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Shouldn't be a secret
the best
"Souvenirs...novelties...party tricks."
The company suggests the program is for toddlers between the ages of 1 and 4. Harsh sounds between segments--such as balloons popping and tires screeching--will draw the attention of youngsters but will probably render the video inappropriate for babes in arms. The video can be purchased by itself or with a beautifully produced 28-page book featuring Van Gogh's paintings, screen shots from the video, and Clark's poems. The combination set may be the best way to engage 3- and 4-year-olds' interest; they can follow along in the text while watching the video. Music includes "The William Tell Overture," "The Blue Danube," "Bolero," and Brahms's "Lullaby." The video also provides information on the cool toys seen in the ending "Toy Chest" segment. --Doug Thomas

Baby Van Gogh is GREAT!!!
Among the BEST!!!
WOW! What a great video!

Love it! Love it! Love it!
Fit Mama is Fantastic!INTRODUCTION - Leisa Hart first tells you what to expect in her video. She explains that the abdominal exercises have been modified to prevent the vertical muscles, the recti abdominis, from separating during pregnancy. Guidelines from the American College of OBGyNs are listed. Leisa recommends a frequency of 3 to 4 times per week, but completing one section at a time vs. the entire 60 minutes fit my schedule better.
SALSA (20 min) - The setting is bare: one large room with hardwood floors and two glass paneled doors in back. The participants are separated into groups. Leisa, in her third trimester, stands in the center. On her left are two women in their second trimester. Two women in their first trimester are on her right. All movements in the Salsa portion of the tape, such as the mambo cha-cha-cha, are acceptable for moms at any stage. I salsa on carpet and find it sometimes tough to slide. When Leisa introduces a new move, she performs it twice, then asks you to join her. Her arm cues make it easy to follow along. She frequently asks, "How do you feel?" so that you can monitor your intensity level.
YOGA FAT BURN (20 min) - This section helped ease my lower back pain. Leisa focuses on breathing techniques and stresses correct knee placement. In the Warrior position, the moms in the first tri put their hand on the floor, second tri put forearm to thigh, and Leisa places her hand on her thigh. But she suggest you do the position most comfortable for you. They complete 3 repetitions for each side.
LABOR AND DELIVERY PREP (6 min) - Yoga ball and strap are optional. I had neither, but performed the exercises, like Kegels, with no trouble. Different variations for the ab exercises match the stage of pregnancy.
PRENATAL STRETCH AND RELAX (8 min) - This sections includes cat stretches, breathing techniques, and positions for each stage of pregnancy. Leisa inserts helpful tips, such as the importance of laying on your left side to get nutrients to the baby.
I love it!

A Mountain of A Movie from an Anthill
Big Giant Bugs- What could be Better?
Six Legged Freaks!

Sometimes you have to wear your Taiaha insideIn this screen adaptation of Alan Duff's novel of the same title, the pub brawls, wife beatings and gang fights serve to drive home one point: Violence exists in society, and violence kills and destroys. Violence is not glamorous, but a sign that rot has set in within a family or community. The violent scenes in 'Once Were Warriors' is terrifying, raw and difficult to stomach because we know it can happen anywhere in the world, and it does happen, in our own communities and backyards.
'Once Were Warriors' revolves around a Maori family, Jake and Beth being the parents of five children. As with almost all groups that is low on the socioeconomic scale, alcoholism and domestic violence is a problem. Limited educational and job opportunities are not problems faced exclusively by the Maori but also all marginalized communities. Even reverse discrimination policies have failed to ensure equal treatment and respect for the minorities. Alcoholism becomes a problem for men when, by virtue of being treated as second-class citizens, their self-esteem and sense of cultural pride are repeatedly destroyed.
For our central characters Jake and Beth, life is a struggle to survive from paycheck to paycheck. Jake is horrendously strong and masculine, but also self-absorbed, irresponsible and volatile. Beth, like many women without careers or sources of income of their own, alternates between feeling bitter over her helplessness to provide her children with a better life and feeling pride that she is the wife of the virile and strong Jake.
As every student of behaviorism and behavior training would know, abusive relationships feed on and are sustained by the abuse because the occasional positive reinforcement persuades the abused party that things are not always all that bad and things would be better soon (E.g. read Karen Pryor's behavioral training classic, 'Don't Shoot The Dog'). Jake's rare moments of generosity and tenderness towards Beth convinces her that she is better off living with him, and that leaving Jake would just leave her vulnerable to other problems and abuses. She is battered, then apologized to, then pacified by Jake with displays of affection and declarations of love. This is the reason why most domestic violence victims often take so long to seek external help: Their assumption is that the abuser genuinely loves them, but 'just has a problem with his temper' and the situation will improve 'once he finds a job/is out of debt/once they have a bit of money'.
We are presented with a violent scene where Jake beats up another man in a pub for playing the jukebox too loudly. We, the audience, gasp at his strength and lack of remorse. Later, we see Jake confronting Beth for talking back and refusing to do as she is told. Jake unleashes his fury on her, beating her so badly that she is unable to go to court the following morning for the hearing of her juvenile delinquent son, Boogie. We understand that Beth seems to have accepted the beatings as a normal part of relationships.
Of the Heke children, Nig, the eldest, has left home to join a gang. His gang initiation ceremony involves him being beaten up by about ten older gang members. Boogie, the second son, has been 'running around with the wrong crowd' and is soon placed in a juvenile detention center, where he learns self-discipline, self-respect, love and respect for his culture and 'to wear his taiaha inside' when he is angry. The taiaha imagery here is important as it can be interpreted as a symbol of Maori pride and courage.
Gracie, Jake and Beth's 13-year-old daughter, deserves better than the cesspool of a home she was brought up in. She is kind to the point of overwhelming magnanimity and nurturing to a fault, but her potential is stifled by lack of support and understanding from her parents. Still, Gracie shows the most promise of all the Heke children. Her untimely demise later in the film is a great source of sorrow and resentment for me.
A scene in the later part of the movie shows Jake refusing to hand over the keys to the car to Beth. Again, this is a powerful artistic device to let us see how helpless and trapped Beth is in her marriage to Jake. She can't leave even if she is determined to, she has nowhere to go and she can afford to only go home.
Despite the bleakness of all that has befallen the Heke family; the beatings sustained by Beth and Nig, Jake's revelation that he came 'from a long line of slaves' and was not considered good enough for Beth's family, the detention of Boogie and the rape and subsequent suicide of young Gracie, this movie does provide us with achingly beautiful glimpses into the New Zealand urban landscape and Maori culture. When the village elders performed the Haere Mai welcoming song to welcome Beth and her brood back into the folds of their close-knit community, I believe not many of us can help but feel emotional. Beth turns to her Maori roots to give her strength at a time when she needs it the most, and her people and culture do not forsake her but fortify her instead and help her walk away from the destructive forces that strive to break her spirit and tear her family apart.
The entire cast has given nothing but the best to make this movie the powerful social commentary that it is. The compelling performance by the cast enables us to empathize with the problems and predicaments faced by the Maori as well as so many other marginalized groups. 'Once Were Warriors' is essential watching to anyone who hopes to understand the problems connected with domestic violence, working class society and the effect of imposing a global monoculture on people who already have a culture and religion of their own. While I do not pretend that this movie is able to address all those issues exhaustively, it does help us see things from one family's perspective. And sometimes that's enough.
Brutal, but a truth we must face
an all to common storyThe Film highlights not only the Maori story, but as mentioned by Rene herself (in an interview on the DVD I have). it highlights the problems of women children and men worldwide, most people can relate to the characters, many of us know a Beth Heke, a Boogie Heke, a Jake (The Mus) Heke, even a Grace Heke.
they need not be Maori, but we all can relate, no matter our origins, this is a story of the human condition that is all too common, and in the eyes of this reviewer, shows that too often when we try to be strong, we get it wrong. if you like Hollywood's greatest, then don't get this film, because this film is not a flight of fantasy, this film is reality.


Fox could have added a "behind the scenes" feature....
Journey To The Center Of My Youth...
Pat Boone Rules!!Where are his other movies?!!

Puppies & Kitties!
One of the best in the series!It's among the top-3 from the series, along with Baby Einstein and Baby Van Gogh. It has the most entertaining music and images, an age-less theme, and nice songs that go well with the images.
Definitely a must have.
2 year old loves it!

I w ish I could rate it more than 5 stars.What about Bob? is a great comedy for people of all ages. Adult's will love the one-liners and kids will love the antics.
Starring Bill Murray and Richaerd Dreyfuss.
HIGHLY RECOMMENED.
Silly Billy!
A great comedyThe story is about a man named Bob who has a fear of nearly everything. After wading through gobs of psychiatrists, he finally finds one that he thinks can help him - but the man is going on vacation for a month! Fearing to be alone without the guidance of his newfound teacher, Bob embarks on a wild quest to find the shrink and continue to seek help. Unfortunately, when Bob succeeds, he ends up driving his doctor a little...crazy.
This is a great movie that I plan on watching again in the future. While I realize the DVD isn't loaded with special features like many others are, I think the story alone is worth the cheap price that Amazon's currently selling the movie for.


I will not forget GizmoYou may ask where did Gremlins come from and I can't answer that. I do recall an old Bugs Bunny cartoon where the Gremlins where eating away at his airplane or something to that effect.
A great kids movie.
Fans will be pleased.........Those extras:
Commentary: Not a bad job as Galligan, Cates, director Dante, and Mandel reminisce about the days on set. Unfortunately Dick Miller was asked to participate as well, but pretty much only backs up everyone else's comments: "Isn't that right, Dick?", "Yes, that's right". Galligan annoys a little with his endless "Remember that, Pheebs?", a total schoolboy crush in his voice. But they didn't blow it, it's fun. There's another track with Dante, Producer Finnell and FX man Walas, though not as fun as it's bogged down in technical aspects.
Behind the Scenes: An odd 16mm, narration-less piece showing various moments on set in between takes. Interesting, but could've been so much more.
Deleted Scenes: A nice collection of stuff dropped from the film, some amusing, some you see why they cut it. But one is a real good resolution to the fate of the Judge Reinhold character.
Overall: A pretty good job, little bare in the behind the scenes and interview area, but enough to satisfy.
IF U RATE THIS BELOW A 5....

This movie is horrible
Soylent Green on DVD: Looking good For the first time in viewing the film, I was able to actually see the building where Sol Roth (played impeccably by screen legend Edward G. Robinson) goes to "go home" so to speak.
Previous VHS copies were so dark a viewer could not make out much of the shoot out action which takes place outside of the Excahnge building which evetually spills over into a brutal fight scene in the Church.
This is truly one of the most outstanding DVD transfers that has been done to date. The soundtrack sounds to have been remixed bringing up more the background music as well as a "sweetening" of ambient sounds and sound effects.
In the scene when Sol Roth goes to the Exchange to meet with the people who work there to find out more about the disturbing history of Soylent Corporation, the film print is so crystal clear that you can read the years written on the piles of papers. The print is perfetct no jumps, no scratches, no shifting of colors or pops in the soundtrack.
First time viewer in 2003A great film, and I highly recommend to anyone who likes Science Fiction to give this a whirl...as long as you're not a close-minded Jack Ass who can't appreciate a film older then 5 years.