Home Movie Reviews

The ESPN TV special featuring the single most beautiful tennis player in existence is now on DVD, with added extras--including a look at Anna's 2002 Calendar shoot and a look at one of her tennis matches. Anna Kournikova is, obviously, quite beautiful, and this DVD showcases it by going behind the scenes of her 2003 calendar photo shoot. She holds her own against any supermodel out there, I'd say. If you're an Anna K fan, this is a must-have.

The award-winning independent film "Detention," which could be described as an "urban" Breakfast Club is a powerful. Wharton who, wrote, directed, produced and acted in the film, is a considerable filmmaking talent, who seems to have taken notes from fellow Baltimore filmmakers, John Waters and Barry Levinson, by creating a world that takes a refreshing and honest look at Baltimore teanagers. The cast and character development is simply brilliant. Led by Charisse Brown as the strong-willed and determined teacher Mrs. Deakins, who brings together five students on a Friday afternoon because she believes they have potential. At first glance, these high school students seem to have stereotypical personalities, "the thug," the jock," "the militant," "the poet" and "the sex pot," but as the story unfolds Wharton is able to reveal layers to these personalities that don't fit into any mold. The students excellently played by Justin Black as "Black," Kisha Harvin as "Poochie," John Hall as "Tenspeed," Kiatenai as "Acirfa" and Wharton himself as "Langston," come across as truely real and has some raw moments of emotion. Wharton who worked as a substitute teacher and was a Staff Writer for NBC's "Homicide: Life On The Street," has brought to life a film with grace, grit and style rare in a first-time filmmaker. It is easy to see why this film won the "Best Director Award" at the 1998 Urbanworld Film Festival and the "Audience Award" at the 1998 Atlanta Film and Video Festival because it stays with you long after the first viewing. I would highly reccommend this film for any parent, teacher or civic minded person who cares about the problems facing today's young people.

I've never seen it, but I think J.D. Morgan is a great actor

This review refers to "The Directors - Clint Eastwood" VHS (Winstar Home Entertainment)

Winstar and the AFI have put together a collection of documenteries depicting the films of some of the greatest directors. Naturally being a film lover I was interested in these film makers who do such a wonderful job of bringing the films to us. And even more naturally, my first view was to be the one of Clint Eastwood. I am a huge fan of his(if you have seen my review pages you already know this about me), not only of the films he starred in, but of his acclaimed direction as well.

So this tape deals exactly with that..the films Eastwood has directed. If you are looking for more of a biography or a complete filmography of Clint, you won't find that here. Although it begins with a short bio of how he started in the film world, most of this tape that runs close to an hour delves into his films including "Play Misty For Me","High Plains Drifter", "The Outlaw Josey Wales", 'Sudden Impact"(The only Dirty Harry he directed), "Bird", "Unforgiven", "True Crime,"Space Cowboys" and more.

Awesome stars are awed by working with Clint. Meryl Streep,Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman(who made me smile when he described his feelings at just being asked to work on one of Clint's films) and Laura Dern, are among those who have nothing but praise when it comes to talking about working with Eastwood. Clint himself devotes alot of time to this documentary, talking about his views on not just the films, but about how he is able to seperate himself from acting when he is also directing. Most of the actors describe this Hollywood Icon as "just a regular guy" who makes working on the set a pleasure.

I very much enjoyed this entertaining tape that kept me interested for the entire length, with all the interviews and film clips. I also enjoyed hearing Allison Eastwood describe her dad as sometimes being a "goofball". It really showed what a down to earth person he is.

For years Clint Eastwood has given us the gifts of his talents and it was a joy to see him speak about them on film. He seems as enthusiastic and energetic as ever and I'll be looking foward to more of his work in the future. If you are a fan of his work, you will find this documentary well worth the view.

enjoy...Laurie

AFI did a great job here on giving brief bio's and other pertinent information on the great modern day directors working in America. This AFI effort on Martin Scorsese is a well put together DVD on Scorsese's influence and effect on modern day motion pictures.

Scorsese was once bedridden for a long period of time in his youth with a severe case of asthma. You can see with the time he had on his hands that filmmaking and cinema history became his passion. Although, most of his films have a rugged, hyperkinetic, and fragmented look to them; Scorsese, in my opinion, has a more thorough vocabulary of shot selection than any director working today. His shot selection in any film he shoots comes from years and years of studying the masters in their past films.

I strongly recommend this DVD. It is a great buy. Also, Buy it as soon as possible. I could not find this DVD anywhere!

Shelton Jackson Lee, better known to us as Spike Lee is the most provocative and controversial African-American film maker of our time. In this one hour video we get an opportunity to hear Spike's philosophy of his craft as he looks through his entire body of work. Actors such as Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Wesley Snipes and others also give comments and share their insights about this remarkable young man.

Who is this Spike Lee? Although this video is a profile it doesn't go into the details of Spike's life. Its focus is on his works and how he views it through the course of time. He was born in Atlanta, GA but grew up in Brooklyn, NY. He of course went to college and then went onto acquire a MFA in film in New York.

Spike won a prize for a film he produced in graduate school and thought Hollywood would come knocking at his door because of his brilliance. It never happened and Spike learned how to become an independant film maker. "She's Gotta Have It" was Spike's first commercial success which garnered him notice and from there he turned film making upside down.

You will see scenes from his works where he shattered the myths regarding race, sexuality and class in all of his films. No topic was too sacred for Spike to explore and expose it for what it was worth even when the mainstream film industry said he was making a mistake.

Spike exudes an aura of confidence (some would say arrogance), takes risks, and is at the top of his game in his craft. Listening to this man critique his films and sharing what he perceives to be their impact on culture is great. Spike is determined for African-American film makers to have a voice in how they are portrayed in the media. Enjoy this profile of one of the greatest African-American film makers of our time.

I would be better to buy the Discover Bellydance box set, as this video is not for beginners, but it is an exceptional work. Focused at the beginning dancer, rather than someone more interested in a workout video, each tape in this series is an excellent learning experience from a pair of dance instructors that has never let us down yet.

A great comedy for all!

A very good movie feature Jack Wagner, Daphne Zuniga and Zack Ward.

The story is original and the movie is enough well made!

Story:
Kyle's a police officer, and his partner is his dog, Hunter. Hunter gets killed in the line of duty, and his spirit comes back in the body of a criminal named Howie. Howie, with the spirit of Hunter in him, helps Kyle in solving a dastardly plot. A police veterinarian, Amanda Morton (play by the actress Daphne Zuniga!!!!!!! from Melrose Place) will help Kyle and Howie for found the main guy...

Daphne Zuniga and Jack Wagner play again together after "Melrose Place" and "Artificial Lies"

I recommend this movie.
Great and good comedy!

I'm thrilled that the first two seasons of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" have been released on DVD and look forward to future releases of additional seasons. Dr. Quinn was not just a good TV series but an awesome TV series. It was more than just a show for entertainment. It was a show of understanding, tolerance, peace and love.

Dr. Quinn and Sully set the tone for acceptance and tolerance. Dr. Quinn had a history of demanding justice for African Americans even before she moved from Boston to Colorado. Sully, meanwhile, was friends with the Indians and defended them from the town folk's disfavor. Dr. Quinn and Sully also took stands in support of the immigrants. They lived what they believed, and that is acceptance and tolerance of those who are different. They did even more, and developed friendships with those who others wouldn't accept. Dr. Quinn and Sully were able to see into the hearts of people. They loved and accepted them for who they were.

Dr. Quinn showed the human side of the Indians and human side of the town folk. They all had their prejudices against one another, but apart from their dislike of each other they were humans in search of happiness.

We saw Dr. Quinn reaching out and seeking to heal the injuries on both sides of the battle. She didn't care if they had done good or bad. She still helped them.

Time after time, there was an emphasis on the human spirit and showing love in the midst of hate. There was a constant message that love and understanding was always the answer.

It's an awesome message, and it's one that teaches to look beyond the bad things that people do, and answer them with love and not return the hate.

While there are numerous DVDs with public domain episodes of the original Dragnet television series on the market today, this set (from Brentwood Home Video) is the one to get. Here's why . . .

1.Quantity - The 20 episodes included on this set represent the largest single collection of original Dragnet episodes released to date (August 2003).

2.Price/Value - At a retail of [$$ it is amazing].

3.Variety - There are some very well-known (and "common") episodes included like The Big Seventeen and The Big Producer, but there are some rarer episodes and one, The Big Frame, has not previously appeared on DVD. Since Amazon did not list the episode titles, I am including them below for Dragnet fans so that you can compare this collection of episodes with others:

Episodes - Disc 1/Side A

1.The Big September Man
2.The Big Seventeen
3.The Big Show
4.The Big Break
5.The Big Hands

Episodes - Disc 1/Side B

1.The Big Betty
2.The Big Thief
3.The Big Little Jesus
4.The Big Bird (mislabeled incorrectly on rear cover and the disc menu as The Big Trunk)
5.The Big Boys

Episodes - Disc 2/Side A

1.The Big Shoplift
2.The Big Hit-Run Killer
3.The Big Girl
4.The Big Frame
5.The Big Producer

Episodes - Disc 2/Side B

1.The Big Crime
2.The Big Pair
3.The Big Bar
4.The Big War
5.The Big Oskar

My five star rating is closer to four & one-half stars as this collection is not "problem free." While all of the episodes range, visually, from fair to very good, there has been no digital restoration of the prints utilized for this collection. All episodes are watchable, just don't expect to see pristine prints . . . you can expect some film scratches and specks. Audio is very good on almost all of the episodes. The episode "The Big War" is of noticeably lesser visual quality than the other episodes. There are no DVD "extras," but you can access individual episodes through a menu option. What shines through on this set is the brilliance of Jack Webb . . . even though most of the episodes were made 50 years ago, the documentary style approach that Webb employed to tell these stories is still better than most of today's television police shows. Highly recommended!!!