The Brotherhood

Starring:Samuel Page, Josh Hammond, Bradley Stryker, Elizabeth Bruderman, Forrest Cochran, Michael Lutz (II), Donnie Eichar, Christopher Cullen, Brandon Beemer, Brian Bianchini, Chloe Cross, Rebekah Ryan, Matt Ebin, Lauren Bailey, Mario Adractas, Karl Anderson (III), Jamie Bjorge, Randi Curtis, Colleen Gallagher, Vincent Grousso
Director: David DeCoteau
Studio: Ventura Distribution
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

INTO GREAT SILENCE
The Most Memorable Film of the Year
Exquisite
See it with your heart
Well worth the time and effort to watch

Into Great Silence (Two-Disc Set)
Director: Philip Gröning
Manufacturer: Zeitgeist Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Into Great Silence
An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order
Jesus of Nazareth
A Book of Hours
Becket

ASIN: B000OYNVOY
Release Date: 2007-10-23

Product Description

Nestled deep in the postcard-perfect French Alps, the Grande Chartreuse is considered one of the world s most ascetic monasteries. In 1984, German filmmaker Philip Gröning wrote to the Carthusian order for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him. Sixteen years later, they were ready. Gröning, sans crew or artificial lighting, lived in the monks quarters for six months filming their daily prayers, tasks, rituals and rare outdoor excursions. This transcendent, closely observed film seeks to embody a monastery, rather than simply depict one it has no score, no voiceover and no archival footage. What remains is stunningly elemental: time, space and light. One of the most mesmerizing and poetic chronicles of spirituality ever created, INTO GREAT SILENCE dissolves the border between screen and audience with a total immersion into the hush of monastic life. More meditation than documentary, it s a rare, transformative experience for all.

DISC ONE, THE FILM:
Breathtaking 16:9 anamorphic transfer, created from Hi-Def elements
U.S. theatrical trailer
Optional English subtitles

DISC TWO, THE EXTRAS:
The Making of Into Great Silence : With behind-the-scenes footage,
location photos and handwritten notes from the monks
Additional scenes, including a segment on the preparation of the
Carthusian s world-famous Chartreuse liqueur
Night Mass
The Carthusian Order : An informative guide to the rules, architecture, and
daily schedules of the monks and the monasteries
Extensive photo, poster, and press kit galleries
And more!

Customer Reviews:

INTO GREAT SILENCE.......2007-07-02

Filmmaker Philip Groning spent six months living among the monks of the Grand Chartreuse Charterhouse in the French Alps for his documentary "Into Great Silence."

I went into the film with a strong curiosity about the life of the Carthusian monks and was treated to an up-close-and-personal look at their lives across four seasons spanning a one year cycle.

I am told the film-maker was only allowed to bring himself - which meant he was The Director, The Cinematographer, The Lighting Technician and The Editor. To make it even harder, there was no lighting allowed inside the monasteries and the filmmaker was at no time to cause any disruption to the ritualistic cycle of the monks daily life. You will notice extremely "grainy" (ie low resolution) sequences in some that were filmd in portions of the monastery with little natural light.

Certainly a film best watched on screen (than on DVD) if you wish to feel the walls of the monastry and smell the cold air outside in the courtyard where a near 70-year old semi-blind monk chops wood to stock up for winter.

For those keenly aware that they came to watch a documentary film(not a staged re-creation) that waited 16 years before filming was approved, and the fact that the filming itself was carried out in extremely difficult technical circumstances, this will be a rewarding experience. Philip Groening appears to have attempted to use all available footage to tell the whole story, and unfortunately stretched the film duration beyond 3 hours - a litle too long to sit patiently and watch. Did I mention the monks have a vow of silence inside the monastery the whole year, except for a few days?. The silence on the screen is interrupted only by sounds of footfalls, chopping or sawing of wood, and sometimes you will even find yourself enjoying the mere sound of utensils being washed for the next meal, a relief from the deafening silence. There are ofcourse several scenes of chanting in the chapel, something he monks do every few hours day and night, which meant they slept barely a few hours at a time before they woke up and went about their assigned routines.

The overall feel of the creates a strongly claustrophobic feeling if you find yourself getting absorbed into the film. A scene showing the process of acceptance of new monks into the Order almost made me feel first hand the massive sacrifice and commitment two youngsters going through the acceptance ritual, were about to make.

All in all, this film was a unique documentary filmed in the most unusual circumstances and certainly a must-see if only to peek into the lives of a set of people who have voluntarily given up everything that defines life for us, and happily living that existence almost from early life till death. These are extraordinary men living an extraordinarily disciplined lives in dedication to their Order.

The Most Memorable Film of the Year.......2007-06-30

Not knowing what to expect, I was totally overwhelmed by the beauty, quiet and attentiveness of the many aspects of Carthusian life in this film. The camera approached La Grande Chartreuse, the monks and the extraordinary Alpine setting from the inside making of it a stunning, intimate, impressionistic cinematographic masterpiece. I saw the film twice and enjoyed it even more the second time. And I plan to see it again!

Exquisite.......2007-06-20

The experience of this movie was its own silent retreat. So often we neglect silence, we neglect prayer. What a beautiful reminder to enter prayer - and to enter prayer deeply. When I saw this film, I took my friend's fifth and seventh grade girls with me. They loved the film as well and we spent the next hour or so talking about it. This film is exquisite!

See it with your heart.......2007-06-06

Open your brilliant, silent heart and see this film fully as if you were there (in a way, you are.)An unprecedented opportunity to glimpse what life more truly means

Well worth the time and effort to watch .......2007-06-03

This movie will not appeal to everyone, even lovers of "art-house" cinema.

Initially, I was somewhat reluctant to go to the cinema and watch this movie. However, I accompanied a lady-friend and for close to 3 hours, we sat mesmerised by the tale that unfolded before us.

We both thought that the movie could have been cut in parts - the slightly out of focus snow falling at nightime seemed pointless; the repeated verses from the bible. For example, the quotes from "The book of Kings" were fine the first time around, but after the 3rd (?) time, it became too repetitious and unnecessary.

Another (minor) criticism of the movie is that there are some moments where the film is very grainy. I can only guess that this was due to lack of sufficient lighting, but surely the director could have either obtained a camera that would film low-light without the high grain or, change the f-stop on the lens, to allow more light.

The chance to view life inside a cloistered environment is a rare opportunity and I for one, congratulate both the Abbot of the monastery and the director for deciding that this was a story to be shared with the world.

Finally, watching the men play in the snow was unexpected and showed that they were not only monks but that they also had a human side. It also showed that they were able to enjoy some activities outside of the monastery, which had no religious overtones.

Average customer rating:

Worth every penny!
Japanese manga inspiration??
If I didn't know better....
Better than the Sopranos? You've gotta be kidding!
Excellent answer to Sopranos.

Brotherhood - The Complete First Season
Starring: Bates Wilder , Al Sapienza , Kerry O'Malley , Brian Scannell (II) , and Madison Garland
Director: Nick Gomez , and Brian Kirk (III)
Manufacturer: Showtime Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Sleeper Cell
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ASIN: B000GH3CWK
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Amazon.com

This riveting Showtime series puts a familial spin on Angels with Dirty Faces, the 1938 James Cagney-Pat O'Brien classic in which two childhood friends take divergent paths--one becomes a priest, and the other a hoodlum. In Brotherhood, Michael Caffee (Jason Clarke) is an idealistic and respectable Rhode Island state representative dedicated to the preservation of his close-knit lower-middle-class Irish neighborhood, the Hill. His older brother, Michael (Jason Isaacs), is a gangster who returns home after a seven-year absence (one step ahead of a hit, two steps ahead of the Feds) to pick up where he left off. The stage is set for backroom skullduggery and mean streets thuggery, as both men pursue their visions of the American dream on opposite sides of the law. At the heart of this series is the conflict between the estranged brothers. With the exception of clueless matriarch MaryRose (Fionnula Flanagan), Michael is not exactly received with open arms. "You're a tornado," Tommy tells him early on. "You suck everything in and spit it out broken." Indeed, the man is a psychopath. When a henchman of neighborhood mob boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) threatens a woman, Michael not only repeatedly bashes his head against a car, but for the coup de grace, cuts off his ear. In one gut-wrenching scene, he compels a woman to sell him her store by inducing her mentally challenged brother to play Russian Roulette. No wonder Tommy insists, "We're not the same in any way." But don't be too sure. Michael is a good man and devoted father and husband, but he isn't above (or beneath) using Michael's inside information to blackmail a stubborn colleague who won't vote his way on a freeway project that could destroy the Hill.

As the season unfolds, he will be forced to make more ethically challenged deals with the powers behind the scenes, one of whom has a mysterious connection with his mother. Brotherhood mines the clash between personal and professional lives to flesh out its characters. "The people's business" doesn't pay well, and Tommy is forced to moonlight as a real estate developer, and perform all home repairs. Eileen (Annabeth Gish), his picture-perfect politician's wife, smokes pot and is having an affair with a man she knew in high school. Declan Gigg (Ethan Embry) is a conflicted policeman who grew up with the Caffees. Comparisons with The Sopranos are inevitable, but Brotherhood quickly establishes its own unique voice, if not accent. --Donald Liebenson

Description

A working-class Irish family is torn between right and wrong when two brothers live out their destinies on opposite sides of the law. BROTHERHOOD tells the story of two brothers who sometimes share a twisted sense of moral compromise--each with his own skewed, idealistic vision of what makes the American dream.

Customer Reviews:

Worth every penny!.......2007-04-04

This season will leave you wishing the next was already showing. I may get a subscription to the cable channel this airs on. A must buy.

Japanese manga inspiration??.......2007-03-28

First of all, I want to say that I haven't watched the series yet. But what really surprised me it's the premise: two people helping each other from both sides of the law... It's exactly the same that "Sanctuary" a japanese manga (comic book) from author Ryoichi Ikegami (story by Sho Fumimura). It was a bestseller in Japan and some real action and anime films were made. It was about two friends that had shared a harsh infancy, and decide to gain control of the country's powers and then help each other: one will join the yakuza to become the national mob boss and the other will get into politics to became Japan's president. Shhiver!! I just wanted to point out these similarities. Does anybody know if this series is in fact based in "Sanctuary"?

If I didn't know better...........2007-03-08

I'd say that Jason Isaacs sounds just like Robert DeNiro in gangster mode.
It was cool! Condidering Isaacs is from Liverpool, he pulled it off nicely.

It's also a great show!!! I can't wait for season2 .

Better than the Sopranos? You've gotta be kidding!.......2007-01-13

Clunky, stupid, one-note characters. "Der" (a New England phrase for "Duh") thugs, very little witty or intriguing about them, once you know their "thing." Though the actors are obviously super-accomplished, the writing is just dull. Makes Providence, Rhode Island seem horrible, and I grew up nearby. It's not that bad. This is a "Kennedys-poor-cousins" series that didn't have enough texture to make me keep watching. Frankly, except for Annabeth Gish, no character was attractive, amusing or smart enough. I couldn't wait to return it. Very ho-hum, and nowhere near as deliciously, endlessly fascinating as the Sopranos. I love the Irish, too, but this one didn't do it for me.

Excellent answer to Sopranos........2007-01-06

Excellent new show by Showtime.
Looking forward to Year 2.

Average customer rating:

Movie
just cool
Captivating tale...
Rousing and Robust
Beastly

Brotherhood of the Wolf
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan , Vincent Cassel , Émilie Dequenne , Monica Bellucci , and Jérémie Renier
Director: Christophe Gans
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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Brotherhood of Wolf (Dub Spec Sub)

ASIN: B00006ADEM
Release Date: 2002-10-01

Amazon.com

If you crave an over-the-top historical kung fu-fantasy epic with a good dose of voluptuous nudity, bravura machismo, and passions so intense they verge on ridiculous, then Brotherhood of the Wolf is your movie. Based (loosely) on an 18th-century legend, this French film follows a hunky scientist (Samuel Le Bihan, who's sort of a second-string Christopher Lambert) and his Iroquois sidekick/spiritual partner (Mark Dacascos) as they pursue a monstrous wolf ravaging the French countryside. Along the way Le Bihan gets entwined with a beautiful noblewoman (Émilie Dequenne) and a gorgeous prostitute (Monica Belluci) with secrets. The plot grows more and more incomprehensible, but the mix of torrid emotions, outrageous action sequences, and lurid titillation is really what the movie is about. Ignore the highbrow philosophizing and confused political intrigue; just enjoy the sensual images. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Movie.......2007-05-17

I saw this movie when it came out and have looked for it for a long time and finally I decided to check amazon, there it was.

If you like movies that show history in the more realistic with a plot and mythical mystery that this is the one you need to see. Brotherhood of the wolf is not a well known movie but, it is quite the leave where you are and travel into the past for the length of the movie.
It also, shows how mentally unbalanced man can be.

I received this movie quickly and with out delays.

just cool.......2007-05-14

The Brotherhood of the Wolf is a voice over but it is such a cool movie you won't care once you start watching it. The fights are good, it has a good plot twist and some hot women to boot ...

Captivating tale..........2007-05-07

of horror and fantasy. Based on true events, it blends historical drama with fantastics flights of fancy. Combat scenes were well choreographed, particularly in the deleted scenes included on the dvd.

Rousing and Robust.......2007-04-06

I can't speak French unfortunately but the English dubbing isn't bad. The cinematography is just gorgeous and the sound is incredible. Great story and good acting make this well worth seeing. I took a chance and ordered this without ever seeing it based on reviews here. All I can say is, thanks for the heads up. This is a great period piece and action movie to watch. If you enjoy movies like "Sleepy Hollow" with Johnny Depp, "Last of the Mohicans" with Daniel Day-Lewis, or "Hound of the Baskervilles" with Jeremy Brett you will probably enjoy it. I recommend it.

Beastly.......2007-03-21

Imagine a fairy tale... but with grit, blood, stylized camerawork, and lots of French kung-fu.

That about sums up "Brotherhood of the Wolf," an epic horror/martial-arts/erotic/action movie loosely based on the French legend of the Beast of Gévaudan, but with a chilling story woven around it. Christophe Gans could have given it a bit more character development, but it's a simple flaw in an otherwise terrifying, intense experience.

An enormous, savage wolflike beast is killing young women and children in the French countryside. And so royal naturalist Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) and his Native American sidekick Mani (Mark Dacascos) arrive to investigate, and find that the local authorities are incompetant, the Beast is larger than any wolf, and it's still savaging the locals.

Mani and Grégoire set about tracking down the beast, finding it to be too large and intelligent (and with metal fangs too). But something more sinister than animal attacks is going on -- Fronsac uncovers a mysterious, treasonous society connected to the Beast, and a mysterious courtesan (Monica Belucci) with hidden motives.

It may be based on a real incident, but "Brotherhood of the Wolf" soon takes off into its own storyline. And director Gans crams the whole thing with whatever he likes -- horror, action, fantasy, political period drama, and some French martial arts. It's like an old fairy tale mutated into a live-action anime.

And Gans' direction style can include a little of everything too -- he handles rosy-skied romantic scenes with the same dexterity as raw sex scenes, rainy sludge and bloody chases. And he handles the camera just as well, although the style comes as a bit of a shock in a period film -- it zooms down cliffs and through underbrush, rapid-pans, and lingers on the fairy-tale landscapes of the French countryside.

One of the best examples of this is near the beginning, with Mani and Grégoire encountering a pair of gypsies being bullied, and Mani whipping the bullies with savate and a little la canne. It's a wild, dizzying scene, and thoroughly effective in showing these guys as a force to be reckoned with. But at the same time, Gans wraps the beginning and end in a sense of poignant regret.

If there's a flaw, it's that the plot and rich direction take up so much time that it's hard to wedge in some character development. Bihan fares pretty well as the inscrutable taxidermist, and over the course of the movie, you develop a liking for him and his girlfriend. But it would have been nice if the characters of Mani and Sylvia were explored a bit more than they were -- as it is, Belucci and Dacascos do amazing jobs with their characters.

This horror/action/period/French kung-fu flick breaks all the rules, and it's all the more enjoyable for it. A glorious action classic, and a must-see for cult film lovers.

Average customer rating:

Time to play the game...
Similar to Jumanji....
Excellent Sequel (of sorts) to Jumanji!
Better than "Jumanji"
Waste of money if you expect anything different to Jumanji

Zathura (Special Edition)
Starring: Jonah Bobo , Josh Hutcherson , Dax Shepard , Kristen Stewart , and Tim Robbins
Director: Jon Favreau
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Brothers Grimm

ASIN: B000DBHX4M
Release Date: 2006-02-14

Amazon.com

Zathura, a smart and stylish kid's adventure, launches into action when Danny (Jonah Bobo) twists the key of a dusty science fiction game--a game that unleashes a localized meteor shower and wrenches Danny's house into orbit around a distant ringed planet, bringing Danny's brother Walter (Josh Hutcherson, Kicking and Screaming) and sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart, Panic Room) along. Soon a defective robot, a rangy astronaut (Dax Shepard, Without a Paddle), and an alien spaceship enter the picture. Only by completing the game can the kids return their house to its proper space-time coordinates, but the game board falls into the hands of some nasty, carnivorous lizards. Zathura has some obligatory emotional conflict and resolution between the two brothers, but that's pretty much beside the point; what makes Zathura a delight is the wonderful design, the skillful escalation of disasters, and the adroit direction of Jon Favreau (Elf), who is quickly becoming the go-to guy for mass-market movies with wit and timing. Some situations may be too intense for younger kids; Favreau ratchets up the suspense at a few points. Based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji). Also featuring Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption). --Bret Fetzer

Description

In Columbia Pictures' heart-racing sci-fi adventure Zathura, two squabbling brothers are propelled into deepest, darkest space while playing a mysterious game they discovered in the basement of theirold house. On their fantastic journey, they are joined by a stranded astronaut and must survive meteor showers, hostile lizard-like aliens, a rocket-propelled robot run amok and an intergalactic spaceship battle. Unless they finish the game and reach the planet Zathura, they could be trapped in outer space forever.

Customer Reviews:

Time to play the game..........2007-06-30

I hadn't even been conceived back in 1959. That was about when my mom was still in school. Nonetheless, I sat down during my teenage years every afternoon after school to watch the episodes of "The Twilight Zone" I'd taped the night before (via timer) off the sci-fi channel, because I loved the formula. That formula? Suspension of disbelieve = 1.
By this I mean that the audience will only really have to suspend their disbelief for one thing. One element. One plot point that dominates the episode later. One thing alone about the world you're about to be vaulted into is different or unnatural.
The same was true of Jumanji. Basically, there is a board game (presumably a cursed board game, as it weilds magic against the gamers,) that you must play to the end, or else its "interesting effects" will never go away.
Of course, Jumanji took those effects from a fictitious jungle environment, more dangerous than any jungle on earth, but Zathura is a slightly different kind of game. This one is a space exploration game, and starting the game vaults anyone who plays it, along with, presumably, everything in their immediate vicinity, into the spaceborne world of Zathura. The long and short is that two quarreling brothers start playing the game and find themselves and their house stranded in outer space.
Now, I've seen many good reviews for this movie, and I'm sorry mine must be so... harsh, but I didn't enjoy Zathura as much as I enjoyed Jumanji for one reason above all others.
That reason is that frankly, the scriptwriting stunk.
I'm not talking about the dialogue between the boys or the dialogue of their father or their sister, or some of the dialogue of the mysterious astronaut, who appears later on. Much of the dialogue was actually very realistic, which is more than can be said for most kids movies. Problems seem to have only arisen in dialogue when it pertains to the game and its effects, which occur more and more frequently as the movie progresses.
For one thing, the behavior of children when vaulted into outer space by a mad board game would be considerably different than what is shown in this movie. In Jumanji, the behaviors of the kids (and adults) playing the game was actually quite realistic. The girl who plays the game of Jumanji reacts realistically to the game's warning with an "un-oh. I didn't see this part." Then from then on, the kids realize that it is of the utmost importance that one of them finish the game if they want to be rid of the horrible dangers it's been visiting upon them.
In this movie, the very real, life-threatening dangers are put on the back burner in the children's minds, as their conflicts with one another take precidence. For instance, the whole scene where the older brother complains that the younger one "cheated" to move himself ahead a number of spaces, and not even the astronaut has the wherewithall to note that if cheating were possible, they should all try it, since who "wins" doesn't matter. What matters is that they don't all lose.
Children quarrel easily, and can be remarkably foolish and stubborn. This I freely admit, but if they are in mortal danger, they will stand up and harken to it first, before trying to find someone to blame. This was done in Jumanji, but not Zathura. I think the scriptwriters on this movie were either being pestered by their own quarreling children WHILE they wrote this script, or else had just come off reading "lord of the flies" and decided that all children are barbaric and less intelligent than squirrels; which at least have the basic animal instinct to react to danger until the danger is past.
Indeed, I have to say that since this is really only a problem when the game gets involved, I almost found myself wishing the game had never been in the movie, and that it had just been a movie about two brothers learning about each other while being left alone in a house with their irresponsible sister, which is a shame, since the game is kinda supposed to be what the whole movie is about, right?
Of course, this is the biggest problem with this movie (unrealistic dialogue,) but there are other shortcomings it has that Jumanji lacked. At least, these things are shortcomings in my mind.
First, I think the fact that the boys adventure takes place entirely in another world didn't really help things any. Realistically, they sort of had to do it that way, in order for it to be a space exploring game, but I kind of prefer the effect when there's some scenery to worry about beyond one house, a starfield and a few alien ships. I always liked the scenes in Jumanji where the stampeding animals ran through town and stomped all over that one car. They could have at least visited another planet or something and showed some scenery like that.
However, more importantly, the game (I know we're supposed to suspend our disbelief regarding the game, but this bothered me) seems to appear just before the younger brother finds it, and disappear just after they finish. It's apparently been lying in the basement of their house (an old house, admittedly, but it's not like someone tried to get rid of it, like they did Jumanji,) visible behind the stairs in that basement to anyone who turns around to walk up them. It would have made a whole lot more sense (at least to me,) if the game had been found by the younger brother in a crater in a local park or something; all that remained of a meteorite. Plus, I just thought that up on the spot. You could also do a lot of other origin stories that make even more sense. Aliens drop it off to get rid of it, it comes from the future due to a time warp, it was manufactured by a race of spacefaring immortals and lost by one of their children... the list goes on. The game has no origin, and it easily could. How much imagination does it really take?
However, and this bothered me a lot more, the game is left on the floor where anyone could get at it after they win. What, do they WANT somebody to come along and get lost in space after they've just barely escaped with their lives? It was another thing about their behavior that didn't add up. At least bury it in the backyard or something.
I've already commented on the lack of scenery, but let me do so once more. Even at the beginning and ending of the movie, where you get to see the yard and street connected to the house, the camera never dares to zoom into someone else's yard and the script never calls for the boys to go off the property for any reason, and it fades out just as they're about to leave the lot at the end of the movie. Disappointing. This isn't the Sims, for goodness sake. It's okay to show the neighborhood (unless the neighborhood pulled out of the movie at the last minute.)
But I think the worst thing, for me, wasn't the confined space of this movie (irony there... sorta...) but the fact that there really weren't any action sequences at all. Children fighting with giant, poison misquitos and spiders is an action sequence. Robin Williams fending off an african lion is an action sequence. These kids typically aren't called upon to do anything but run from one place to another, pick things up, carry them, put them down, break some furniture, and hold up cards. For those who are familiar with beer, let me say that this movie felt like Jumanji Lite; not as exciting to make it go down easier.
Indeed, Zathura goes down easy, and that's my issue. I know this movie clearly was intended for kids after having watched it, but I'm pretty sure Jumanji was too, and it was also enjoyable to adults. It took a stupid, unrealistic, silly and impossible piece of subject matter and did as much with it as was humanly possible at the time, achieving the delicate balance of stressing the character traits and life experiences of the characters it portrays, but not allowing those traits to take center stage, watermarking them over the mortal danger, or really even letting them distract the viewers from the centerpiece of the movie.
Long and short, Jumanji was better. The graphics and sound have improved over the last decade, but that's to be expected. Graphics and sound quality are pretty much all this film had on Jumanji. I won't say it's a downright bad film, because there are enjoyable elements to it, and a kid might like it more than I (an artist) do, but after having seen it once, I can't picture myself purchasing it.

Similar to Jumanji...........2007-06-26

Except it involves being in outer space rather than a jungle theme. Nice special effects in this movie, along with nice acting from the cast members.

Some really funny scenes take place, however some scenes may be too scary for those five years old and under. The movie's/story's message seems to be one of working together to solve a problem and brotherly love.

Excellent Sequel (of sorts) to Jumanji!.......2007-06-24

The film is in the style of Jumanji. Two warring pre-teen brothers and their teen sister are the stars. It centers on a game that takes you to different places and puts you in different situations that are "life and death"! With each roll of the die, you put your life at risk! The only way to get to safety is to finish the game! Excellent concept, excellent story!

Better than "Jumanji".......2007-05-21

The 2005 fantasy/sci-fi film "Zathura: A Space Adventure" was a sequel of sorts to the 1995 film "Jumanji". Based upon the 2002 book "Zathura" by Chris Van Allsburg, (who also wrote the book "Jumanji" in 1981), the plot of the film "Zathura" is very similar to "Jumanji" as it centers around a mysterious & magical board game. In this case, the name of the board game is Zathura, which is found by the youngest of two rivaling brothers: Walter (Josh Hutcherson) who is 10 years old and Danny (Jonah Bobo) who is 6 years old. Walter, Danny and their older teenage sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart) are the children of recently divorced parents. The children's mother is never shown, but their father (Tim Robbins) does his best to spend time with the boys in spite of his busy work schedule. It is when the father has to leave on the weekend to attend a meeting that Walter & Danny get into a heated argument as Walter really can't stand Danny and repeatedly accuses Danny of cheating in just about everything. Danny tried to hide from Walter inside of an old dumbwaiter built into their father's old house. Walter finds Danny and lowers him into the dark basement, which frightens Danny considerably. In the basement, Danny finds the courage to come out of the dumbwaiter and it is there that he find the box containing the Zathura board game under the stairs leading back up into the house. Danny brings the game upstairs to see if Walter will play with him as they are both bored and not happy that their father had to leave. It is when Danny starts to the play the game that the sci-fi fantasy begins as their father's house is magically transported into space near a ringed & multi-mooned planet resembling Saturn. Walter & Danny try desperately to get help from Lisa, but thinking that it's dark outside, she runs into the bathroom to get ready for a date. In the meantime, the boys continue to play, which only allows more unusual & dangerous things to occur, such as the appearance of a mad robot, lizard-like aliens and a mysterious astronaut (Dax Shepard). With Walter & Danny continuing to fight and Danny being reluctant to continue to play, will any of them ever see home again?

Directed by Jon Favreau, with extravagant special effects, good cinematography, an interesting story (more so than "Jumanji") and mostly engaging characters, "Zathura: A Space Adventure" is a film worth watching. The primary downside to the film is the almost constant fighting between Walter & Danny, as well as Walter's very poor attitude during most of the film; but this is better explained towards the end of the film. Overall, I rate "Zathura: A Space Adventure" with 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

Waste of money if you expect anything different to Jumanji.......2007-04-11

I grew up watching & loving Jumanji. It was funny, it was original, and it's stood the test of the time (so far). I bought Zathura on the off chance, as I needed another DVD to complete the deal.

But Zathura is practically a carbon copy of Jumanji, but set in space, and with robots, and stranded astronauts (hello Dax Shephard), instead of out of control animals. Both were originally books, and Zathura is a sequel to Jumanji in the books. But they're just too similar, it's like the author couldn't think of another good idea, so decided to rehash his previous story. Both share the same plot device: children find a board game that transports them into another world effectively and cards are drawn that decide their fate and their surroundings. The only way to escape the game, is to play it.

There was a cool twist towards the end, but unfortunately I saw it coming, which was mighty clever of me, since I'm normally the last to spot these when it's staring me right in the face. Kristen Stewart, the girl from Panic Room, is in it a shocking little amount of time, and really isn't necessary to the story, apart from the fact she wears little more than a skimpy t-shirt, and what can only be described as guy's boxers. Basically, she's in the movie to look cute.

I was very disappointed in this, and every minute seemed to last a lot longer. It doesn't live up to Jumanji in my eyes, and if I ever have kids, I will be sitting them in front of Jumanji not Zathura. The only reason I'm keeping this, is to 'complete' my DVD collection - I don't have any DVDs where the title begins with Z.

Average customer rating:

Wow.
This is a side of the Korean War I've never seen before
Gratuitious War, Great Movie
unremarkable and at times slightly absurd
Tae Guk Gi

Tae Guk Gi - The Brotherhood of War
Starring: Dong-Kun Jang , Bin Won , Eun-ju Lee (II) , Hyeong-jin Kong , and Yeong-ran Lee
Director: Je-gyu Kang
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Oldboy
Shiri
J.S.A. - Joint Security Area
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
The Way Home

ASIN: B0006VL1J2
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Amazon.com

A big, bruising epic of the Korean War, Tae Guk Gi smashed box-office records when it played in South Korea in 2004, almost as though the country needed to re-live the trauma at a 50-year distance. For the rest of the world, this movie looks like a ground-level reckoning in a melodramatic key, with an authentic feel for battle lines as well as home front. Tae Guk Gi follows two brothers--one uneducated and forceful, the other intellectual and reserved--as they are united and then divided by the conflict. The broadly emotional story has some of the power of tales of the American Civil War, when family members found themselves on opposite sides of a battle. Director Kang Je-gyu , who made the lively female-assassin hit Shiri, takes a blunt approach to the material (including a Saving Private Ryan-style framing device). And at 150 minutes, he has plenty of time for head-splitting, blood-spraying combat. This movie is meant as a punch in the stomach, and it connects. --Robert Horton

Description

In the powerful tradition of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers comes this box-office hit from Korea.From the director of Shiri comes the epic tale of two brothers. Jin-tae, a shoemaker, has worked tirelessly to provide money for the younger Jin-seok to go to college. But each of their hopes and dreams are shattered when both are forced to join the army against their will. Torn away from home and family, Jin-tae vows to protect Jin-seok despite the dangers-and the cost. In the searing crucible of battle, fate intervenes, forcing their bonds of faith, love and trust to be tested time and again in this suspense-filled, action-packed war drama.

Customer Reviews:

Wow........2007-04-28

I have seen this film twice and it certainly moves. I just don't think it was made for American sensibilities, rather for South Korean ones. Some of it was very implausible (partially in that both brothers survived as long as they did; another in the "side switching" done by one and/or both of the brothers). Very emotional, very vivid, very gripping movie. Killer action.

This is a side of the Korean War I've never seen before.......2007-04-11

The film is technically outstanding. Like "Saving Private Ryan," Taegukgi spares no pains to show that war is hell; the battle scenes look like documentary footage, not a "war movie", and have a ferocity I've seen in no other film. Unfortunately, the movie goes on at such length and with--I wish I could find another word that fits--such zeal that it becomes faintly unpleasant. And not unpleasant in the sense that yes, war is not supposed to be nice, but in the sense that there's a difference between depicting and wallowing. You can only show soldiers from the South angrily gunning down soldiers from the North so many times before it becomes a cliché, and a somewhat repugnant one at that. I'm reminded, unfortunately, of François Truffaut's main contention with war movies: all too often they made war look like fun, not like hell on earth.

If the relationship between the two brothers is what makes the film, it is also what unmakes it, no thanks to the movie's muddled and manipulative plotting. At one point the two come across a cadre of wounded North Korean soldiers in a mine, one of whom was a childhood friend of Jin-tae but was forcibly conscripted into the Northern army. "All I see now is a communist," Jin-tae says (too obvious, and too much too soon, really), and prepares to kill him. Jin-seok then leaps to the boy's defense, and watches over him in when he's kept as a POW. This leads to another, deeply unpleasant scene where the Northern prisoners are forced to fight. Jin-tae takes great pride in demonstrating how they need to beat each other; Jin-seok steps in and starts throwing punches himself, and the movie conveniently forgets about his weak heart to make its point.

Both of these scenes, and a fair deal of the rest of the movie, suffer from the same problem: they are willing to ignore the logic of character and circumstance to make points that could be otherwise delivered every bit as effectively. They also show off the film's general and complete lack of subtlety. But the brothers are convincing--even when the script is marching them off a cliff--and their performances are well worth seeing even when they're surrounded by a story that hasn't been constructed with the same care to attention as the war scenery. It is hard for me to say this movie is not worth seeing, though, because it is: It shows a side of a war that has almost never been seen by an English-speaking audience, even if it isn't everything it could have been.

Gratuitious War, Great Movie.......2007-03-31

"Saving Private Ryan", starting out magnificiently, fizzled out halfway through. "We Were Soldiers", with well-designed battle scenes, had too many characters and may have tried to accomplish too much in too little reel. "WindTalkers", so action-packed, came across as overly fantastic at various points. "Platoon" was great, but lacked the epic feel. "Black Hawk Down", whilst show-casing much of modern urban warfare, was somewhat incoherent and disjointed.

"TaeGukGi" (Brotherhood of War) - one of only two movies directed by Je-gyu Kang -, then, is as close to perfect as war-movie perfection gets.

Jin-Tae and Jin-Seok. Two brothers, the older being Jin-Tae, sent off to defend the Pusan perimeter during the North Korea's invasion of the South in 1950. Big brother turns hero to protect the younger brother and hopefully get him sent home. After numerous split heads, blown-up bodies, cold-blooded killing by both sides, they are split up with Jin-Tae being captured by, and eventually fighting for, the North Koreans. A momentous and heart-felt climax ensues in the midst of some of the most gruesome battle scenes on film ever (let alone from Asian cinema).

Director Je-Gyu Kang is a master at taking you deep into the horror, the loss, the community-ripping character of war.

The love between the brothers is poignantly portrayed. The stronger and weaker, one risking everything to protect the other, both growing apart in their view and determination in the war, both estranged, one hating the other, until both are united in the worst of situations again, pledging their love for each other.

Je-gyu Kang is also an expert of the contrast of before and after. He makes is very clear how the war changed families and hearts. From the start, where the two brothers and their family are shown together in blissful harmony and joy, only for war to intervene and for them to recollect the earlier good life as motivation to keep fighting.

You won't see any computer-generated armies in Brotherhood but this is more than compensated by truckloads of extras which also help in retaining an authentic feel. The gore, explosions, blood, maggots, etc. (all made from good 'ol plastic and red paint, I suspect) are also real and graphic enough to make you wince - proof that CGI isn't a must-have for a great movie, even today.

History students are also privileged by the movie, which shows the back-and-forth character of the Korean War and the fluctuating reaction of its South Korean combatants throughout.

This movie also demonstrates the absolutely crucial role of a powerful original score. Almost everyone who's watched it commented on the part the music played in connecting the audience with the narrative. It throws the movie at the doorstep of your soul and leaves you trembling.

Yet, most importantly, it reflects Je-gyu Kang's anguish as a South Korean, living everyday in the reality of divided Korea, hoping (against hope?) that reunification can reoccur without more bloodshed, despairing over the many families and lives torn apart as the peninsular became the pawn of bigger countries and corrupted egos.

This is a theme also explored in his other big movie, "Shiri" (a film with also much 'contrast', depth and violence), and cannot but stick with you all the way to the end.

Part Korean history (and anguish), part Korean culture (and mindset), part character transformation through conflict, Brotherhood is all a war movie should be.

unremarkable and at times slightly absurd.......2007-03-09

This isn't a review of the entire movie - just the first 45 minutes or so. That was my limit for this (almost) comically earnest tale of brotherly love and heroism. For those who suggest that there's no such thing as overacting in Korea, please.

Interested in much better acted (and more intelligent) somewhat recent Korean films? Try Chunhyang (2000), or The Host (2006).

Tae Guk Gi.......2007-01-10

Although english dubbed, reading the subtitles is the most practical form of translation. Other than the necessity to read them, the are no flaws with the movie, and no flaws pertaining to the product. This is a great movie i would rank with Saving Private Ryan.

In Search of History - Hell's Angels (History Channel)

Average customer rating:

So-So documentary
Hell's Angels History
Why so homogenous?

In Search of History - Hell's Angels (History Channel)
Starring: In Search of History
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

Sturgis Uncensored
Hell's Angel 69
Hells Angels on Wheels
Angels Hard as They Come
Running with the Devil: The True Story of the ATF's Infiltration of the Hells Angels

ASIN: B000AABL4O
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Description

Are they romantic figures of rebellion, or traveling, rowdy misfits? Jump on you "hog" and ride along as we reveal the history of this motorcycle club with a punch! From inception by a former pilot from the "Hell's Angels" squadron, to the true incident on which "The Wild One" is based, to today, it's a ride you won't want to miss.

Customer Reviews:

So-So documentary.......2007-03-19

Informative, But overpriced and not in- depth and complete according to other accounts. If you want to know about the HA, I would suggest reading Sonny Barger's book "Hells Angels".

Hell's Angels History.......2007-01-18

Great DVD, factual but would need to be updated a bit.
They really did do a good job in capturing the true American Hell's Angels story.

Why so homogenous?.......2006-12-27

This work was informative. I learned when and how the motorcycle group formed. I learned that their symbol has a patent. The cable channel that produced this work is notorious for cheesy reenactments of historical events. They don't use those here because there is plenty of footage of actual bikers. I sympathize with their leader's, Sonny Barger's, struggle with throat cancer. Still, I think his difficulty speaking may help current smokers consider quitting before it's too late.

The documentary does say the group never lives up to others' expectations, be it hippies, federal prosecutors, or others. Still, I am disappointed how the documentary doesn't explain why the group seems to be composed entirely of white males. They show women as the bikers' girlfriends, but not as members. Why is there no Hell's Angelettes or does the documentary just ignore them? The group started in California, one of the country's most diverse states, yet no member seemed to be Black, Latino, Native, or Asian. When I saw that the group had a Johannesburg chapter, I was especially concerned, because that chapter may have been apartheid era footage. The film "Biker Boyz" is almost all Black. Are bikers segregated by race and do the Hell's Angels promote that division? The work never says. It renders whiteness and maleness as universal in very problematic ways.

The work does say Hollywood is fascinated by the group. However, it doesn't mention that John Goodman played a biker on "The Simpsons" and that some Hell's Angels were in the Eurythmics' video "Thorn in My Side."

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 13: Brotherhood (Episodes 49-51)

Average customer rating:

A touching and enticing end to the series.
A roll of the dice
Fullmetal Alchemist I give it 1000 stars if I could
Only the Japnese end their stories
Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 13:Brotherhood(episodes49-51)

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 13: Brotherhood (Episodes 49-51)
Starring: Ryôtarô Okiayu , Michiko Neya , Miyoko Asô , Yasunori Matsumoto , and Tomoyuki Shimura
Director: Seiji Mizushima
Manufacturer: Funimation Prod
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 12: Truth Behind Truths (Episodes 45-48)
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Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 10: Journey To Ishbal (Episodes 37-40)
Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 9: Pain and Lust (Episodes 33-36)

ASIN: B000FS2VXG
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Amazon.com

Fullmetal Alchemist reaches its appropriately wrenching conclusion, as Ed's and Al's powers and commitment to each other are put to the ultimate test. The fate of their world (and, possibly, this one) is at stake: If the Elrics fail, the Homunculi will continue their murderous deeds. But Fullmetal Alchemist isn't just a simple story of good versus evil, as revelations about the origins of Envy and the role of Hohenheim prove. The drama, the adventure, the comedy, and, above all, the loving relationship between Edward and Alphonse make it a truly noteworthy series in the history of anime, one whose influence is sure to be felt for years. At the end of volume 13, viewers may feel the same sort of emptiness an earlier generation of readers experienced when Sherlock Holmes went over Reisenbach Falls, although episode 51 sets up the feature, The Conqueror of Shamballa--which robs the ending of a little of its punch. But Hiromu Arakawa's original manga continues, and fans of the Elric Brothers will enjoy The Art of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Anime, a collection of illustrations by artists who worked on the series, including a nicely incongruous painting of the cast in traditional Japanese costume. (Rated TV PG: violence, grotesque imagery, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Description

At the end of destiny, where will peace be found? The brothers Elric will consider the answers that are left once the Philosopher's Stone has guided their saga to its end. True sacrifice, the deep love of family, the cruel truths of life and death… these are the realities that will bring the Fullmetal Alchemist's tale to a close. Episodes: The Other Side of the Gate Death Laws and Promises DVD Features: Character profiles Production art Image gallery Textless songs

Customer Reviews:

A touching and enticing end to the series........2007-03-19

These three concluding episodes of the Fullmetal Alchemist series capture the engrossing nature of the anime in a final series of twists and surpises that leaves the FMA fan both satisfied and anticipating at the same time. While I wasn't quite as satisfied with with the Fullmetal Alchemist movie, which continues the story where the series intentionally leaves things hanging, this end to the series is enough to leave me with a good feeling about the anime in general, and I wouldn't have minded if it was the end. The problems and goals of the entire series are addressed in unexpected ways, as the love of two brothers leads to the ultimate sacrifice of each one for the other. It also completes the character arc for Ed, as he has learned what is most important in the world, and what he has to do now that he knows that.

The DVD was well worth purchasing, both for the great episodes themselves as well as the special features (including some neat interviews and commentary with the English directors and voice actors, and the music-video like opening and closing songs that can be played on their own).

A roll of the dice.......2007-01-26

*Yes* you will read this same review on each of the DVDs for this series. I do not own them all as of yet, but have seen the series in it's entirety.

I am absolutely impressed with this show. The first time I watched any of it, I was not the least bit interested. I'm a definate anime fan, however, I'm very select about what I choose to watch (no sailor moon, or pokemon for myself thanks!). My original take on this show was that it was over-hyped and childish. At the time I was involved in another set of shows and was content, but when I finished those shows this series was rerunning from the beginning on cartoon network's adult swim, so, with nothing else to watch I thought I would give it another chance.

This time I fell in love with it, it has become one of my favorite anime's to date! The story is very indepth, and detailed. There isn't near as much "fan-service" as in other shows which can take away from the show itself, and it has relevant undertones.

I am a fan of shows like Cowboy Bebop, Trinity Blood, Trigun, Big O, FLCL (Fooly Cooly), Samuria Champloo, and such. If you share similar interests, then you may very well enjoy this show!

Fullmetal Alchemist I give it 1000 stars if I could .......2007-01-24

IMO one of the greatest animes of all time has ended. True after the TV series ends you have an awesome movie to watch. (And I do love the movie.) But the story of FMA is just like nothing else I have ever watch or will watch. The animation was always breathtaking the voice talent was the best out there. (The best english dub I have ever heard). And the story just never let me down. IMO the story just got better! So as a fan of the show thanks this forever will be my favorite!

Only the Japnese end their stories.......2007-01-12

The ending of the Fullmetal series, it still has some last minute surprises. We finally see the mastermind behind most of the consparcies in the series.

Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 13:Brotherhood(episodes49-51).......2007-01-04

This movie I bought for my oldest son,19.He has the whole series and I buy him the new episodes as they come out.He is a huge fan ,and watches them with his dad.They both enjoy the movies vey much.

Average customer rating:

The Beast attacks
I can't help but like it...
Long, Random, Fitting
Take The Premise And Run
It was THIS close from being awesome

Brotherhood of Wolf (Dub Spec Sub)
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan , Vincent Cassel , Émilie Dequenne , Monica Bellucci , and Jérémie Renier
Director: Christophe Gans
Manufacturer: Import [Generic]
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Malena Uncut Special Edition 2 DVD Set [Import]
The Crimson Rivers
Irreversible
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Dog Soldiers

ASIN: B00006I04R
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Customer Reviews:

The Beast attacks.......2007-03-13

I can't help but like it..........2007-01-24

I own both versions of this film. I like both but prefer the longer Canadian / Directors cut. The 3 disc set is worth buying.

My favorite part is chapter 2. Kung Fu! Mud Fu!

I only regret that I can't understand the commentaries only in French.

I first saw this movie in a theater. My wife and I loved it.

We know it's a mish-mash of various genre, but we don't care.
It has beautiful settings; great period costumes and superb action.
I like all the actors too.

It probably won't ever make the Criterion Collection but I plan to watch it once a year just because it's one of my top 10 favorite films of all time.

It just feels right.

[If you don't like the sight of blood; avoid this film]

Long, Random, Fitting.......2007-01-11

At first you'll think it's a drama/mystery, then you see the bad CGI effects, then it shifts into a sci-fi film, towards the end it shifts to action, and finally it shifts back to drama. The film was placed in the drama/horror section. I thought it was going to be a nice drama dealing with werewolves, but I was wrong. This film was a genre-shifter, it was suprisingly different, kind of enjoyable, and kind of long. It's hard to rate this film. The iron-chef was the best. Now I must eat, watch it for yourself.

Take The Premise And Run.......2006-10-15

Christophe Gans has certainly proven himself to be a bold and talented visionary; This film is filled with so much beauty and style that it's almost possible to overlook the fact that it's just a little too long. But I have great respect for a filmmaker who puts so much before us, takes us somewhere we've never been, and does so (for the most part) successfully. I made a 95 minute version of this movie by trimming selected scenes, and I watch it just about weekly. It's kind of like what I did w/his 'Silent Hill'. There is a masterpiece in everything he's done...Nice acting(the lead reminds me of David Lee Roth, minus the spandex...), great production design, excellent locations. Absolute eye candy for sure. Plus he gets points for twisting such a traditional genre, what with that whole fairy tale-esque thing and all. Love the scene in the snow. Looks great on DVD...

It was THIS close from being awesome.......2006-08-25

For the most part, foreign films tend to be divided into 2 categories: serious dramas and everything else with an abundance of dramas. Well here comes Le Pacte des Loups(Brotherhood of the Wolf) to try to combine as much genres as it can: it's part horror, comedy, action, period piece and drama. Well instead of a case of its sum being better than its parts, it does make some critical errors that stops it from being great.

Inspired by a real-life story, the Beast de Gevaudan is terrorizing people in the countryside of French, a beast the size of a cow. In comes Gregoire de Fronsac and Mani, 2 friends to try and hunt down the beast. But that's not all as there's some religious aspects to it as well as Gregoire falling in love with a beautiful woman while hanging around with a prostitute.

One thing you can't fault the film on is its visuals. Lush cinematography and set design gives the film its appropriate epic feel. However the beast at times looks too obviously CG and it kind of takes you away from the film a bit. However its appearance is always intriguing, including an attack on a poor woman in a swamp. While it does take a Jaws-like approach, keeping the beast hidden or not in plain sight, once he does show up in full glory, it's kind of distracting.

What the film ends up making as far as a flaw goes is its length. Granted 2 hour and 20 minutes isn't that bad but in this film, it drags at times. But oddly enough it's one of those kind of films where I couldn't figure out what should be cut if I made the film myself since everything fits yet at the same time it still drags. But when you have 2 bad*sses in the film and 2 cutie actresses, it works fine.

Wanting my education to be more well-rounded, mom put me in French immersion in grade 1 and it sure paid off since otherwise you wouldn't be able to watch the commentaries. Unlike Spirits Within which had English subtitles for its Japanese speakers, this has NO subtitles so unless you know French, you're out of luck. The rest of the extras are great as we get deleted scenes, 2 hour-plus documentaries which should explain everything you need to know.

It's hard to recommend the film since it's not like one of those "anybody can watch it" kind. Either you'll love it or you'll despite it. But at least give it a chance and try it out.

Mozart - Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) / Levine, Battle, Serra, Metropolitan Opera

Average customer rating:

The Met misses with this production of the famous Mozart opera
Die Zauberflote
A wonderful production
Brilliant
Excellent!

Mozart - Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) / Levine, Battle, Serra, Metropolitan Opera
Starring: Kathleen Battle , Francisco Araiza , Manfred Hemm , Kurt Moll , and Luciana Serra
Director: Brian Large
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Verdi - Aida / Levine, Domingo, Millo, Metropolitan Opera
Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) / Haitink, Finley, Hagley, Fleming, Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Verdi - Rigoletto / Domingo, MacNeil, Cotrubas, Diaz, Levine, Metropolitan Opera
Bizet - Carmen / Levine, Baltsa, Carreras, Metropolitan Opera
Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore / Pavarotti, Battle, Pons, Dara, Upshaw, Levine, Metropolitan Opera

ASIN: B000050X31
Release Date: 2000-12-12

Customer Reviews:

The Met misses with this production of the famous Mozart opera.......2007-06-14

This is a barely adequate production of the great Mozart Opera.

The spare stage settings create little of the "Singspiel" magic that this opera requires.

Franciso Araiza is uninspiring as Tamino but other members of the cast are generally good - Kathleen Battle is appropriately girlish as Pamina, Kurt Moll provides some gravitas as Sarastro, and Manfred Hemm provides some energy and humour as Papageno.

This production never springs to life and after a while one just sits there feeling bored.

Sound and picture quality are OK.

Die Zauberflote.......2007-03-29

I was pleased with the musical performance, though mainly because this opera is one of my favorites. The sets were not all I thought they could be. I was disappointed that I could not find a way to find where I had left off in the playing if I needed to interrupt it for any length of time.

A wonderful production.......2007-03-17

I really thought I was buying the 2007 (I believe) production by the Met. The 2007 production is much more a high tech, mystical presentation, but much shortened. You, or at least I couldn't discover the production year in the flyer, but it doesn't matter. The DVD is certainly worth the money. I now know that the 2007 production is not yet available on DVD.

Brilliant.......2006-11-23

Everything about this performance is simply brilliant. In general, nothing beats live music performances. Having seen the opera live a few weeks ago, I can safely say this is at least as good as the live performance.

Perhaps the greatest performers were the Queen of the Night, Tamino and the orchestra itself. This DVD is truely a gem, and a joy to watch. Highly recomended.

Excellent!.......2006-10-12

I was a little wary of buying this DVD from the negative reviews for it, but after seeing it, I have no idea where those comments were founded. I got this just so that I could see the actual performances after listening to the opera, and I was not dissapointed! This is an exceptional production of the Magic Flute, and well worth it. The orchestra is very good. Here's a character-by-character analysis:
Sarastro is top rate; those low notes he is able to hit is unbelieveable! Kurt Moll is famous for this role as well. I especially like his aria and chorus of 'O Isis und Osiris'.
Pamina is really excellent as well. That Kathleen Battle sure has a great set of pipes! For me, the best part for her was in chapter 35: the sorrowful aria, 'Ach, ich fuhl's, es ist verschwunden' -It gives you chills.
Tamino is great, and I like the sound of his voice.
Papageno is marvelous! He was my favorite even when I just listened to a recording of the opera. He's got a great voice, and very funny. My favorite part is when he plays the magic chimes when he and Pamina are caught by the slaves. It's just fabulous! I also love the last piece where he finally gets his little Papagena.
The Queen of the Night is extremely good! Someone else had said she was awful and slowed down the triples in her one famous aria, 'Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen', but I thought she was exceptional. It's one of my favorites. I have a lot of them, as you can tell. She's not screechy or anything, and it's just great.
Overall I think this is a grand DVD, and I'm very happy I found it. I would highly recommend it to anybody just wanting to see a great production of Mozart's timeless opera; like I was.

Average customer rating:

The Brotherhood IV: The Complex
Another Great Brotherhood Film

The Brotherhood IV: The Complex
Starring: Brotherhood 4-Complex
Manufacturer: Liberation Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Brotherhood
Killer Bash
The Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks
Hellbent
The Brotherhood 3: Young Demons

ASIN: B000GBEWLQ
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Customer Reviews:

The Brotherhood IV: The Complex.......2007-05-14

The guys are hot, the music is pretty good. Even the acting is pretty OK.
The story line is still a bit weak, but it is so much better than the previous 3 Brotherhood. The locker room solo is sexy. The underground tunnel scene should go one step further, instead it gets cut. The ending is always the weakest part of all Brotherhood series.
Still I will watch it again soon.

Another Great Brotherhood Film.......2006-09-16

Horror auteur David DeCoteau directs another classic installment of his Brotherhood franchise and this is a most welcome addition. A DeCoteau film has a look that is instantly recognisable for the beauty of the camera work and the dreamlike editing. He is also known for the beauty of the casts that he assembles to act out his eerie fantasies and he has really outdone himself with this group. The cast is headed by Graham Kosakoski and Sebastian Gacki. Kosakoski is a real discovery and a truly fine actor. He steals every scene he appears in and I hope David DeCoteau decides to break his own "only three films with me" rule and uses Kosakoski indefinitely. Kosakoski also appears in DeCoteau's KILLER BASH but only in a small supporting role. It would be a shame not to use his talent in many more pictures. The storyline returns to the original formula established in the first two films. The third episode may have lost the way a bit but we are back in traditional Brotherhood territory with this one. The big erotic sequence that has become a trademark of this series lives up to all expectations. This film also features some of the best production design of any DeCoteau film to date, although I can't say that it quite lives up to the "frat party" playboy club type design of the original film. Nevertheless, the budget seems to have been beefed up a little for this effort and the visual effects are more elaborate and abundant. The only thing missing (sadly) is the ever present lightening. C'mon David, bring out the Lightening Strikes machine again. WE MISS IT BAD! All fans of David DeCoteau or the Brotherhood series will be knocked out by this one. Thanks David, you have truly done it again!

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