVD is hilarious! His stand up is amazing and the documentary is SUPERB! I love to watch comedy and there are so many awesome comedians out there but Breuer is hilarious in this DVD plus the documentary is the icing on the cake. It has footage of him on the road doing his stand up thing and having fun with fans! If anything, I would watch it for the documentary ONLY because you see inside "Jim Breuer's World" on the road and it's quite humorous. But what's up with the peanut butter infatuation? I like peanut butter but to go to extremes? Watch the DVD and let me know....

If you love to laugh your A** off and music as well this is a must have for anyone! Within 5 minutes of watching this dvd I was rolling on the floor and gasping for air to breathe between jokes. Jim's gestures and real life comediac scenerios that I lived through as a teen in the 80's made it that more funny. This guy ROCKS!

Although known for doing his "Goatboy" skits on SNL, which were very funny, this is by far his least best talent on this video.

If you enjoy great stand-up this is the best money spent for a laugh.

The only thing funnier than this DVD would be to see him live which I plan to if he comes to town.

And last but not least, If you enjoy heavy metal the band rocks too.

I love Jim Breuer, so it pains me to write this...
but DVD was a complete letdown. No cursing, no 'Faggot!' bit, and Jim seemed very restrained beause it was done for Comedy Central TV. The background band gets a little annoying at times.
I made the mistake of buying this after I had seen him live at the Improv, and as you know, 99.9% of comedians are better live.
"My Dog Duffy", in the extras section, was the best bit. There were some funny parts throughout, but overall disappointing. O&A fans will be disappointed as well. BTW, Norton rocks!

Go see Jim Breuer live!

Anytime you see stand-up comedian Jim Breuer take the stage, you know it's going to be a good time. It's not just a regular night of stand-up, it's a all-out crazy party! Jim Breuer takes no prisoners in this Comedy Central Special, "Jim Breuer: Hardcore."

You almost get exhausted by just watching him run around the stage like a madman. There is hardly a second that goes by where you're not laughing hysterically. In this special, Breuer talks about music, drugs, growing up, being a father, being married, and more. There's also a band that Jim travels around with when he performs, which really separates this comedy special from the rest.

The DVD has a few special features, such as never-aired performance segments and two segments from Jim's first Comedy Central performance. It's not a lot, but for a comedy special DVD, those are some really cool extras.

The only major drawback is the breaks in where the commercials would usually separate the show if you were watching it on cable. It kind of ruins the flow at times. You would really be getting into it all and then all of the sudden there's a little segment break that was intended for commercials. And there's A LOT of those breaks, so be warned. Still, it doesn't ruin the overall experience.

If you love comedy that's insane, different, unpredictable, and "drop-to-the-ground" funny, then Jim Breuer is your guy. "Jim Breuer: Hardcore" is a must-have for all comedy fans. A very high replay value on this one. Check it out as soon as you can.

Jim Bruer is one of a kind when he is live. If you don't get to see him stand up, then BUY this DVD, even if you do see him stand up, buy this DVD. Jim keeps you laughing with his body language and physical appearance he displays when doing his stand up.

This DVD is a must have for any Jim Breur fan, no secong thought needed.

Jerry Seinfeld is funny. Really funny. It's not just his manner, his style, it's the brilliant way in which he connects with everyday people that makes him so funny. His sitcom, arguably the best ever, was a work of art that managed to combine Seinfeld's writing ability with physical representations of the off the wall characters he had met. This DVD is a good 75 minutes of the best of Jerry's work over the last decade or so. The sound is good, Jerry is at ease, and the audience is very receptive. One of the highlights of the DVD is when Jerry answers some questions from the audience. Classic improv work from Seinfeld. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because I've seen all of the bits before, so I knew the punchlines. To his credit, I was still laughing hysterically. If you're a Seinfeld newbie, or just familiar with the show, it should definetly rate 5 stars.

I like Jerry's style of comedy wit. Unfortunately I purchased the audio CD version 1st before I purchased the DVD. They must have recorded different nights. The CD version is excellent and he is on the ball, although comparing it to the DVD it seems like Jerry does not put his whole heart into the DVD performance.

Still great comedian !

Seinfeld live on Broadway is a "no regrets" DVD. Its a great looking performance that puts you in the best seat of the audience. Jerry dishes out over an hour of his best material delivered "for the last time" and it is hilarious even after repeat viewings. You can read some of the jokes on the back of the DVD, but it's Seinfeld's delivery that brings them to life and keeps the jokes fresh and funny. One of the great additions on this DVD that isn't on the tape is an impromptu audience Q & A with Jerry. The audience fires off a variety of what I thought were some pretty dull questions. "How's your new apartment?" "Say, Hello Newman." Jerry answers every one with responses that are as funny as the show material. The disc is not rated but it is funny and great for the whole family. My mom at 60 and my niece who is just eight love watching the VHS of this show again and again. The DVD is even better.

man, every time i see kylian's work i'm inspired to be a better dancer -- his people are so fluent in their bodies and in their art. i can only imagine that it must be so rigorous, satisfying, and challenging to learn this choreography. the physicality is exciting, the humor is intelligent, and the musicality is sensitive without becoming predictable. i enjoy this dvd very much and strongly recommend it to dancers, choreographers, amateurs, dance historians (bizarre use of costumes/props --> classical european references are strange and not altogether clear for me, but the use of these references is endearing nontheless), musicians, and other artists interested in using movement in their designs/collaborations. my personal favorite is "no more play," but webern is my favorite composer and i've choreographed a solo to this piece of music, so i'm biased

I was more than impressed with this DVD. Often when dance is filmed, you lose the dance...there are many close-ups (usually of the face) and many quick cuts which don't allow the viewer to feel as if she (or he) is seeing the full stage. Therefore, much of the choreography is lost. Not so here! This is an expertly filmed production that allows the viewer to forget that they are viewing a DVD and instead, it seems that the viewer is seeing the dance unfold on a stage. Kudos! If only all dance was filmed with this philosophy in mind. Additionally, the quality of the DVD is great. It isn't grainy or blurry. Rather, the quality is better than most DVD/videos. It is as close to live performance as one can get in this medium.

The reviewer from IL speaks wonderfully of Kylian's choreograhic feats, and I agree. My personal favorite is also Petite Mort, and I would buy the DVD if Petite Mort were the only offering. This work is breathtaking and inspiring.

This is an excellent DVD! Kylian's choreography is inventive and seamless. The transitions in all partnering are amazingly smooth and performed to perfection. The six ballets presented are all very diferent in style and feeling though bound together by their color theme as well as the reoccurance of a set of black baroque dresses. I enjoyed them all except for Sarabande which - though it had it's interesting moments - I found to be rather teadious. My absolute personal favourite must be Petit Mort with it's beautiful score, simple costumes and impressive and inovative movement vocabulary, very clearly drawing on classical technique but going it's own way entierly - allowing for freedom in motion. I highly reccomend this DVD and had no problem viewing it.

Sure, David Hasselhoff was not the best. Sure there were problems with everybody else. However, I can not blame them. If you really want to find the person responsible for such mediocre performances, find the person responsible for such a mediocre score. And that man would be Frank Wildhorn. He has written a string of insipid bland music that artists like Celine Dion and Whitney Houston were probably just drooling to claim as their own. This was a show, as Forbidden Broadway very correctly stated, for people who found Andrew Lloyd Webber's music too challenging, "It's Phantom Lite." This is also a show that ran for about four years on Broadway and never returned it's initial investment, which technically classifies it as a flop.
However, I must throw in a little defense for this. People have complained about the over-acting, broad gestures, and other such things. You must remember, this was not a movie. This is a musical, being performed live onstage in the Plymouth Theatre, which is not a small theatre by any means. All these things, which look rather ridiculous in a film, played much better when you had some distance between yourself and the actors, not a camera that was up in their faces. This is the inherent problem you will get when you film a Broadway show live and must be remembered when looking at the acting.

Much has been made of the fact that TV star David Hasselhoff was playing the title roles in JEKYLL AND HYDE, the hit Broadway musical based on the classic horror story of the doctor who brings out his evil self through the use of chemicals. Some critics thought he was a lightweight and a stiff pretty boy, however they seem a little off the mark on this one. Aside from the occasionally odd pop-stylings in his singing and a touch of hamminess as Hyde, Hasselhoff does a fairly solid job. He holds his own quite nicely in what, despite his top billing, turns out to be a well-balanced production. Opera singer George Merritt is quite sympathetic as Jekyll's friend and lawyer, Utterson, although he doesn't get to show off his voice much in mainly a character role. Barrie Ingham provides warmth as Sir Danvers Carew, while Andrea Rivette is a winsome Emily. While not on a par as Linda Eder, who created the role, Coleen Sexton makes a sexy turn as the ill-fated Lucy. The rest of the cast is just as solid, handling their songs with skill. The 10 camera set-up does a wonderful job of bringing the production up close, as well showing off some of the fast-paced staging. Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story is not your typical plotline for musical theatre, but JEKYLL AND HYDE is a fairly successful attempt, and a top-notch DVD capture of a Broadway show. Definitely recommended for fans of the musical.

Hasselhoff has always best been known for Baywatch and Knight Rider. Still, David had one dream and that was to be on broadway and have his name up in big lights, on opening night. Well, David certainly did disserve this role as Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. My favortie songs and why are listed below
1. What? Facade Why? Because the cast puts all there diafram and sing with all they got, they have what it takes and they sound just the way I expected them to sound , perfect!
2. What? Jekyll's Plea Why? Because as you can see the reactions and feelings David feels during this song you will love it.
3. What? Murder, Murder Why? Duh, suspense , suspsense and more suspense!
4. What? Dangerous Game Why? Because you can never ask Coleen and David to do better in there lusty performances , I love there voices.
5. What? Alive (Reprise) Why? David is perfect as Eddie as he sings and vicously stabs the Bishop to death with his cane.
6. What? Sympathy, Tenderness (Reprise) Why? Edward sings sofly as Lucy breathes her final breath, he always rock's at any song!
7. What? Confrontation Why? David did not loose his breath during this song at all, infact he didn't take one breath he kept going.
8. What? Good N' Evil Why? Lucy is beautiful , sexy and sweet as she tells Henry about Good And Evil.
I love this musical, when I am always feeling bad I can always play this movie and my frown soon turns into a grin sometimes into tears of sadness and joy. Why, joy? Because as I see the cast bow and walk off stage it just is upsetting that the fun is over and the music that was there has faded into the darkness. This movie is so beautifully adapted and so wonderfully casted, I would give this movie 2 thumbs up , and 8 fingers most defintely up! I have written another review for this read it! Believe me,I know I am right and when I am right I'm right!