Costumes Movie Reviews

I owned the album to this comedy concert for quite some time. In fact, I think it's one of his albums that I listen to the most. So it was great to finally see the stuff performed. As funny as he is on CD, his facial expressions are priceless. In this special he talks about everything from Ronald Regan to bumper stickers; from toll booths to keeping people in line; from cars and driving to singles bars, and a whole lot more.

There was hardly a single minute where I didn't find myself laughing. You can tell he really loves what he does and the man takes chances. He's not your typical comedian. The stuff he did back then was considered very controversial. Now, he's still a brilliant comedian who never seems to run out of ideas.

The DVD is great, being that the picture and sound quality is pretty good for it being so old. There's no extras available, which is a shame. I wouldn't mind seeing a documentary or two, or even a recent Carlin interview. Still, it is a high quality DVD nonetheless.

"George Carlin: What am I Doing in New Jersey?" is a must-have for any Carlin fan. Don't' even question or think about it. Just pick it up and enjoy the ride. I really wished there were more comedians like him, but what can you do? That's why he stands out so much. He's a man who can never be duplicated. This is a great comedy special that had me laughing from start to finish.

The ingenious and creative uses of "magic", music, and comedy make this presentation fun and amusing to watch for both children and adults.

Samurai Fiction isn't without its faults, but, being one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in the last few years, I decided it's worthy of five stars (It's also vastly superior to some movies I have or would have given four stars...). A very recommended purchase, as well... I myself have watched SF three times, with no plans for stopping (it's a great pick-me-up).

Also check out the same director's 'Stereo Future' (no region 1 dvd atm), which is about as enjoyable. (ps. Nakano's other feature, AkaKage/Red Shadow is somewhat similar to SamuraiFiction, ninja in lieu of samurai, especially stylistically (though it's a bit more sad), is not such a good movie (maybe 2 or 3 stars) but also worth seeing if you liked the SFs.

When I found the dvd of "Samurai Fiction" at Blockbuster, I was wary. But, always hopeful, I rented it anyway. I watched the trailer first and was appalled. It described the movie as hilariously funny. The footage shown was not particularly hilarious. I steeled myself for another disappointment and clicked on play and found enchantment It is not hilarious, at least not to my western sensibility but it is light and humorous, accessible and at times humanly moving. The action and the swordplay is clean and uncluttered and still exciting.

It is a very self aware send up of a genre. But there is nothing smarmy or smirky about it nor is it overly reverential. In fact, it is perfect in tone and in all its performances. It has a certain amount of cleverness going for it, the black and white photography interspersed with flashes of red at intense moments, the musical score which uses rock and roll and even in one funny and sublime moment the music of Steven Foster. But what really sustains it and makes it all work is its warmth and real affection for the characters and the genre. It is a remarkable movie and a remarkable experience. At last, a samurai movie I can really enjoy.

Wanda's political observations are poignant and avoid becoming "cheap shots" by applying universal truths to what she sees. For example, President Bush's "sinister laugh" gets compared to that of a villain in a classic cartoon. And, as Wanda opines, is Condoleezza Rice, our National Security Advisor, sharing more than recipes and neighborhood talk at the beauty parlor? These are only a few of the many, many gems in this DVD. It's not overly-political. She makes plenty of common observations that will propel you into fits of laughter

Decent DVD extras include: an additional comedy show by Wanda Sykes; deleted scenes; and various Comedy Central skits.

Buy this now! You will not be disappointed. And, you will want to share this one with your friends.

But all minor niggles aside, not only is this one of the best presented Wing Chun instructional films out there - no displaying of Siu Lim Tao from all angles over and over, or specific techniques displayed without exaplanation as to how they apply to Wing Chun principles for example) - but it is also the only time the late Master Wong Shun Leung was captured on film in this way. So aside from being a great instructional film, it is worth the Wing Chun enthusiasts purchase if only to see all the film footage of Master Wong.

Oh, and the accompanying music's really groovy too! ;-)

This DVD starts out with early Billy in the 1970s and moves chronologically through his stand up career ending with a last show in the late 1990s. Each tour is a different chapter although there is no chapter listing on the DVD - my one complaint if you can call it that. A cartoon Billy displays where and when each live show is recorded, then you are thrown into a routine or two from that tour. You do not get the entire stand up show - just snippets, presumably, the "best of" from each. Having seen both HBO routines back in the 80s I can say that certainly not all of "the best" has been included because you just can't get that much info on a single DVD. Still, you will get 2 hours of Billy Connolly at his best with this one DVD - not too shabby.

A word of caution though: Billy's style may not be for everyone. There is plenty of foul language as well as subject matter that some find offensive - like "jobbies" that won't flush or how it feels to have your prostate examined - to name a few. NO ONE can accuse Billy Connolly about being shy!
Of course you also get such subjects as being a parent, visiting with friends in pubs and airlines so do not feel it is all toilet humor (no pun intended). If this DVD doesn't make you laugh then I seriously do not know what will.

Also may I suggest that you do not watch all of this DVD in one sitting. My husband and I tried it and were sorry for days afterward as the pain in our stomach muscles from laughing so hard just lingered on and on. I have yet to find anyone who does not enjoy Connolly's take on things and I'm betting that you will enjoy it too.

Instruction and narration by Dr. Yang is perfect. You could'nt hope for better. He indeed takes every opportunity to demonstrate, explain, and share even more "tricks" even after the assailant is easily twisted into a human pretzel incapable of doing anything except what you want. Learning curve is near elementary yet the techniques are all simply brilliant and some actually mesmerizing in how it looks to watch and practice them. Make no mistake though, Chin Na is hardcore, way too easily capable of causing permanent damage. Practice very safely, apply it only as far as you have to. Luckily, it's so easy to maneuver an assailaint due to the nature of the locks and extraordinary pain, it's rare that you'd have rip out someone's shoulder virtually effortlessly, for example.

Eagerly looking for the rest (12 courses total) to come out on DVD which I am told is soon.

Anything with Dr. Yang teaching Chin Na is as good as gold in terms of Martial Arts knowledge. His courses and his instruction will realistically enable you to use Chin Na to defend yourself remarkably quickly. Many moves, immediately. You'll see.

The DVD has four entire VHS programs on it, an interactive catalog with video previews of a couple dozen other health and martial arts videos, sections about Yang's Martial Arts Association seminars and background, and a bio of Dr. Yang. The DVD layout is top-notch, with selections for every Chin Na technique.

The English subtitles are actually really helpful too, although you can always understand Dr. Yang's English instruction. He has a humble, funny and thorough teaching style which makes this video easy to watch over and over again.

"Nightingale" is Williams' revision of 1948's "Summer and Smoke" (my favorite Williams play, incidentally). It tells essentially the same story of the spinsterish minister's daughter whose consuming love for her next-door neighbor remains unreciprocated. "Nightingale" is less allegorical than its predecessor and more tightly focused on the fascinating central character of Alma Winemiller, who Williams once claimed was his favorite character of all those that he had written.

All the roles in this production are in eminently capable hands, with particular pride of place among the supporting players going to Louise Latham as the mentally unbalanced Mrs. Winemiller, Tim O'Connor as Alma's well-intentioned but misguided father, and Neva Patterson as the two-faced Mrs. Buchanan, oozing both Southern charm and venom. As the object of Alma's affections, Frank Langella plays the most warm and romantic John Buchanan I have ever seen. Other Johns have seemed cocky or cold, but Langella seems to genuinely care about Alma rather than merely tolerating her. Played like this, it is quite easy to see how Alma could fall in love with him.

However, this is Alma's show, and in that role Blythe Danner is a raw, exposed nerve-ending, alternating between lyric melancholy and barely concealed hysteria. It is an exquisitely shaded performance, full of rich colors and nuance, and it is on a par with the sublime Geraldine Page's performance of the same role in the film version of "Summer and Smoke." Both actresses capture the character's need to burst forth from her own skin, of being strait-jacketed by the social mores of the period, and of being on the precipice of a dangerous emotional drop-off point. If Page owned the role of Alma in "Summer and Smoke," Danner clearly owns the Alma of "Eccentricities." She is simply stunning.

Don't expect stunning picture quality -- the production was filmed in 1976 on video, so it is roughly akin to watching a mid-1970's soap opera. However, the performances are what matter here, and they truly deliver. If you love Tennessee Williams, Blythe Danner, or if you simply enjoy great drama, don't let this one pass you by.

The staging is unusual but comes off brilliantly. The use of the minimalist sets works very well and I wouldn't have expected it to do so. It is slightly surreal but this is a slightly (?) surreal opera. The sets work with the opera and never detract from the opera or become intrusive.

The singers seem to be enjoying themselves and inviting you to enjoy it with them. In fact, joy might be a good one-word description of the entire opera.

There is some slapstick in it but never at the cost of the opera. Instead, it seems to enhance it. The scene with the cook and her "deadly" ladle is delightful but only slightly better than the other scenes.

This is my first experience with an Opera National de Lyon production and I throughly enjoyed it. I got the opera several months ago and find I watch it about once a month.

I upgraded from the laser disk version, and it was a good thing too. The laser disk had problems with the sound mixing which was fixed on the DVD version.

There are no extras, just the performance and a chapter menu. The menu does not even break up the contents between Act I & Act II, so it is very rudimentary. That's the only downside to this otherwise great DVD!