Wholesale and Distribution Movie Reviews

Alucarda was obviously made to cash in on the success of the Exorcist. And on many levels, it succeeds. The film is about a young girl who lives in a convent, and takes a fellow young nymph into the woods, where they encounter some strange gypsies. These gypsies are, well, basically devil worshippers, and they seem to possess poor Alucarda, who wants nothing more than to have some fun in the woods, and escape the sin obsessed nuns of the convent, who seem to be wearing bloody bandages as habits. Well, from there the film gets very crazy, with lots of blood, screaming, and blasphemies, as Alucarda uses her new found power much the way Sissy Spacek did in Carrie. And from there, it's nuns vs. devil-chicks, and sheer lunacy. There is a disturbing scene towards the end with a crucufix, that worked well in the "anything goes" seventies, but would never work today. The film is erotic, disturbing, and just plain old fun, but certainly not for everybody. Very eerie, and atmospheric, and on a stormy October night I cant think of a better way to spend it than by watchin a film with as much guts as "Alucarda".

The movie definitely deserves a place in the list of the best vampire movies ever made. The characters are quite good, though the overacting of Tina Romero (Alucarda) makes the character seem not so real. ALUCARDa/aDRACULA that is a funny thing you find in the name.

Okay, I've been burned before, as I'm sure we all have, by the blurbs on the box. This one says:

More blood, loud screaming and nudity then any horror film I can think of.

So I bought it, knowing full well it could be another Unhinged. So, I started watching it and the first thing that really stands out are the costumes of the nuns that are made to look like bloodied bandages. And so, I made it through the first time and other then the nun's habbits, it wasn't that weird. But then I was compelled to watch it again, and the second time it was like watching it for the first time!

This movie throws so much specticle, blood, screams, and general devilry at its audience it is like a hard rain that bounces off the ground and doesn't soak in.

This movie could be the greatest single horror movie in history and no one has ever heard of it! Except for the guy quoted on the cover.

If you're a horror fan, you gotta get this. If you're dating a horror fan and you don't really get "this whole horror thing" but you love your horror lover, then get him or her this and you will be well esteemed! They may even think you understand them, which could have dire consequences.

Other then the movie, there are some interviews with people who knew the director, some guy named Juan Moctezuma and possibly a documentary, I don't really remember. And then there is a text biography about him, which I didn't read because reading is passe and besides, I'm illiterate.

So, buy this movie now or you may not be able to look at yourself in the mirror because you will have become a vampire, or something.

When I ordered this DVD I expected more behind the scenes on recording of their albums and more live concert footage but I was very much disappointed. Granted there are a number of music videos but I was hoping for more. There is a few behind the scene footage and some (very little) live footage but it just leaves wanting more. Maybe, hopefully they will have another DVD out soon with more I and more than likely other fans expect to see.

Wow...In the extras menu there is a bootleg of The Eleventh Hour. Even though the sound isn't that great you can sure feel the vibe. The whole crowd sings through out the whole song. It is awesome. If only crowds would get into bands like this here we would be able to see them more often. This DVD is really good for what it is. If you are a Fates Warning fan you'll love it. I think everyone should go out and buy this...and all their other stuff.

If you are a fan of Fates Warning, you can't live without this DVD. The MTV videos are cool, but the best part of the DVD is the bootleg videos and the footage of the band in the studio for Parallels and Disconnected and the interviews with Frank Aresti and Joe DiBiasi. If only they would have included some old John Arch-era bootlegs...

There are 2 workouts on this dvd--a yoga workout, and a core essentials workout.

The continuous camera movement for the yoga portion makes me feel ill. So, the rare times that I view this dvd, I try to avoid looking at the screen. Unfortunately, I can still see the screen out of the corner of my eye. The music is of the ballet-piano variety, which I am not the biggest fan of. The instructor breezes a little too fast through the poses, and her voice sounds like Jenny Jones's--this I wish I had known before I bought the dvd.

The core essentials portion of the dvd is strange--the instructor starts off with this weird speed floor aerobics. Then I realize that in order to do the workout, one needed to have purchased this weighted little ball (a catalog and order form is 'conveniently' included inside the dvd) from her store. Voight doesn't even suggest modifications in the event you do not have this ball, which I found annoying.

There are much better yoga dvds out there.

I'm your typical middle aged male recalling the great athletic younger days but noticing more than a little extra developing :). So my wife and I bought Yoga Sculpt and the Pilates DVD by Karen Voight. I'll discuss the good and the bad-

Good- Core Essentials lunge and squat workout. Just step aerobicky enough to make it interesting but nothing you men out there will be too humiliated to do. She gets those legs burning.

Yoga workout. Especially if done after Core Essential lunge workout it is quite challeging but doable by a beginner. I like it.

Voight is ripped! Especially in the lunge workout which seems to have been filmed years ago. Even to a man it is inspirational.

Bad - After the lunge workout Voight takes you through some routines that involve special equipment you can purchase. Better stomach and legs workout in here pilates DVD.

I have done several yoga tapes and I find this yoga workout very soothing and at the same time athletic. I like music, too. I am always very relaxed after doing this workout.

I am stunned at the acting and even worst the singing. In the second act. Callas's gestures and body movements-awkward, and hutchback remind me of the wicked witch in snow white.
This is the biggest hype of all time.

And she plunges the dagger into the breastbone of her tormenter, Scarpia, and then it gets really good. She rises
over him as he staggers back mortally wounded and roars, "Did you torture me enough?...And so I forgive you." Most everyone loves the firey brilliance and dramatic dash of a Callas performance, even if her voice isn't that pleasant sometimes. This is a pair of thirty-minute black & white BBC TV programs from 1962 and 1964, the first a concert consisting of three arias, and the second a staging of Act II of Tosca with Tito Gobbi (who was also the finest Baron Scarpia ever). Just a taste, then, of someone who needed to be filmed for her legend to be fully appreciated. If only they had captured her Norma and Lucia of the mid-fifties--JE REGRET!

I first heard about this performance (Tosca) nearly 30 years ago when I was a teenager and new to the world of opera. Since then it had stuck in the back of my mind, occasionally being brought intensely to the forefront whenever a snippet of it was shown during the occasional documentary.

Here it is, after three decades, it's going on 2 a.m., and I've had one of the most profound experiences in recorded opera.....whew!

First of all, this is a barebones dvd: Chapter list and some brief but interesting notes in the accompanying liner.

Then there are the performances...Callas in concert at Covent Garden in 1962. "Tu che la vanità" from Don Carlos, plus the Habanera and Seguedille from Act 1 of Carmen. Callas sings with the expected intensity in the Verdi, and with atypical jovolity and coyness in the Bizet, which are all ably conducted by the young Georges Prêtre. If this were the entire content of this dvd, it would be worth the cost.

But along comes Act 2 of Tosca, from two years later. Holy Toledo! Renato Cioni sings Cavaradossi just adaquetely, and not really serving a whole lot of dramatic purpose with a standard performance. Robert Bowman as Spoletta and Dennis Wicks as Sciaronne are better in their acting, but not very impressive vocally. The conductor, Cillario, leads without much insight...again, standard opera fare.

Obviously, the big bucks went to Callas, Gobbi, and Zeffirelli who all certainly earned their pay. Callas and Gobbi had seen better days vocally, especially Callas who, though in pretty good voice, sounds downright nasty here and there. But those very few exceptions are far and few in between.

Here are two masters, two artists at the very top of their craft, two legendary performers giving a definitive performance of sight and sound. From the beginning of the act, Gobbi dominates with a presence that few could ever hope to do. And when Callas finally enters, the sparks fly. Nearly every gesture, every vocal inflection, every subtle nuance carries weight that cannot be measured. There are very very few moments of stage mannerisms, so complete are their portrayals. While not always pretty vocally, they show off to the world why they dominated the opera stage during their prime. The intensity they create together is incredible, seldom letting up in the cat and mouse game they play.

Technically, the picture is good, but not great.Pretty good by early 60's television standards. The camera work for the most part is well done, save for a few instances of poor angles or exclusionary closeups that can be pretty frustrating.Overall, it is quite good.

Zeffirelli, the ultra conservative, directs a wonderful production,but when you go back in time, you see how little he really changes over the years.

For all it's relatively minor shortcomings, this is one of the greatest operatic moments on film. The earlier clips are priceless, but after a (literally) hair raising Tosca, you may barely remember them! 5 stars to the 10th power! Thank you EMI!

The great one is not going to win any awards at the Cannes Film Festival for this DVD. His directorial debut won't knock anyone's socks off. However, music-wise, it's awesome. What do you expect? It's Paul Westerberg.

Lots of fan film footage. Gives an up close and personal feel for his recent live shows. Very real and gritty.

Finally! Westerberg's long-anticipated concert film/documentary does not disappoint. The entirety of this movie is simply slicker than a school-boy's sleeve! Buy two! In fact, after reading this, some of you may end up doing just that. You see, there were actually two releases of this DVD (the original edition was a cd-sized digipak available only at Best Buy stores on Oct. 21. The second edition was a regular DVD keepcase available everywhere as of Nov. 11). ...The second edition features additional footage not found on the original (specifically, live versions of "Skyway," and "Lush and Green."). I'm not sure why the DVD was released in this fashion, especially since the hardcore, early-bird fan is the one most likely to receive the "short end of the stick," so to speak.
In spite of that bit of confusion, either edition stands as a truly indispensable item that is pure "Manna from Minneapolis" for any Westerberg/Replacements fan.

This is a fun DVD to watch. Great (short) rendition of "Born for Me" and "Everything Goes Wrong" rocks. This is quite a treat to get right before Halloween- then again, the nipple-icing scene is pretty scary... A great 90 minutes of watching a really talented, under-appreciated musician who can rock like nobody's business and can show his sensitve side as well. This guy can out-music anybody and proves it on this DVD.

I read some other reviews that say that this (DVD version) is better than VHS version. I've only seen the DVD release & hated it, so I can't imagine what lemon they put out on tape.

This is similar to "The Lost Boys" in that a group of young vampires hang around a holiday area; only this film is all totally done from the vampire's point of view.

Once again, it's another American film that doesn't actually like to dwell on the main feature of it's subject - vampirism. I say this because, the vampires all mill about the promenade, they discuss life in general, but when it comes to actually feeding, you don't really see it. Some girl's dragged under the promenade, and a vampire emerges with blood on his face. What happened - well as I say, in many American vampire films they don't like to show this part, because they think you won't sympathise with the character if you actually see him/her doing something inhuman!

I hate that! A vampire film should show blood sucking (this does show a vampire girl giving a sip to her friend). These two girls go out, open the back of a truck, jump in, close the door, and emerge having just fed. What happened inside? Did their prey die? Who knows? Did they overpower them with inhuman strength, or their power to mesmerise? Who knows?

This film left me cold.

I waited YEARS to pick this movie up on DVD after seeing a special screening. It was worth the wait. While I still would have liked to have seen it in true letterbox, I thought the picture looked great. Crisp and pretty clean, the colors are great on the transfer. The extras were very good as well. Honestly, I found myself with a lump in my throat after watching the Behind-the-Scenes Gallery. I don't know if it was the music or moving dedication, but it was done very well. The Auditions were also very fun to watch. It's clear why the actors got the parts they did because they were all so good. As far as the actual movie goes, it's still pretty darn cool. There are tons of fun referances to other movies while still being pretty original. The commentary track, while not technical, was also very fun to listen to. This disc is worth buying!!

I couldn't wait for this movie to come out on dvd and now that it has I couldn't be more pleased. My only complaint was that it wasn't in a true letterbox. The commentary stands as a special feature. It was nice to hear a director tell stories about making the movie rather than how the shot was filmed. Most of the technical lingo goes over my head on commentaries but this one was quiet entertaining. The movie itself looks great. This is a movie I pop in when my friends come over. I suggest you do the same.

It had a very poor beginning. I'm into Martial Art movies -but only the serious ones. The type where there is serious anger being let out in fighting. Well don't expect that from this movie. Expect a bit of dumb jokes, dorky fighters, and a waste of time. However towards the end, when the movie finally picks up. The choreagraphy is excellent and the fighting is superb. Rent this movie first because its a tough decision.

Very funny Angela Mao vehicle. She plays a character named Fei Fei who is seeking vengeance for the deaths of some friends she just met, as well as trying to help two older kung-fu masters decide who is the better fighter. Much comedy is provided by these two men. One is a drunk with a prominent red nose and the other is smoking something that causes hilariously goofy music to play whenever he takes a hit off his pipe. Angela is very funny, mixing in a good deal of slapstick with straight fighting, in the various combat scenes. Also funny are nods to both Clint Eastwood's man with no name and Henry Mancini's Pink Panther theme. Recomended to those looking for a more light hearted martial arts flick.

If you are a fan of Angela Mao Ying this is the DVD to get. It features a number of innovative training and fighting scenes which lead up to a spectacular conclusion. We owe the films great action scenes to Angela's skill in Kung Fu and also the films great Martial Arts Director Jackie Chan.

This Kung Fu fable is a must see and certainly one you should add to your collection. Enjoy.

well, i buy it, because the vhs format it's hard to find and has a bad image & sound and when i have the dvd UPS!! my heart was broken i see the concert but between songs has a cuts and the TV screen turns black, bad idea, it's better if play continously...like a real concert it's like normal live videos
i hope no more mistakes in the "future world"

The songs are great, and the band performance also is, but the image quality is well below average (maybe because this was originally a VHS release, now comutted to VHS).

That guy ROland Grapow is a great guitar player. Both he and drummer Uli Kusch are no longer in the band.

Amazingly, Andi Deris's vocals sound better live than in studio. That's a great thing for sure.

This DVD gives one of the greatest moments of rock history ever. There's very good performance! Some songs are even better live than studio. For example "The Chance" sounds much better sung by Andi Deris. "Before the War" is also excellent! It's a very fast song, faster than studio version. This DVD starts with a very fast song. "We Burn" is defintely a very good opener. "In the Middle of a Heartbeat" is played acoustic by Andi Deris. It's a very touching version! "Dr. Stein", "Time of the Oath", "Sole Survivor" are also very good. The visuality is very good. The vocalist really enjoys!

If you have read the book, back away from this DVD. I was very upset at this movie. They made Sterling into a whiny poem reciting punk, and ED into a jerk. Then they made the brother James into a user and his character almost seemed gay. I was horrified as I watched this movie. The book is based off of Sterling wanting a child and going through with a contest to have his baby. Colby visit Sterling to try and help her brother's cosmetic company. The movie has her brother entering her in the contest without her knowledge to help his none existant clothing line. In the book her brother doesn't know anything about how and why they are together until almost the end. Then Colby isn't a virgin like she is in the book, hell they don't even get married in the movie. Then he gets her pregnant and they break up. Sterling whines the ENTIRE film and I mean the ENTIRE film. I mean he goes infront of her class and recites these dumb poems, ugh. Then another character that I love, Diamond, they turned her into a whore I was completely appauled. I can't believe that Brenda Jackson let them make this film. And Where was Kyle he isn't even mentioned in this film.

I may have liked this movie if I hadn't read the book first. It is my honest opinion that if BET wants to make these wonderful books into movies that they should at least follow the blueprint in the book. I read this book by Brenda Jackson and it is one of my favorites. The movie strayed so far from the book that only the names were the same.This is a wonderful story but to feel the full effect, you must read the book. The movie was garbage. A suggestion to BET keep publishing the books and leave the moviemaking to someone else.

I heard that BET had aired this movie, and was very disappointed that I missed it on TV, but now, having read the plot description, I don't think I can watch it after all. The plot is significantly different than that of the book (by Brenda Jackson), which to me, was the sweetest love story I've read in a long time. I'd hate to spoil the memories!

I think she is the best at form, athleticism, and weight training. I always get something from her and she is always doing new moves that are TOUGH!

I enjoyed the "Streamlined" part of the workout very much. Karen Voight takes you through a quick warm-up and then into standing upper body workout with light hand weight. The mat workout is tough and followed by a good yoga stretch. I have used the "Streamlined" workout many times. You can easily increase the intensity by going for a heavier weight.
The low impact aerobic section of the "Strong" workout is hard to follow and is not challenging enough to Karen Voight's typical audience. The second part of the "Strong" workout with weight bar or hand weights is great. The advantage of the DVD format is that you can pick and choose easily without slowing down. A combination of "Streamlined" warm-up, "Strong" weight bar or hand weights, and "Streamlined" yoga stretch add up to be about 60 minutes and provide interesting variation to just the "Streamlined" workout.

This was the first Karen Voight DVD I'd purchased and I have become a huge fan. Karen is an excellent instructor and very inspiring - if for nothing else than her own personal fitness and sculpting. Her approach is encouraging and motivating without the self-absorption I've been turned off by in other DVD instructors. While I admit that the "Strong and Smooth Moves" portion is challenging at first, it doesn't take long to catch onto her routine and it has had the added effect of improving my coordination. With a little persistence and practice, it is a good workout. My favourite portion of the DVD, however, has become the "Streamline Fitness" workout - a routine I really look forward to. I started without any weights at all (using body resistance) while traveling and continually in hotel rooms and yet still saw results. At home, I use weights and the new sculpting I see of my body energizes me to keep with the routine almost daily. I have worked out a lot in my life, but never have I attained the streamlined sculpting that Karen's workout has brought me to. At 41 I look better in a bikini than I did at 20! Abs...arms...legs...bum...if you stay with this, you will see results, too. Perhaps that is why I haven't gotten tired of this DVD...that, as well as the good pacing and Karen Voight's matter-of-fact, get-down-to-business, yet patient and empathetic style. This is my #1 choice for my workout routine and I know I look better now than friends who go routinely to the gym - and in less time. The "Streamline Fitness" chapter begins with a 7-minute warm-up then moves into arms, legs and buttocks with weights. If you are pressed for time, you can stop here after 30 minutes and do the 30-minute abs and yoga stretches later in your day or continue on with the abs - a most excellent routine that produces real definition. This is followed by a good yoga cool down (although still challenging). A real winner all the way around!