Home Movie Reviews

One of the best TV series of all time. Well written, wonderful cast and great direction. The humor is universal. No snappy one-liners or sophmoric slapstick. Just a show that humorously and realistically deals with a heart-warming love story. The entire series is uniformaly excellent. Most other shows have an occasional episode in the series that's not up to par, but not hthis one. Start watching it from Series One and I guarantee you will be hooked!

Why can't American T.V. be like this? I ask myself this question alot. A lovely and funny story about people. No in-your-face sexuality or violence or stupid 12-year old boy humor.
A show for adults that's intelligent and just wonderful. And the stars of the show aren't 24, they are in their fifties, and they actually look like real people in their fifties (well, Judy Dench does her best, but it's hard to turn a silk purse into a sow's ear, not that fifty year old people should be equated with a sow's ear, just an expression!)
It's just a show about life with the quirky turns, ups and downs that occur. It makes you want to pack your bags and move across the water, or at least find a neighborhood pub for a pint of beer.

This is the most enjoyable, refreshing and delightful series I've had the pleasure of watching in a long time.

This is a good work to watch after seeing the Ron Howard film. It gives a fuller picture of John Nash's life and trials. Nash comes off as the typical eccentric professor one encounters in university settings but he's very likable. You don't have to be a math and economics expert to be in awe of Nash's accomplishments. You will also admire his friends and family's dedication during his roughest periods.

My only annoynance was the commentary. The filmmakers seemed to be too caught up in the technical aspects of the film such as lighting, camera work, etc. It just seemed out of place for a documentary.

It's been about a year since Ron Howard released the film "A Beautiful Mind" based on Sylvia Nasar's biography of the same name.

Some viewers found the film superficial and not a faithful, complete representation of Nash's life. A few readers found the book a little inaccessible with its detail and its extensive footnoting and documentation.

"A Brilliant Madness" allows viewers to examine the life of John Nash with the accessibility of the movie and the credibility of the book.

"A Brilliant Madness" starts with the early boyhood of Nash and chronicles his life to the point where he receives the Nobel Prize. It includes footage narrated by Nash himself, his wife, his sister, fellow mathematicians, and biographer Nassar. It shows both his achievements and his illness. It includes large blocks of his life that the movie leaves out.

I can understand why a feature-type movie could not accurately and completely document a life as complex and multi-faceted as Nash's. It would have to develop too many characters, explain too many complex mathematical formulas, and go in too many directions. The movie does a good job of showing who he is through the art of the film.

The book, on the other hand, goes into much more detail and is very good for a reader who wants to commit some effort to understanding both Nash's accomplishments and his illness. It is very thorough and remarkably accessible for such a thorough treatment.

"A Brilliant Madness," however does a fine job of presenting a credible introduction to Nash's life and work in a relatively short time. Viewers whose interest is peaked can then seek out "A Beautiful Mind" if they so desire.

Obviously one of the chief attractions of "A Brilliant Madness" is that it tells the "true" story of mathematician John Nash behind the theatrical film "A Beautiful Mind" (and the title of this 2002 documentary is clearly indicated to echo the Oscar winning film). Certainly this documentary can stand on it's own, but those who have seen the movie will find it extremely informative, especially in terms of Nash's work in mathematics. I have not had a math class since I was a freshman in high school, so I have no ability whatsoever to understand the work Nash was doing, but the script by Mark Samels and Randall Maclowry does an excellent job of using narration and interview clips with Nash's colleagues to at least help me understand the significance of what Nash was doing. I am perfectly willing to accept the fact in movies like "A Beautiful Mind" or "Good Will Hunting" that people are scribbling out profound mathematical formulas but I also appreciate some glimpse into the specifics, which is what this documentary provides. I would not go so far as to claim that "A Brilliant Madness" corrects the "errors" of the theatrical film, simply because "A Beautiful Mind" is a creative work that does not really have to explain or justify its dramatic liberties. But certainly it provides more of Nash's biography than the theatrical film, which is ultimately more a creative look at paranoid schizophrenia. Too bad this documentary was not included as part of the DVD package for "A Beautiful Mind," but you cannot have everything in this world. This documentary, narrated by Liev Schreiber (never would have guessed), runs 60-minutes and originally aired as part of PBS's "American Experience." My recommendation, of course, is that you should watched the theatrical film and then the documentary.

In this hilarious Ernest movie, Ernest P. Worrell, Class A goofball, unleashes a curse and must fight to stop a troll from turning all the children into wooden dolls. Better than Ernest goes to Camp and Ernest saves Christmas. I've seen it at least a dozen times and still laugh at the "Knowutimeans." Great family fun!

This is a movie no matter how many times u see it its still funny. But its sad to see them stop makeing the movies cause Jim Varney Died of lung cancer in 2002 but this is a must get

This is one of the funniest Ernest films to date. Varney again proves that he is a master of slapstick, random, and expresional humor. This movie is so clean compaired to todays comedies. Fun for the whole family. Kids will love this movie it'd make them, laugh till they hurt and jump at some rather fun, a bit scary, and funny scenes. Dad will love this movie because it is true to the Ernest standard.

Whether or not you're a Bogey fan, you're going to find something to enjoy in this set. This 4 disc collection contains two of the finest films ever made in "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca", one great though little-known thriller in "Key Largo", and a wonderful mystery in "The Big Sleep". "The Maltese Falcon" is the film that set up Bogart as the anti-hero, with his Sam Spade character only a little better than the criminals he works with. Still, in the end, his true colors shine through. "Casablanca" is an amazing movie because it's a romance, thriller, and action movie rolled into one! Bogey plays Rick, a man who has run away from it all to open his own bar and escape the pain of losing the woman he loved. Now she's walked back into his bar and into his life - with her husband. The film is amazing because it shows the selflessness of both lead characters in Bogart and Bergman. Both movies yeild countless classic lines that you've heard quoted dozens of times. "Key Largo" isn't as well known as the previous two, but it's a fabulous movie nonetheless. Bogart and Bacall star in this one, and Bogey plays a man trapped at a hotel while Edward G. Robinson as a gangster takes it over with his men. Folks, classic movies just don't get much better than this one, as the tension mounts every minute until the emotions finally have a chance to explode at the end. The action at the end makes it worth while and you just wait the whole movie for Bogey to tear into them. It's great! Finally, "The Big Sleep" is here - in both versions! This dvd has the theatrical release and the overseas release versions, so that alone makes it an amazing addition to the collection. The stories aren't too different, though there are several added scenes to the overseas version. Bogey plays Philip Marlowe and it's definitely a good thriller. If you're at home on a rainy Saturday afternoon, then this set it the one you want with you when you have time to kill! You definitely will not regret spending the money on these great dvds! There's not a stinker in the bunch (which can't be said for a lot of dvd collections).

What a GREAT collection! Casablanca's the trademark Bogart movie and one of the top five film classics for all time. Bogie and Bacall team together in the "Key Largo" and the "Big Sleep". The "Maltese Falcon" is a fine addition to round the set out. After all, it was suspense film about "..the thing that dreams are made of". If your shelf has room for two more Bogart favorites, I'd suggest "To Have and Have Not", Bacall's first film performance and "Treasure of the Sierra Madres", directed by John Huston.

This is a must for any fan of Bogart or old movies in general. The picture quality of this DVD set is excellent. The movies selected are all outstanding. Excellent performances by Edward G Robinson (Key Largo), Lauren Bacall, the incomparable Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Laurie and of course Ingrid Bergman. I wish they had included a fifth selection TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. That would have made this an even more complete survey of Bogart's work. However based on the 4 films represented here you can't go wrong with this selection.

This is a must have dvd, if your a fan of the mafia or hitmen then you'll love this. I didnt find it chilling like the other fellow reviewers did, instead I found it to be highly entertaining and very interesting. A great buy!

There are moments in this video that are truly bone chilling.
One of them being when the doctor questions Mr. Kuklinski about weather or not some people he encountered in Georgia really deserved to die.By the end of his reply,I felt like the temprature in my livingroom had dropped below freezing.
And I am not someone who is easily shaken. B

I first saw the interview with Mr. Kuklinski on HBO in 1992 and for anyone looking for how a "hitman" really goes about his business-this is it! His casual explanation after admitting killing approximately 100 people is truly scary ("it was due to business"). Buy this dvd!

I watched this whole documentry on PBS TV...coudnt resist myself from buying the video! DO NOT EVEN READ THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS. Just buy it and it will prove to very good addition in your collection...for years to come. Ofcourse you wouldnt want to watch it once you have ...but still...

I just saw this video on PBS and was incredibly moved. I have always admired her strength, intelligence, style, and devotion to her children, all of which is represented in the video. It is particulary strong in demonstrating just how committed she was in bringing the arts to the White House and to the American people. It was stunning and thought-provoking when one of the commentators on the video stated that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was the last public figure to champion the arts.

The incredible wealth of footage and newsreels combined with the interviews with friends and colleagues provide a sensitive, warm tribute to one of our country's most special and respected women.

The writer/producer of the film has completed an in depth view of Jacqueline as a wonderful book editor. Read 'Jackie Beyond the Myth of Camelot' if you wish to discover all the authors Jackie edited. Book includes Peter, Beard, Louis Auchincloss, Peter Sis, dancers Martha Graham, Judith Jamison, Balanchine, and Edvard Radzinsky, and over forty fascinating authors, poets, photographers, and artists.

Look at the subject then read on. It was excellent, but not worth owning like the other PBS reality series besides Frontier House. I hope PBS/England's Channel 4/Wall to Wall TV. Thank you.

This is definitely a great collection from purely a reality show entertainment point of view. However, what struck me even more than just my amusement was the lessons this show articulated about leadership and management. I've done quite a bit of reading about leadership, everything from "Think and Grow Rich" to "Primal Leadership", and one the overriding themes is always communication in all its various forms and in all the directions it flows. This series does a suburb job of illustrating exactly what can do wrong and how if different levels of an organization, or in this case, a manor, do not know, do not understand, or do not choose to care to understand what's going on in the hearts and minds of the people around them.

Sir John publicly insults the butler, and you get to see first hand how much more devastating that is than respectfully pulling someone to the side. The lady of the house's biggest complaint at the beginning of the show was about how she never saw her children. By the end she didn't seem to care, which shows us how quickly our minds can change if we don't maintain focus. Sir John kills a couple of birds for the lowest servants to cook for themselves as a treat. However, there's a big party coming up, and there's no way the servants are going to have time to fry the birds, so the apparent act of kindness is received by those whom it was directed at in completely the wrong way, which shows how important it is that we understand what the people around us need.

The best example for poor leadership in the house, however, probably occurs at the end. Sir John and the family are so distraught about leaving the house. They breakdown in front of the servants while saying good-bye, and they feel awful about leaving everyone whom they've come to feel so close to. At the same time, the servants are rather glad to be leaving aside from missing other people in their group, and most of them have developed a strong dislike for the family, of which the family is completely oblivious. The implication? Well, first, this shows how easily the same situation can look to two different groups of people on different sides of a situation. Secondly, if that was an organization, it would be on the brink of having its workforce walk out on it, even though, to the eyes of management, everything was splendid and, as they understood it, everyone was very connected to everyone else at all levels.

I've done my best to describe what I saw in this review, but I'm sure I've done it poorly as I am not well trained at critiquing this sort of thing. Also, there is plenty more going on that I didn't even come close to touching on. Please believe me on this point, though: if you are even at least a little bit interested in buying this title, do it! You will be so happy, and perhaps enlightened, that you did!

"Manor House" is PBS's fascinating recreation of life upstairs and downstairs in an Edwardian country home. For three months, ordinary people played the parts of the Lord and Lady and the thirteen servants who worked endlessly for them. The house was furnished circa 1906, the cast members were dressed authentically, and there were no modern conveniences whatever.

Anna and John, the married couple who became the Lord and Lady of the house, had no trouble fitting into the roles of snobbish aristocrats who spent their days in selfish pleasures, without the slightest notion of what their servants were going through. They gave elegant dinners, a ball, and a charity fete, never realizing their staff were run ragged by their demands. They enjoyed every minute of their time as would-be artistocrats.

From the scullery maid, who washed dishes 16 hours a day, to the footmen who served the meals, to the butler who supervised all the goings-on downstairs, we learn a servant's life was dreary, indeed. They worked seven days a week, only left the kitchen for morning prayers, and had no social or private lives.

Mr. Edgar, the wonderfully dignified butler (an architect in real-life), was my favorite cast member. His grandfather had been an Edwardian butler, and he strove to carry on the tradition of strict discipline and absolute obedience. His tender heart caused him to pity his exhausted staff and bend the rules on occasion, endearing him to them and to us, as well.

We learn all the details of life in a big house of that era, and the inter-relationships of the cast make for simply great tv. Two scullery maids quit after only days, due to the unbearably hard work. Another scullery maid found romance (quite forbidden in Edwardian times) with the hall-boy, and the entire staff eventually learned to co-exist with the tempermental French chef.

This is a great series, highly recommended for those who enjoy English history! It is exciting and educational.

According to the BBC America website this DVD will have the UK versions of the episodes which means an extra 10 minutes on each episode. There are loads of extra features, it's only a shame that there are only 6 episodes in the first series.

I caught the very first American showing of this on A&E and was hooked. It's smart, serious, and edgy. It pulls no punches, and always has you wondering what will happen next. There's no standard formula like so many of the American shows. ... This drama, about Britain's much more established version of the U.S.'s Dept. of Homeland Security, makes ABC's the Threat Matrix seem like show for Nickelodeon. It stays fresh, smart, and isn't affraid to show the viewer the good with the bad. And it gives glimpses into how other countries, namely Britain, view America's government.

If you have a DVD player that is region free, or can play region 0 DVDs, this DVD set is already available on Amazon.co.uk. There is a lot cut out of the A&E versions. Seeing the episodes uncut is well worth the price of the DVD set. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the second season of Spooks (which is the title of the show in the UK) Amazon.co.uk also has the CD soundtrack for sale.

Munchie is one of the best movies ever! Every time I see it I melt with pleasure for the inguinitive genius which Munchie gives my soul. I'm writing this review after seeing Munchie, the best movie of eternity of particles which float upon this planet in the cosmic galaxy, and Supertroopers which is the worst movie ever to have even been thought of eternity of particles which float upon this planet in the cosmic galaxy. I saw Supertroopers and my mind turned to mush. The only thing that kept our sanity was the fact that we had just purchased Munchie so we could enjoy the best movie of eternity of particles which float upon this planet in the cosmic galaxy whenever our hearts desired to do so. Who knew that you could buy: the fountain of orgasmic, mind-expanding, experimental, kitten-loving, grizzly old man kitten loving, Waking Life loving, Audrey Taotou (Amiele)loving, Incubus in Esperanto starring William Shantering loving, Matt and Charlieing, not DaNthonying, electric shocking, rocking, I'm only mocking, To Kill a Birdmocking, frocking, putting in the clocking Signs blocking, Importance of Being Jocking, Glee Clubing, and doneking, youth experience at Family Video for just $4.33!
First and foremost everyone in particles which float upon this planet in the cosmic galaxy should see this movie because you will love it, you will love the 70's, the green glowing while talking, Gage's fantasying, the hello my baby hello my darling, the pizza flying, the alien and kid partying, the grade changing, the locker beating, the Munchie tricking, Munchie's Operation: Desert Storm-a-ing, the partying with a keg-a-ing, the car-a-flying, the arresting, the open ending for a sequeling, and the Matt and Charlie applauding and last but not least, the sequel writing!
In conclusion, we believe we will leave with the sweet thought in your mouth that Munchie is God's gift to the particles which float upon this planet in the cosmic galaxy, if you have seen Munchie, God Bless YOU and if you haven't seen Munchie, I wish you a pleasureing journey (SpaceFans) through the land of Munchieville!

Back in those magical halycon days that are known as the "Mid-80's," a movie about a species of ghouls run amuk from late-night snacking was released to the North American public. That movie was Gremlins. It was quickly embraced by the public as a masterpiece and subsequently became a well-loved and undeniable classic. Not surprisingly, other movie companies and producers, seeing the huge success of Gremlins, were anxious to get in on the action and "munch" a piece of the lucrative cinematic pie. A whole slew of movies about small, terrifying, bloodthirsty, yet cute, cuddly critters inundated the public. The most popular of these was Ghoulies--like Gremlins, a trilogy. Until 1992, Hollywood and the public mistakenly thought that this genre was dead. But then came Munchie, which set movie-making special effects back at least twenty-years. In many ways, Munchie was both a spring-board for the actors involved and a coup d' grace. As you may already know, this was Jennifer Love Hewitt's first movie. And it may have been Loni Anderson's last. After Munchie, not even network televsion was willing to cast Amderson in a saturday night made-for-tv flick. Dom Deloise, who lent his fresh wit and unmistakeable voice to Munchie, was little affected in the way of his carrer. It seemed that he was too far removed from the American public's mind. After all, he hadn't appeared to a mass-audience since he occupied one of the squares on Hollywood Squares. That was some time ago. I don't believe that, at the time of its release, the public was ready for Munchie. Despite its painfully obvious influences, in many ways it was ahead of its time. The flying pizza--not "pizza's" as was claimed on the back of the video box--the parties, the antics, the hijinx, the pranks, and, above all, the love and friendship, all presaged the New Age movement that's presently sweeping the country. It was no accident that the character Munchie played an active role in the formation of nearly every ancient society's mythology and mores--as was touched base on in the film. Not-so-special and yes, even deplorable, effects aside, Munchie was a masterpiece, it was an example of the power of straight-to-video releases. Despite its technical flaws, Munchie was a testament to the power of humanity and love, and a pleasant reminder that we should all make an effort to look beyond the superficial and the venner, and that beneath these lies the essentials of life: love, happiness and understanding.

Not only is Jennifer Love Hewitt in it, its a great movie for everybody. I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Two great actresses! A great family movie!

Hewitt & Hessman were nicely matched for this comedy.

This is a great movie! Actually, it kinda depends on your tastes. If you love heartwarming, wonderful Christmas tales, then you will love this movie! Even if you don't, JLH fans, you might want to watch it, just for the heck of seeing Jennifer Love Hewitt when she was younger!