Non-Fiction Movie Reviews

Guess I was spectacularly wrong about this performance, there's some real side-splitting stuff in here!

Chris takes on drunk politicians, drugs, the innocence (or not) of OJ, subtleties of relationships between men and women and what makes each different, the ills of domestic abuse, the lack of popularity of books among the African-American community etc etc.

Pronto-Purchase material, this. Perhaps even the absolutely best stand-up material I have seen from Chris Rock EVER. Hilarious!

His passion, his anger (and maybe frustration) all pour out onto the screen and you really get the impression that the man is laying himself bare - the sort of exhaustive stage-performance that you only really expect to see once in every comedian's life... but for Rock, it's just another killer routine.

I could predictably warn people about his choice of language and the way in which his vocabulary is peppered with 'obscenity' - but like the finest of comedians, Rock's material is so rich and it's delivery is so slick, that swearing merely compliments what he says, rather than overpowering it. And quite frankly, if you're buying a Chris Rock video, you probably know what you're buying.

A true comedy classic.

"I once dated a girl who had nine earrings in this ear,seven in this ear,a ring in her nose and a bolt in her tongue.It felt like making love and working on my truck at the same time.I didn't know if I should kiss her or adjust the torque in her buttcrack.He is deinitely my second favorite on here.
Bill Engvall is next.He is nowhere near as funny as the other three.Most of his routine is about his family,mainly his sixteen year old daughter.I thought his routine was too long.
Jeff Foxworthy closes this show.He talks about the words rednecks use,women and tells a story about a guy he met in Atlanta whose wife's brother got his nipple bitten off by a live beaver.("That mus have been the first time that the words "Beaver" and "Nipple" could be said in the same headline without offending anybody".)He is defintely my favorite on here.At the end,they all get together.Ron White and Larry The Cable Guy tell stories,Bill Engvall tells some "Here's your Sign" jokes,("My car started overheating and a guy asked me "Did your car breakdown"?I said,"It wanted a cigarette,so I gave it one".),and Jeff Foxworthy tells some "You Might Be A Redneck If... jokes.The funniest one is:
"If you've ever stared at a bottle of orange juice because it said concentrate,you might be a redneck.

Well, now we have the 'Possum Pack. These 4 guys are so funny it hurts. They work the audience better than any group of entertainers I have ever seen. Toward the end of the show, it's just like you might see in daily life - the guys get together to discuss life and hammer each other. The stories are funny because they are (mostly) true. You might come away from some of the bits thinking "Hey, I went to school with a guy that did the same thing."

One of the funniest lines (no spoiler, only a teaser): "It's a good thing those things don't come in biscuits & gravy flavor."

The coverage of humor is not so much southern humor, but good ole boy humor which applies to every state in the U.S.

Holy Moley - this video is already a classic.

As parents, it is rare to find something that is equally interesting (OK, tolerable!!) for adults and children, but Blast has kept us all entertained, through many, many viewings. This is the perfect DVD to inspire young and older musicians alike.

In this particular cameo, he comfortably treads the line of race, social commentary, kids, the presidency, relationships and some other miscellaneous things. I could go on about the material in and of itself, but that'd only serve to spoil something that you should have no idea is coming at you.

Highly recommended for anyone who likes humor.

Well... him and a terrific, talented cast of singers, dancers and acrobats all rolled into one, and marvellous co-stars: of especial note are Eileen Battye as Chairy and the wonderful Ringmaster. The dialogue is often very funny and sometimes extremely moving, the songs unforgettable, and the colours-- beyond description. This is the story of a wonderful American entertainer; let him live again on your TV screens through Michael Crawford.

Five stars.

This title was deleted in the UK back in 1992, so anyone who wants to own it needs to buy the Region 1 DVD or NTSC VHS. A re-release in the UK would be nice. !

Buy Barnum on VHS or DVD now ! Because it may get deleted in the US too !

BUY NOW !

story.
And the new judge's stuff adds to the whole.
The camera is so clearly scripted. It is as much a stage tool as the clever ramps.
The shocks are still delivered but they are more from the musicians now.
I am very glad the dvd is in stock at my favourite US store.
It has been played here after dinner every night this week.

If you haven't experienced a Sweeney performance yet,
then make sure you see this one first.

The cast appear to enjoy their outing immensely and for

those who persist in comparing the very professional LuPone
with Lansbury - I consider that LuPone's self-absorbed,
maniacal manipulation of a distracted Sweeney works in this
production where a 'softer' Lansbury would have been
underwhelming. Besides, LuPone's Mrs Lovett is much closer to that of Geraldine Turner in Sydney - and everyone who saw Turner wouldn't allow Lansbury a look-in.
The director of this San Francisco show knew what he was doing.

Technically, the sound on the dvd is clean and clear enough
for my old amplifier to handle and the video is seamless.

The main attraction for me is that both the orchestra and chorus are bigger and better. The difference this makes in our enjoyment of the show is clear as soon as the company launches into the "Prologue." As for the performers I have to admit that I did not know that the title role was originally supposed to have been played by Bryn Terfel, so I was not aware that the majority of principle singers were trained more in opera than musical theater. After all, the recognizable names are those of a pair of Broadway veterans, George Hearn and Patti Lupone, plus a television dramedy star, Neil Patrick Howser, er, I mean Harris. Hearn, of course, knows the part of Sweeney Todd well, and Lupone puts her own stamp on Mrs. Lovett, making the pie shop owner's romantic feelings for the barber more believable. Director Lonny Price calls Harris the definitive Tobias and I would not be inclined to argue the point.

Again, there is more of a sense of realism to the production, and less of the theater of the macabre, and I think this is due to the casting choices rather than to the stripped down performance of the show where there are no sets, but costumes and props. I think that the subtle differences in Hearn's performance is as much a reaction to the cast he is singing with as much as his take on the role two decades later. I can go through the cast of singers and point to the marked differences between these voices and those of the original Broadway cast and find a much greater sense of gravity, from Timothy Nolen as Judge Turpin and Davis Gaines as Anthony Hope to Lisa Vroman as Johanna and Stanford Olsen as Pirelli. This production of "Sweeney Todd" unveils new depths to the story. There seems an invaluable less here and it certainly suggests that having "opera" singers do other pieces of a similar type would bear similar fruit. I know this was done before with "West Side Story" and other Rodgers & Hammerstein shows, but it seems that maybe the music of Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber might be better suited to such attempts than the American musical theater of the 1950s.

As with any taped "stage" performance, one of the advantages is that the camera can get us close enough to see what the expressions on the faces of the characters. Yes, it is somewhat disconcerting to see the orchestra behind the characters, but you forget them after a while. After all, it is singing that you want to hear. That is why it must be added that the only reason to buy "Sweeney Todd in Concert" on VHS instead of DVD is that you do not have a DVD player. However, since this is the 21st century, that should not be a problem. The whole point of a concert is the SOUND and that plays to the strength of the DVD (plus you have three options on the sound to pick the one that best suits your system requirements.

Hemm delivers the best Papageno I have ever seen, with not only a great voice (solid baritone - lovely!) and also commendable comic acting. Serra blew me away the moment she sang her first aria "O zittre nicht mein lieber Sohn..." It is note-perfect and flawless. She sings those scales as if they are a piece of cake, and she hits the high F perfectly, even in "Der Holle Rache". She falters just a teeny weeny little bit in the latter, but perhaps I'm picky. I've been wanting to find the perfect recording of "Der Holle Rache", but I haven't been in luck yet. (the version sung in the movie "Amadeus" was pitch-perfect, but incomplete and not available in the soundtrack.) But understandably, the Queen of the Night is one of the most difficult opera parts to sing, and Serra already pulls it off remarkably well, delivering an overall brilliant and astounding performance. (I thought she looked beautiful as QOTN too.) Of course, besides these two, there's Kathleen Battle as Pamina, perfect as always, Francisco Araiza as Tamino and Kurt Moll as Sarastro to look out for.

I have to share 4 of my favourite scenes here. 2 belong to the Queen of the Night's 2 arias, 1 is the scene where Monostato's slaves and himself are under a spell from Papageno's Glockenspiel, and they really "totter" away harmlessly. That scene is absolutely hilarious, with them going "lalalala" and dancing away, exiting at stage right. The final one is the finale duet with Papageno and Papagena (Barbara Kilduff)in "Pa-pagena! Pa-Pageno!". Hemm's and Kilduff's voices blend very well together. I love that song.

Thumbs up to this beautifully recorded performance, conducted by James Levine. I highly recommend this recording. It is definitely worth the money, and worth rewatching again and again.

I don't want to give the impression that it isn't enjoyable though. The Ryoga episodes in particular are hillarious, and worth the price of the box set. On the other hand, the episodes featuring Happosai reuse the same gag ad nauseam. Happosai is so one-dimensional that his character can be a big turn-off. Overall, this season is a bit hit-or-miss for me: with some really great episodes mixed in with some mediochre ones.

However, the relatively low price for a full season of anime may make this box set attractive. Also, the picture quality struck me as a bit higher when compared to the first season. I still noticed some compression problems, but they weren't obvious enough to detract from the content. The only other thing I should point out is that Viz is reusing the title screens from the VHS, for the beginning of the episodes; and it looks awful. Though they're only on screen for about three seconds so it may not bother you much.

Ranma has a (well-deserved) strong following; but I felt that I should warn potential buyers that the second season lacks some story elements found in the first season--specifically continuous character development. In fact, I've often heard it said that you can watch any Ranma anime (TV episodes, movies, or OVAs) after seeing the first season. So, if you're thinking of introducing friends to Ranma, the first season is a must-buy, and the second season is less necessary.

I love this romantic escape into a fantasy world of dreamy opera and sometimes the singing can literally make you heady. I fell completely in love with this story after listening to a 1987 London recording from the library.

The story begins near Nagasaki, although this movie was filmed in Tunisia. A Japanese house, terrace and garden is situated on a hill overlooking the harbor. There is a sense of serenity and peace, but this does not fully represent the future.

Lieutenant Pinkerton (Richard Troxell) is selecting a home and Goro brings him into the house to show him all the benefits of the house. He in turn thinks the house is "as delicate as a puff of wind." Which could rather be used to describe his commitment to his new bride, Butterfly (Ying Huang). We can't quite figure out why this naval officer wants to buy a bride when he is just going to leave her trapped in a beautiful cage for three years.

Is this not the entire fantasy of the knight who rescues a woman and then puts her in a tower? Yet, here the knight and the maiden don't seem to share the same commitment to one another and when the knight leaves, he seems to forget to even send a note back to the maiden.

The love duets are magnificent and beyond compare. The world literally dissolves when you watch this movie. The letter scene gives you hope and yet the sheer tragedy of the situation reaches new levels when Butterfly tosses Sharpless out of the house due to his heartless comments about her accepting a proposal from Yamadori.

I also love Butterfly's sweet innocence when she asks when the robin builds his nest in her husband's country, because in her country it has built a nest three times and she can't understand why her husband has not returned. He promised he would return when the robin was building his nest.

Butterfly has many opportunities to escape her cage with a variety of suitors, yet stays completely faithful. She lives with her maid, Suzuki. They almost run out of money while waiting for Pinkerton to return. When she realized Pinkerton has finally returned, she takes flower petals (peach-blossom, violet, jasmine) and strews them all over the house. She then falls asleep, exhausted from waiting up all night.

"Oh, the bitter fragrance
of these flowers
spreads in my heart like poison.
Unchanged is the room
where our love blossomed.
But the chill of death is here.
My picture...
Three years have passed
and she has counted the days and the hours!" ~Pinkerton

"Madame Butterfly" is an exquisite and faithful cinematic adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's Opera "Madama Butterfly" set in Japan in 1904. It is really a heart-wrenching story of a young geisha who sacrifices her religion, family and life with a more suitable partner, like Prince Yamadori, while she waits for Lieutenant Pinkerton to return.

Unfortunately, a rash decision does not allow her heart to heal. This movie is just mesmerizing, heart breaking and terribly romantic. If you want to create a romantic atmosphere, watch on a rainy afternoon with a jasmine scented candle and jasmine tea.

You can find the following items here at Amazon: Jasmine Yin Hao Tea, One Dozen Jasmine Honey Votive Candles, Jasmine Sensual Body Massage Oil, Butterfly Notebook, Crackler Butterfly "cat toy," Water color butterfly rug, Tiffany Butterfly Light, Butterfly Serenity Sphere, Lenox Butterfly Meadow Enamel-Coated Steel Tea Kettle and a Butterfly Cookie Cutter.

~TheRebeccaReview.com