Workshops and Courses Movie Reviews

It has very nice sections explaining how to drive as well as 3D illustrations where they show parallel parking etc. I really liked the ability to be able to watch at different angles etc. It is well worth the price. The only reason for 4 stars is that it misses 3 point turns but so does the state's driver's manual.

I struggled with whether to give this 4 stars or 5. The user interface (UI) is a bit clunky, but the content and instruction is worth of the 5 stars.

The DVD tries to be interesting -- and it is interesting -- although it is borderline cheesey in the process. The important thing is the viewer won't bore easily with repetitive viewing which is important when you are getting something instructional like this.

At the end of sections, the DVD has a small quiz. That is a good idea, but the quizes are a little obvious and easy.

I guess the most appealing thing about this is it is easily increasing her abilities while she does what she does best: watch TV. That helps keep insurance costs down, I guess. ;-)

It has very nice sections explaining how to drive as well as 3D illustrations where they show parallel parking etc. I really liked the ability to be able to watch at different angles etc. It is well worth the price. The only reason for 4 stars is that it misses 3 point turns but so does the state's driver's manual.

I struggled with whether to give this 4 stars or 5. The user interface (UI) is a bit clunky, but the content and instruction is worth of the 5 stars.

The DVD tries to be interesting -- and it is interesting -- although it is borderline cheesey in the process. The important thing is the viewer won't bore easily with repetitive viewing which is important when you are getting something instructional like this.

At the end of sections, the DVD has a small quiz. That is a good idea, but the quizes are a little obvious and easy.

I guess the most appealing thing about this is it is easily increasing her abilities while she does what she does best: watch TV. That helps keep insurance costs down, I guess. ;-)

Kicking and kneeing a down opponent was now legal in Pride. This would have given Igor Vovchanchyn a KO victory over Mark Kerr in their first encounter. But enough with the what ifs; this Pride was to be the first under these controversial rules.

The new rules really favored the "strikers" and gave the "grapplers" something to think about. These old terms are dated. Every good fighter is well-rounded in grappling and striking skills. Maybe it safe to say that the good strikers really got a kick off these new rules. No pun intended.

The night kicked off with BJJ sensation Vitor Belfort against Pride newcomer Bobby Southworth. We got a glimpse of Belfort's submission skills in this fight. A mismatch, but entertaining.

Next up was to be a grudge match between Enson Inoue and Guy Metzger. In an earlier UFC tournament, these two were to fight, but Enson suffered and injury that prevented this. Words were tossed, as they always are and a grudge was born. Unfortunately for Guy, Enson had retired. So in came older brother Egan Inoue to challenge Metzger. While Egan was the more muscular of the two, Metzger was actually bigger in size. A good striking fight with a solid KO for a finish.

The ever tough Heath Herring was up next against Denis Sobolev. Herring at a young age had taken out perhaps the most dominating wrestler in Tom Erickson. With his stock rising, nothing was to stop Herring this night, not even a tough-guy in Sobolev.

The next fight featured two MMA's classiest fighters. As classy they are, of course they happen to be very good fighters. On one corner we had Renzo Gracie, the most active of the famous Gracie family. His fights were against formidable opponents. With wins over Taktarov, Kikuta, Otsuka, and Maurice Smith, speaks volumes. In the other corner: Dan Henderson. Henderson was/is all business. He is a quite man who just wins. His victories include wins over Goes, Newton, Yvel, Nogueira, Babalu were also impressive. So these two great (in and outside the ring) fighters fought with a sneaky punch resulting in decisive KO. No phantom-punches, it may require the slo-motion of your DVD to really catch the quick right.

An interesting matchup between heavyweight Mark Coleman and middleweight Alan Goes was next. The last the world saw of Coleman was in Pride winning the Grand Prix tournament. His return was anticipated even if was against a smaller opponent. Goes the superb BJJ technician was the first true submissions expert Coleman was to face. The new rules turned this fight into lights-out for the loser. A funny sequence of events follow the stoppage of this fight. It cannot be missed.

The next fight was the Japanese treat fight. We had Masaaki Satake vs. Tadao Yasuda in a fight catered to entertain the Japanese crowd. A match of little to no significance. I did disagree with the decision, though.

Fight 7 was originally the battle between Ken Shamrock and Igor Vovchanchyn. The buzz behind was huge, but Shamrock was forced to step down due to an injury. His "last second" replacement was fellow Lions Den fighter Tre Telligman. Telligman while respected, was on paper no threat to Igor. Tre had fought (valiantly) and lost to many good fighters. Igor was ready to use this fight as a springboard to a highly-anticipated rematch against Mark "the Hammer" Coleman. The biggest shocker in recent MMA history. Really something special!

In the end...the Main Event! The battle between Japanese sensation Kazushi Sakaraba and Vanderlei Silva. Saku was on top of the world. His victories over almost every fighting Gracie and widely regarded as the best middleweight in the world. He had earned his high remarks by exhibiting truly unorthadox fighting. On the other corner was Muay-Thai sensation Vanderlei Silva. The "Axe Murderer" as he is known, Silva had a reputation as bruising striker. Silva didn't want to be another Brazilian to fall to Sakuraba. Sakuraba was eager to take out a powerful striking specialist. This fight best describes the title of the event: Collision Course! A brutal finish to say the least.

The best Pride show maybe since Pride 10 (Return of the Warriors). A great buy, trust me.

In the second film, "Critters 2: The Main Course," we find the hero of the first film returning to his hometown to spend easter with his Grandmother. But when his Grandmother purchases mysterious eggs for there Easter festivitys, he realizes (to later) the eggs are the spawn of the Aliens. And now the pesty little hair-balls have invaded a hole town. THE BEST IN THE SERIES.

A perfect and excellent sequel which is far superior to the first one, this one has it all: Action, suspense, romance, some sad moments, gore, a little nudity, Aliens, and the infamous Ball of Critters. This even has the best part of the movie that will make you guys cheer in amazement, is when " Lee" the bounty Hunter transforms into a half-nude but beautiful Playboy Model right in front of your eyes played by the lovely Blondie " Roxanne Kernohan". Even the Soundtrack is great and this is a must see sequel.

I first saw this BBC series on TV Ontario, a few years ago, and since I missed a few programs I decided to buy the series on DVD. I'm glad I did. Jancis takes a sensible view of wine, and wine tasting. This program is not for wine snobs, but for those people who want to know how to understand and appreciate wine in general. If you know how to taste a wine, then you'll know how to enjoy what appeals to your own taste buds, and not what you think you should like based on intimidations from others. You can also tell if someone tasting a wine knows what they are doing from the way they smell, and taste the wine to the way they hold the glass. Likewise if you order a wine in a good restaurant it helps to know if they are serving it correctly (in an appropriate glass, and at the right temperature), else they shouldn't be charging high prices for a product they don't know how to serve.

I always liked Julia Child because she taught the viewer the science of cooking. Jancis's Robinson does the same thing. She shows you the science of wine, and how it's made. I particularly like the program on fizz. It opened my mind to sparkling wines from other regions of the world other than France and champagne... especially since the series revealed that many of these sparkling wines from around the world are being produced with French methods by French companies.

Is it necessary to let a wine breath? What does corked mean? Jancis answers these questions. I also found it surprising to know that most wines should be drunk when they are young. Only a few wines need to be aged.

I've seen wine tasters appear on tv shows (Eg: Martha Stewart). They taste wines and ramble on about how good it is etc etc. However none of these experts show people what to look for when tasting. They don't show you how important the sinuses are in tasting. It's all fine and dandy to watch Martha Stewart look at the experts and agree that the wine they just tasted is excellent. They however neglect to show you how to do it yourself, and fine out what you consider to be excellent according to your own likes and dislikes. Jancis does show you in this series. Wine tasting is a personal thing... what one taster likes another dislikes.

Since watching the series I've decided to try Australian, New Zealand, and Chilean wines. I'm glad I did. Jancis is not afraid to place wines from these new wine countries, up against the best that Western Europe can offer. Jancis has opened my mind to wine. I recommend this series to anyone that seriously wants to learn how to consume wine. It's also handy to have Jancis Robinson's book as well "Jancis Robinson's Wine Course" BBC Books ISBN 0-563-37098-X.