Home Movie Reviews

I have not seen the DVD for this film, yet . . . but the film itself is wonderful. For some reason it's always getting compared to Kids and Bully, but don't be fooled -- this is not just a shock fest. Certainly worth the purchase. The writing is particularly amazing.

This History Channel four part documentary on the life of the famous Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I is an excellent addition to any history enthusiast's video library. Combining commentary with well-done re-enactments, this mini-series chronicles the rise and reign of the most famous queen in history, Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. This series follows her life from her childhood, where she was raised as a lady in a man's world, tossed about after the death of her father, to whom she was devoted, and ultimately spending her adolescence trying to fend off the advances of her step-father. After suffering through the reign on her virulently Catholic half-sister, "Bloody" Mary, Elizabeth finally ascends to the throne of England in time to fend off conspiracies, rebellions, and marriage proposals. We then follow as Elizabeth grows into a powerful and intelligent queen, first by putting down a rebellion instigated by Mary, Queen of Scots, then outmanuevering Spain's Phillip II and defeating his great Armada in the English Channel. Elizabeth's life is a fascinating and entertaining piece of history and this wonderful DVD series does it great justice. Highly recommended.

"My father hugged my mother and told her, 'you don't need to be afraid ever again. We're in America now.'"

That was one of the MANY personal narratives included in this FANTASTIC documentary that brought tears to my eyes. The stories of how immigrants reacted when they first came to this country and saw "Lady Liberty" is very well told and will leave you with a new appreciation of the great blessing of being born in this free and prosperous land.

I've watched this four-volume documentary two times and will probably watch it a third time. The stories are all so inspiring and so amazing and so emotional! Prior to viewing this, I did not have an understanding of what price our grandparents and great grandparents paid to get to this country.

I can't recommend this video highly enough. My daughter watched it in school and she loved it, too.

Of all the documentaries I've watched, I'd give this a 5 stars PLUS. I'd say it's one of the best I've ever seen. It will leave you changed. I can't even look at a flag now, without thinking about those precious, faith-filled immigrants and getting a tear in my eye. "Ellis Island" is *that* kind of video.

In this compelling television production of events on English Gurnsey Island during WWII, peaceful island life is transformed overnight by the arrival of the governing military command of occupying German soldiers and officers. But the island can only support so many people .. supplies, food, fuel and medicine become scarce as the Germans hoard for themselves. Tensions fly as the two populations confront eachother: The islanders wish to preserve their lifestyles .. whereas the German military commands respect and control under order of death! Decisions made by each person impact others with dire consequences. Each episode is a cliffhanger!

Season one episodes should be watched before season two as the story line continues.

I assume that it is Ephraim kishon 5 DVD set containing all of his movies that I have (only one I am aware of). First, for the incorrect data, this DVD is zone free, truly viewable on any equipment. This set contains 5 films and one documentary on kishon's movies, it contains some of the best Israeli films ever, all are comedies by Efraim Kishon, one of the best satirists ever (famous for his books, outside of Israel his movies are not known). All of the films are in imdb, for more info, look it up.

Movies in this set (all comedies in Hebrew, all have English and Hebrew subtitles, some have also Russian subtitles):

1) Sallah Shabati, B&W 1964, one of the first films of Haim Topol (fiddler on the roof, for your eyes only, etc). Beautiful comedy of a sefardic family immigrating to israel in 1949, nominated for Oscar in '69, for best foreign film, got golden globe for best foreign film and best actor. Technically far from perfect, but beautiful family comedy on culture shock and immigration.

2) Ervinka, B&W 1967, also with Haim Topol. Comedy about sabra, native born Israeli mentality. Story of a bum who dreams of winning on lottery and decides to rob the national lottery under disguise of making a film about the robbery of the lottery.

Rest of the films are color.

3) Blaumilch Canal (Te'alat Blaumilch), 1969, story of a lunatic with a obsession for digging holes named blaumilch who escapes from a asylum, steals a pneumatic drill and starts drilling a hole in center of Tel Aviv. Because of beurocratic mess, power fights between ministry of infrastructure and Tel Aviv municipality, municipality sends bulldozers to help (to beat the ministry with the "project" on their turf). One municipality junior official realizes that he the project was started by a lunatic and when he attempts to stop it he gets fired. Great satire on beurocracy. Nominated for Golden Globe for best foreign film.

4) Policeman (Shoter Azulai), 1970, Story of a naive Yaffo policeman who loves his work but is just too kind and naive man to be a policeman, but not stupid. During the film he shows encyclopedic knowledge of bible (he breaks up a ultra orthodox demonstration with a bible quiz), speaks several languages (French, Arabic and Hebrew), quotes classical Arabic poetry by heart, etc. His commanders want to lay him of, but don't have heart to do it. Local criminals decide to stage a crime so he can stay on his job because his shift is their most profitable time. Has some beautiful sequences, if you ask me, it is the best of the five. Kishon made this film after he loved Shai K. Offir's performance of policeman in Ervinke and Blaumilch Canal. Nominated for Oscar for best foreign film and got golden globe for best foreign film.

5) Fox in the chicken coop (Shu'al B'Lool Hatarnagalot), 1978, Satire about an old socialist politician Amitz Dolniker (last role by Shai k. Ophir), that is not capable of doing anything except speeches. After a heart attack he goes to rest in most isolated place he can find in Israel with his young assistant, a isolated village who's inhabitants still didn't find out that Turks left (50 years before). Even though the village has utopian socialist society, no private property, everyone works how much he wants and gets what he needs, Dolniker is upset that they didn't get to it by political evolution, so he starts elections, official positions, etc. In the end all the villagers become officials and beurocrats (while dolniker and his assistant do all the work) and start a civil war. It is not as good film as salah shabati, blaumich canal or shoter azulai, but it is a nice story and has many funny moments.

My favourite is Policeman (best Israeli film ever), after that come Salah Shabati and Blaumilch Canal. All 3 of those are a must see. Ervinke and Fox in chicken coop are also nice comedies, but can't compare with Policeman.

"Evidence Of Love" a.k.a "Killing In A Small Town" when it aired on CBS in the early 90's features an EMMY Award winning performance by Barbara Hershey (Beaches)The film is adapted from the book "Evidence Of Love" which is based on the true story of Candy Morrison who appeared to be an upstanding wife, mother and respected member of the community.
After an affair with her best friend's husband things spin out of control and Candy soon realizes the damage she has caused is irreversible. Confronted by her friend about the affair, their anger quickly becomes violent.
The film ends with a courtroom scene which has become all to familiar in made for TV movies. However, this film rises above such conventions with stellar performances by Hershey, Brian Dennehy and Hal Holbrook, a clever script by Cynthia Cidre and skilled direction by Stephen Gyllenhaal.
The DVD has no special features other that full screen presentation and scene selection. The picture quality is quite good and is beautifully packaged in a keep case coverbox.
This is feature film quality entertainment! Not your average made for TV movie!

"Exile in Buyukada" offers a multitude of stories tied to a single event: the 1929-1934 exile in Turkey by Leon Trotsky following his expulsion from the Soviet Union after his losing power struggle with Stalin. The film offers not only a personal history of Trotsky's unusual exile, but also a rich history of the development of the modern secular state in Turkey, the rise of communism and fascism in 1930s Europe, the chilling global reach of Stalin's police apparatus and the cult of celebrity in the pre-digital era.

Trotsky originally had no desire to spend his exile in Turkey. He did not speak the language, had no affinity for the culture, and was singularly opposed to the anti-communist focus of Kemal Ataturk, who was trying to kickstart the once-backward Islamic nation into the midst of the 20th century. Nor was Turkey originally pleased to have Trotsky. Not only did his presence bring a sudden wave of secret agents and would-be assassins, but there was also a large population of exiled White Russians who were eager to see Trotsky killed and there was also the nascent Turkish Communist Party that was eager to find new political strength.

Trotsky originally settled in the Soviet Consulate in Istanbul, which was a curious choice of location considering there was the genuine risk of his being killed by Stalin's henchmen. He then briefly settled in a swank Istanbul hotel and then retreated to Buyukada, an exclusive island 12 miles off the Istanbul coast. On Buyukada, Trotsky devoted himself to creating an extraordinary torrent of essays and books while planning the spread of global communism with a parade of international visitors.

"Exile in Buyukada" is rich with a wealth of rarely-seen newsreel footage, photographs and newspaper clippings showing Trotsky's years in Turkey. Ironically, Trotsky never comprehended what an incongruous figure he was in this time and place: as a political figure who preached the worker's revolution in a country which underwent its own profound socio-economic revolution which not only stood in stark contrast to the rest of Europe, but was also completely at odds with the rest of the Islamic world. (Watching this film, one wishes countries like Saudi Arabia or Iran could have their own version of Ataturk.) Trotsky, however, did enjoy a high level of celebrity status and was frequently interviewed by the Turkish media and by visiting reporters who sought him out. He also penned his own newspaper commentaries that received international publication (including regular bylined features in the New York Times), and for someone espousing Marxist rhetoric, he had an unusually strong interest in collecting royalties from his many publishers.

"Exile in Buyukada" is the rare political documentary which offers a balanced picture even when the subject at hand is clearly not worthy of respect. While Trotsky still exerted great influence as a political scientist, he was impotent in offering a genuine opposition to Stalinism and he was clearly a toothless force in preventing the rise of fascism in Germany. Even within his Turkish base of operations, Trotsky was ultimately check-mated by Stalin who abruptly courted and won an alliance with the Turkish government in 1932 after years of studied indifference between Moscow and Ankara. Trotsky's politics also took an acute priority over his family life, resulting in strained relations with his children and even driving one of his daughters (who could not break down her father's aloofness and perceived hostility) into severe depression and suicide. By the time he left Turkey for periods in France, Norway and Mexico, his authority on the world stage was minimalized and his influence within the Soviet Union was nil.

"Exile in Buyukada" takes the unusual step of presenting detailed and lengthy recreations of Trotsky's activities during this period. These are clearly required since only a limited amount of movie and photographic imagery of Trotsky exists. But while most dramatic recreations of historic events are frequently cheesy endeavors, they work stunningly in this film thanks to a magnificent production design that faithfully recreates Turkey of yesteryear and a marvelous performance by Russian actor Victor Sergachev as Trotsky, who beautifully underplays his role and thus provides a rich human dimension to the passionate and frequently overbearing revolutionary. The film is also blessed with a crisp narration by Vanessa Redgrave which offers an intelligent running commentary to the amazing events being presented.

Get this one because you save a lot of money!

Get this one. Its the same as Battlecaed:Extreme fighting 2 but cheaper!

Four coworkers are trapped after the high rise building they work in is bombed. Their above-world tensions (one of the 4 was just fired, and the firer and the replacement are among the group) increase as odds for survival drop.

The whole movie pretty much takes place in a single room, but I never thought the low budget got in the way of the story. You certainly feel their claustrophobia and the hot, stale air they are breathing. A very urban version of films that explore how people try to survive when pushed to their limits.