Wholesale and Distribution Movie Reviews

I love the fact that NSYNC put the music videos from their last two albums on this DVD. The one thing that could have made it better was music videos from their first album. The music video for "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" should have been on there as well.

YES, I AM AN OLDER FAN BUT I STILL LOVE NSYNC. THEY ARE A VERY TALENTED BUNCH OF YOUNG GUYS AND AIN'T BAD TO LOOK AT EITHER.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SOLO ALBUM OF JC CHASEZ. JUSTIN'S ALBUM DEFINITELY ROCKED. THIS DVD IS A MUST FOR ALL NSYNC LOVERS. YOU DEFINITELY WON'T GO WRONG. AFTER ALL, YOU GET TO LOOK AT A BUNCH OF GOOD LOOKING GUYS AND YOU CAN REWIND ALL YOU WANT. BUY IT.

I think this is the greatest idea ever... a collection of the best videos by the best group in the world....*Nsync. I really enjoy watching this over and over. I was hoping that they would have had Nsync live with the song Pop from the Road to Celebrity. I would love to have that video. Other than that this collection is better than excellent. A pat on the back to the person that came up with the idea of putting videos on DVD.
I recommend this highly to all *Nsync and non fans of this super talented group.

Wow--what a powerful story. I'm not normally one to pick up a foreign movie (I hate reading subtitles; that's what books are for!), but the story sounded very intriguing: a recent widow who was in a happy, loving marriage discovers that her husband was living a double-life...with another man for seven years. Both of his relationships were loving...and he obviously couldn't bring himself to pick between the two because he loved both of them. In a sense, he was monogamous...with two people.

The movie was even better than I had expected. There was so much emotion between the main characters -- the two "widows." I loved that there was tension at the beginning between the two and, from the love of the same man, they eventually grew a friendship...and grew to love each other as well. It was a very moving story, and I highly recommend it.

A worthy effort. Strong acting. Intelligent story. Why can't American filmmakers be as skillful in treating subjects like this in their films? (P.S. I've never seen so many handsome men in one film)

This is an amazing film!! It is touching, and heart warming wihtout ever getting to be sacharine or melodramatic. The characters are strong and believable and the acting is superb! Foreign movies are great and Italian is a beautiful language to hear! If it helps in your decision the cast is very attractive, and there is one very hot make out scene between three guys. If you are looking for a lot of skin though this is not the movie for you, this is a movie of human relationships and dealing with loss; not to mention coming to terms with the people we love. The main character is a woman who's husband has just died. She discovers he has been having a relationship with another man for 7 years (seti ani). The two (the wife and the other man) become friends and discover things about the man they both loved that they never knew before. It is a complex and engrossing story that can be viewed more than once. So if you have not purchased this DVD yet get to it!! You will not be sorry.

This movie has everything any red-blooded American male B-movie buff could ever ask for. Beautiful women. Killing. Beautiful women. Comedy. Beautiful women. A wiseacre detective a la Mike Hammer on valium. And all of it on the cheap. If you're one of those PC Nazis, you'll hate it, but if you can take low-brow comedy with a grain of salt it'll be a fabulous movie-going experience.

This is sure one funny/sexually appealing movie!...

The detective also was something else, he was such a funny guy!

In total favor of this movie...

This movie is definitely not for everyone. Fans of low-budget horror and B-movies (you know, the ones so bad that they are good) will love it! Linnea Quigley is great in her role; she even does an erotic (sort of) dance with a chainsaw. What more could you ask for? I highly recommend this one. A+

"Benji" is a kid's film which achieves the status of true drama, due to the remarkable acting ability of Higgins in the title role. A schnauzer-cocker-poodle cross, Higgins was found in a shelter and trained by Frank Inn. Before playing "Benji," he guest-starred on tv's "Lassie", "Beverly Hillbillies", and "Green Acres;" had a regular role in "Petticoat Junction" as "Dog;" and carried the title role in the film "Mooch Goes to Hollywood" (1971). "Benji" was true screen triumph for Higgins, worthy of an Oscar. Kudos to his co-star Tiffany, as well, for her engaging personality.

I can remember watching this when I was 7 or 8 years-old, and I recently re-watched it. It is every bit as good as I remembered it to be!
Benji steals the show with his incredible acting skills, and somehow makes the whole plot seem true.
Benji is a mutt who has his friends that he always visits every day. His last visit is to 2 kids whose dad hates dogs, so they "smuggle" him into the kitchen. One day they are caught and Benji is banished from the house, the kids are heartbroken. What comes next is a heartwarming story of loyalty and friendship.

I loved Benji as a child - I even remember my stuffed Benji doll that I carried around for years! This film is as great now as it was then. I highly recommend this wonderful little movie to everyone everywhere, whether you have children or not!!!

Terribel DVD recording, bad sound, bad contrast. Obviously copied from a print and not a negative...too bad. Cheaply done and not at all sharp. If you can stand that, get it for the performances.

The Edinburgh Festival is the setting for this musical comedy, and Cesar Romero is the director of a Broadway style musical, and unfortunately, he has run out of money and the creditors do not want to wait. So in desperation, he casts a chorus girl in the leading role, believing it will get him closer to her boyfriend's fortune, but there is one slight problem - she does not have a millionaire husband.

The cast is first rate, and it is a funny movie, too. Vera Ellen has to be on of the most under-rated dancers in a Hollywood gone by. I fell in love with her dancing after watching "White Christmas," and she's a joy to watch. So exciting, lithe, and talented. She makes it look so easy. Fall in love with Vera (only in the movies, of course), and get this marvelous film.

This is one of my favorites and offers up great acting with Vera-Ellen, David Niven and Cesar Romero as well as a great storyline and great dancing by the great Vera-Ellen. Vera-Ellen is part of a Broadway dance troupe with a very funny Cesar Romero as the director who is trying to keep his show going and in need of financing. Vera-Ellen is eventually mistaken to be the girlfriend/fiance of Scotland's most wealthy bachelor and Romero sees it as an opportunity to get financial backing and putting Vera-Ellen in the lead role. She goes along with it and it leads to hilarious results with Niven's character coming into the picture.

I haven't found a film to take its place yet in five years. . .
(rev. 7/10/02)
Noir/mystery fans, don't miss this. Never mind that it's 'only a true story,' and it's only 80 minutes long. It might as well be two hours long, considering the thrills it gives you. Tragic elements keep me from recommending this right away for noir fans and mystery buffs. I usually run the list thus: Double Indemnity, Gaslight, Mildred Pierce, Scarlet Street, The Red House (so few film rentals have the Red House!),Sorry Wrong Number. However, if I'm in a risky mood, I'll recommend He Walked By Night. Unforgettable.

Though Alfred Werker is credited with the direction of this film, for anyone familiar with the work of Anthony Mann it is obvious that this film belongs to Mann who replaced Werker as director after some of the filming was already begun.
It is becoming more common knowledge all the time what superior noir films Anthony Mann made in the late 1940's though he worked with very small budgets. The most popular of these films seems to be T-Men which is a deserving choice, but my personal favorite is He Walked By Night. This is not only one of the finest of all noir films, but is one of the masterpieces of American cinema. But it is also a frustrating film in a way that I will describe. The great achievement of this film was reached in spite of the restrictions that Mann had to work with. He did not write the screenplay with its heavy-handed propagandistic tone. The sympathy for law enforcement is so pervasive in it that there is little space left for the most fascinating question in the film: What really motivates Roy Martin? The propaganda aspect of the film sees Martin as merely an alien and repellant statistic that must be simply disposed of. But it is obvious that Mann saw that the core of the energy of this film lay in the character of Roy Martin who becomes an incandescent question that can not be ignored. This vicious killer, with his strange obsession with electronics, obviously loves and is deeply loved by his pet dog. In a structural sense the center and balance point of the film is the simple scene of Roy alone in his apartment with the dog shortly before the police close in on him. Roy is obviously uneasy lying on the sofa and he reaches down to touch the dog on the floor near him. It is a genuine need for affection. The dog senses the police and begins moaning and barking which allows Roy to escape from the house, but of course he is tracked down by the police in a great under the city chase. The reason that, for me, He Walks By Night is superior to T-Men, though the two films are comparable in their general cinematic qualities, is precisely the charcter of Roy Martin. Though Mann is not allowed to probe and explore this character deeply and to one's satisfaction, which is what makes this great film also somewhat frustrating, he does succeed in making of Roy Martin a strange, troubling flare that lights up the night and is not forgotten. It is most unfortunate that an artist like Anthony Mann was not given the space he really needed here to explore the conflicted human psyche which was his forte as he showed later in the great westerns, Naked Spur and The Man Of The West. Of all Mann's early films He Walked By Night is the most indicative of his artistic gifts and inclinations. It is a film well worth becoming deeply familiar with.
It is only fair to mention also that Richard Baseharts' portrayal of Roy Martin can only make one wonder why this gifted actor was so little recognized. Basehart and Mann make a deeply powerful combination in this great film.
When will America begin truly respecting its real artists and learn to separate them from mere entertainers?

The Dragnet overlay functions like Fritz Lang/M's web of entrapment for the mysterious Basehart character. We never find out why he does anything that he does. I'm especially baffled and intrigued by his need to steal cutting edge electronic equipment and then have Whit Bissell sell it as Basehart's own invention. What gives with that? And the previous reviewer's comment about B and his dog is right on target: it's extremely touching: B and his dog, in that lonely apartment, all alone. Probably Alton's masterwork. Interesting companion piece: Basehart's Tension, where he's a cuckolded milquetoast pharmacist who changes identity to get revenge--but with unexpected results.

This concert is great for historical purposes, not musical. It's the last time the 5 guys stood on a stage and for good reason - they hated each other's guts. Bruce is the only guy smiling at this show. Dennis is drunk off his rocker. Brian sings the first verse of Sloop John B then vanishes. Mike is the angry attention hog. Carl is depressed by the whole situation but still sings and plays magically. Al, thank God for Al, wearing a suit, ramains composed and turns in the best over-all performance - the glue that holds it all together.
If your a fan, you need this. It's way more interesting in terms of personal dynamics than musically. It represents their darkest times yet somehow they still all played and sang their hearts out. Good stuff.

This is a great DVD if you're looking for something to capture that period from the Beach Boys. One must remember though, that the audio on this performance is HEAVILY edited, probably with new harmonies added in the studio, making their backing vocals sound much better than the actual live performance. (Something used quite commonly now on "live" recordings) I saw them two weeks after this performance, in Washington, DC, and actually had the live FM stereo broadcast of that concert for years on tape. Those live vocals were pretty rough, given how good their vocal performances were just a few years prior. It's also interesting to note that "Wouldn't It Be Nice" was left off the Knebworth recording; probably not even salvageable in the studio. It was butchered in the DC concert as well, with Al Jardine trying to help/force BW through the lead vocals. Knebworth was also the exact same playlist as the DC show. With that said, the energy and musicianship of their live shows from that period comes through on this DVD. The Knebworth concert DVD is a great package and effort, and the audio track IS excellent, although "polished", and gives fans the chance to maybe remember them as that hard rockin' band that they were in the early 70's.

Who ever filmed this concert must have known that this was a very special show. This is one of the best concert dvds that I've seen. This concert features all 5 original members ( plus late bloomer Bruce Johnston ) performing onstage together for the last time in the U. K.

The boys were in fine form that memorable evening. The song selection is a mostly a hits - heavy set of oldies including "California Girls", "I Get Around", "Be True To Your School", "Fun Fun Fun", and particularly hot versions of "Help Me Rhonda" and "Barbara Ann". They also perform a few satisfying but not as well - received newer numbers, including the pretty "Lady Lynda" and a smokin' "Keepin' The Summer Alive". The band members themselves are top notch musically. Brian Wilson remains secluded behind the piano for the whole show, but contributes some lead vocal work on "Sloop John B", as well as on the heartbreaking performance of "Surfer Girl". The late Carl Wilson is just amazing on "God Only Knows", and Dennis Wilson's drumming is among his best. Unfortuneately, years of drug, cigarette and alcohol abuse seem to have caught up with him. But his voice still sounds beautiful on his lone solo number, a cover of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful".

This is a perfect show. Sad and joyful all at once. All the songs you enjoy plus some other, less familliar numbers. However, I did notice some lyrical differences between this dvd and the cd, particularly on "Lady Lynda". On the cd, the a capella part is performed as, "Won't You Lye Lady, Sing Your Song Of Love", while on the dvd it's "Won't Lye Lady, Won't You Marry Me". These minor differences aside, this is a perfect dvd.

just some studio gangstars claiming fame from the hard work of others. a pity... these guys owe everything to the real g's..

Cashing in on the popularity of the "gangsta rap" craze of the mid-90's, Death Row Records released this long-form music video starring media sensation, Snoop Doggy Dogg in 1994. With a murder case pending against him and every parental watchdog group in the country attacking his controversial debut album, "Doggystyle", Snoop stepped in front of the camera for this movie short, directed by mentor, Dr. Dre. This marked the first time that Dre, who was considered by many to be the greatest producer in hip-hop, directed a film project.

Inspired by the hit single of the same name off his multi-platinum album, "Murder" features Snoop as a gang member who gets caught up in a drive-by shooting and sells his soul to the devil for a second chance at life and a career in music. Things go haywire for him, however, when the devil turns the tables and sends him to prison for murder.

"Murder Was The Case" is both a long-form music video for the hit single as well as a brief documentary of Snoop Doggy Dogg the rapper as he explains how he got into the rap game and the influence of his music on mainstream America. It also features a collection of music videos and live concert footage featuring Snoop and his Dogg Pound Posse.

this is a good dvd. full of bonus material. good to see the old death row again. murder was the case is probably the best short film/video ever made. almost better than thriller. get this youll like it.

There's plainly just not enough material on this DVD. Yes, the menu is really cool but it is confusing. Since nothing is labeled, you just search around Gorillaz' house and highlight random objects and watch videos. They have the four music videos for "Clint Eastwood," "19-2000," "Tomorrow Comes Today," and "Rock da' House."

Those videos are all good, but honestly this DVD only gives you abount one hour of veiwing entertainment. The rest is filler of lame skits and the videos before they were filled in with color so they'e just pencil sketches.

Being a huge Gorillaz fan, I was a little disappointed with their DVD release.

The upside- It's great having a way to access all the Gorillaz music videos, even their planned-yet-never-made video for "5/4" which is essentially storyboards synced to the music. The animated skits are cool and the illustrated booklet has a lot of great artwork, not to mention notes on how the "band" was formed

The downside- While there's also live show clips, I quickly lost interest in it. The interview included wasn't as informative as I had hoped. The aforementioned animated skits aren't even a minute in length each. Several of the music videos have storyboarded and animatic versions, which don't serve much of a purpose. A lot of it just seems to be filler. But the main problem is the navigation. It would have been nice to access clips and videos from the usual DVD menus. Instead it all uses icons and I had to constantly look at the map included with the DVD to figure out where I wanted to go. It also would have been nice to have all the music videos and animated skits grouped together instead of spread out to the different areas.

Celebrity Take Down is still a good Gorillaz DVD to own, but I can't help but feel it was only put out to sate Gorillaz fans and nothing more.

It's about time we got a DVD from these guys. I've always wanted to see them talk/communicate with eachother outside songs, and we got it with this. The whole DVD is pretty much just their videos and story boards/animatics for them, but the videos are just so cool, that it's worth it to have them all right here. If you don't know which ones they've done- Tomorrow Comes Today, Clint Eastwood, 19-2000, Rock the House, and you get an animatic for 5/4. The coolest story board is for Clint Eastwood, where it shows a small extended ending to the video.

Aside from those, you get a few Gorillaz Bitez...which are quick animated shorts of them doing things (playing games, jumping over Russel, Murdoc killing an eel, etc.), a long "interview" about how the band got started. It's really funny actually. All of Murdoc's ex girlfriends talk about how sick he was and how he'd beat around 2-D. Then you get 2 live concert performances and one long visual presentation of most of the songs that don't have videos. It's mainly just a bunch of colors with the band flying around. It's pretty cool once you just lay back and watch it. There are a few other smaller extras that you should like if you like the band at all. But why would you be getting this if you didn't?

This limited edition comes with a CD-ROM...I don't know what it does since my computer has dead speakers (they're being used as foot rests right now) but it's probably tons of extras for the website. It also comes with really sweet stickers, just as cool as the promotional ones that came out when their first album came out 2 years ago...and a 52 page book that has tons of art and information. Oh yeah I almost forgot! Watch all of the Bitez (in order I think) and then go to the computer office screen. Then go to the upper left corner and you'll see a bonus video from their Space Monkeys album.

Get this if you like Gorillaz, or have interest in animation/comics. You won't be disappointed. And if you are, I'll buy your copy just to have back up.

I've watched these DVDs and they were nothing other than I expected (*and* almost perfect). I just want to reply to the, in my opinion not really fair comment in someone else's review. They wrote that that they didn't like it that the series seems to consist of misunderstanding piled upon misunderstanding. The people who made the anime had no choice, they *had* to make it that way, because the manga it's based on is like that, anything else would have violated the 'spirit' of the manga. Oh, and though it does go a bit far with that kind of thing, in the manga they also end up saying serious and amazing and just super "real" things, real eye openers. I can't wait for the rest of these CD sets to come out!

After reading the first couple of reviews i thought the dub was going to be terrible but its not all that bad. I found myself actually liking the dub after watching the first couple of episodes. This is one series that has me hooked unfortunately since well Viz is known to have release problems so who knows when everything will be released. It may take one year or longer to have everything released for this series which stinks since i am hooked and there is talk that it may never be fully released. I can only hope this is false but till then any anime fan that likes this series might want to look into Kimagure Orange Road(good series). thanks

A superb romantic comedy, "Maison Ikkoku", Vol. 1, kicks off this uniquely Japanese story; but the appeal of this timeless classic is universal. Heroine, Kyoko Otonashi, ranked this year as one of the top 5 heroines of anime by a poll of 10,000 adults taken by a major Japanese newspaper. Which is saying something considering that this show ended 15 years ago.

Maison Ikkoku is a run down apartment building in Tokyo. Living there is struggling and wishy-washy college student Yusaku Godai, who falls head over heels in love with the beautiful, young manager of the building, Kyoko Otonashi. Kyoko has some feelings towards Godai, but she's a widow, and still is not over the death of her beloved husband, Soichiro.

Complicating matters between the two are rich, suave, hysterically dog-phobic, and handsome tennis coach Shun Mitaka, Godai's rival for Kyoko; and Kozue Nanao, a sweet, cute, and naive girl, who accidently becomes Godai's platonic girlfriend. Kozue is clueless that Godai is in love with Kyoko.

The crowning touch is the 3 other residents of the apartment building: hard drinking, hard partying and hard gossiping Mrs. Ichinose, who lives with her young son Kentaro; Akemi, a sexy party animal who is the bar hostess at local hangout ChaChaMaru, wearing her see-through negligee around the building; and then there's the mysterious Yotsuya, who gets his kicks out of peeping, and breaking through Godai's wall so that he can mooch food from Godai. These characters would be at home in "A Confederacy of Dunces".

All 3 regard Godai as their personal toy, and they get their kicks from teasing him and holding their drinking parties in his room. They also discover that Kyoko is also fun to tease.

The only problems with this DVD release is Viz. Viz has long mishandled MI, and the DVD release is no exception. No subtitles for the opening closing numbers (the opening number is quite nice, too), no extras other then textless versions of the opening and closing, but most of all, no cultural notes whatsoever. ADV and Animego would've done proper justice to this show. Maison Ikkoku is set in Japan in the 1980s, the actual time that the 15 volume manga which was the basis for the anime; the result is one of the best examinations of regular life in Japan. MI is so quintessentially Japanese, that a number of anime reference books use the series to highlight aspects of Japanese culture.

However, the humor and romance will appeal to anyone with a sense of humor, or romance. The comic usage of misunderstandings is straight from Shakespeare, and any fan of screwball comedies will be rolling on the floor with laughter. But the characters are grounded in reality, and moments of drama and romance will often take you by surprise. Godai matures as the series progresses, he's only 19 when the series starts, and we see Kyoko overcome the massive loss she suffered.

The only major bone to pick with the series is the dub version. Viz did a horrible job casting Ellen Kennedy in the role of Kyoko: her voice projects Kyoko as being tough cookie - it's not the voice of someone 21-22 years old. Sumi Shimamoto, however, is perfect, sweet, innocent, the perfect lady - which makes her shows of strength, stubbornness, jealousy and anger all the more effective. The English VA for Godai is not as bad as the English version of Kyoko, but he's not as good as Issei Futamata, who makes you understand why the gals are interested in him, while also playing the klutz quite well. The rest of the voice cast, English and Japanese, are excellent.

Despite these problems, the result is a DVD release which is vastly superior in every detail to the fansubbed versions which are available. The restored print is great, and the subtitles are both clean and a good translation. But the heart of any DVD is the story itself. By any standard, this 12 episode release for a retail price of $49.99, is reasonably priced, especially when it can be obtained for less.

The first 12 episodes introduce the important characters, and are a great example of the natural story-telling style of Japanese cinema: Where an American show would introduce all the major characters in the first episode, as well as the major plot issues, these are effectively spread out over this DVD, introducing the key characters. These episodes came out in 1986, and the age is noticeable, compared with more recent releases. However, due to the nature of this show, it does not age badly, and some of the background art is stunning.

A few notes: Godai's hiding in the closet in episode 1 is a parody on Japanese creation mythology: the sun goddess hid in a cave, only drawn out by the party caused by another goddess striping outside. The dog, Soichiro. Listen, and you will hear him called "Soichiro-san". The Japanese honorific "-san", is used only for people, and equals at that, never on a pet dog, which is why the name produces curiosity from cast members.

A great series, this DVD set is a must have for anyone interested in Japan, any fan of creator Rumiko Takahashi, (Ranma, Inu-Yasha), as it is her best work, IMHO, or any lover of comedy, romance or the combination thereof.