On Our Own

Starring:Leigh Lombardi, Sam Hennings, Scott Warner, Amy Allred, Tom Dayton, Stepfanie Kramer, Jean Roylance, T.C. Christensen, Mike Wuergler, DonrÃ© Sampson, Liz Hansen, Don Donkenson, David Lister, Leslie Craig (II), Jake Marshall, Terry Taylor (II), Tristen Smith, Kevin Shamo, Steve Despain, Bill Sevy
Director: Lyman Dayton
Studio: Bonneville Ent.
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

A collective coming of age story set in the small town of Shelbyville in the late 1970's, Our Very Own is a story about five teenagers bored with small town life who are struggling to find direction and purpose in their lives. The family lives of each of the five teens are very different, with the teens forced to deal with everything from an unemployed alcoholic father, to taunts of being gay and parents who constantly demean them. When local girl Sondra Locke, who's made it big in Hollywood, is rumored to be returning for a movie premiere that coincides with the town horse show, the five teens are inspired collaborate on a tribute to Sondra for the town variety show. Their original work aptly showcases their individual and collective talents and the five teens begin to really believe in themselves. In the end, the teens must hold fast to their dreams while continuing to struggle to find their individual paths toward maturity and adulthood. Featuring a cast of up-and-coming young actors including Jason Ritter, Hilarie Burton, and Autumn Reeser and favorites like Emmy Award winner Allison Janney, Keith Carradine, and Cheryl Hines, the acting is powerful and the story believable. Winner of the 2005 grand prize at the Bluegrass Independent Film Festival and the special jury prize at the Rome International Film Festival.--Tami Horiuchi

Description

Hot, up-and-coming teen stars Jason Ritter, Hilarie Burton and Autumn Reeser and four-time Emmy® Award winner Allison Janney head the cast of Our Very Own, the engaging coming-of-age story about believing in your dreams. Itching to leave small-town life in Shelbyville, Tennessee, five friends are sent into a frenzy when they learn hometown-girl-turned-Hollywood-star Sondra Locke may be returning. Believing she's their ticket out, they do everything they can to make it happen. 2005 winner of the Bluegrass Independent Film Festival Grand Prize for Best Feature Film and the Rome International Film Festival's Special Jury Prize, Our Very Own is a heartwarming, hope-filled story about the power of friendship, family and believing in yourself.

Customer Reviews:

"Our Very Own' is the new "American Graffiti".......2007-04-09

REVIEW: "Our Very Own' is the new "American Graffiti"
Monday, August 15, 2005
By Brian Mosely

Cameron Watson's film, "Our Very Own," is a wonderful, heartfelt and true-to-life tribute to the town and the people of Shelbyville; the place that gave him the inspiration to reach for the top and get there by coming back home to tell his unique story.

As someone who grew up in neighboring Tullahoma during the same time period, this reviewer was overcome with memories when the trailer for the film was posted on the Internet back in February.

But after viewing the movie twice this weekend, it only can be said that the time and place depicted in "Our Very Own" is perfection, pulled from the writer and director's experiences, loving recollections magically brought to life, ones that many in this town share.

The year is 1978; a time in which there was still some type of innocence left in the world. Five teens -- played by Jason Ritter, Autumn Reeser, Hilarie Burton, Derek Carter and Michael McKee -- are spending the summer with nothing to do but borrow Mom's car to go cruising. It's long before the Internet, cell phones and sky-high gas prices -- and no video games are in existence except for "Pong."

So when the rumors start flying that the hometown girl who made it big, "our very own" Sondra Locke, is to return for the 39th annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, the teens are sent into a frenzy. Resser's character, Melora Kendal, becomes obsessed with the thought of being discovered and following in Locke's footsteps.

At the same time, her best friend, Clancy Whitfield (Ritter), is falling for Melora but is dealing with a deepening crisis at home. His father Billy, played by Academy Award-winner Keith Carradine, is spiraling down a dark path of destruction brought about by grief and guilt, while his mother (Allison Janney) tries to keep the family and her dignity together.

Life in Shelbyville is wistfully portrayed as the rural South once was. Every performance is dead on target, from Carradine's too brief, but effective, work as a man whose life has fallen out from under him to Resser's bright-eyed youth who yearns for more than her life seems to offer.

Janney's work as Joan, a woman trying to keep her world from falling apart, is something that hasn't been seen in film in recent memory. She feels as trapped in her life as the kids do, effectively brought to life when she realizes in one scene at a ladies' town meeting that no one has ever left Shelbyville. Her rapid shift in emotions reflects the chaos her life is becoming.

Ritter has the difficult job of playing a character who's living a double life, trying to balance his time with his tight group of friends with the unfolding tragedy at home, and pulls it off with staggering realism.

Resser's Melora is a striking ray of sunshine and naive optimism who reaches for the stars and knows she'll make it, if she can just get that one break like her idol Locke did.

Beth Grant is dead on authentic as Melora's mother Virginia, a chain-smoking Southern woman who seems to spend all of her time cooking, sewing and sadly shaking her head at whatever scheme the kids cook up next. Equally effective is Amy Landers as Melora's sister Rhonda, who seems resigned to the life that's been handed to her.

Cheryl Hines plays Sally, best friend to Joan since high school and key linchpin in the local rumor mill. She fulfills her role as the person who's always there -- with a shoulder to cry on and receive support from with understated grace.

Academy Award-nominated Mary Badham, who returns to film after almost 40 years, speaks no words in her all too short time on screen but says more with her eyes than most current performers are able to express in two hours.

Other standout roles are Faith Prince's turn as the town busybody, Dale Dickey's sassy waitress [Skillet] at Pope's Cafe, Burton's always bored Bobbie Chester, whose choice in dates causes trouble for her friends, and McKee's Glen Tidwell, who is beginning to face up to certain truths about himself.

All are part of the tapestry that is part of life in Shelbyville, exquisitely brought back to vivid realization by Watson's masterful direction.

Production design is totally accurate to the time period and area, with local touches that only life-long residents would be able to spot. The score by John Swihart touches the heart with delicate adornment.

Aside from a little language that's appropriate but never excessive, "Our Very Own" is a long overdue film for the entire family, full of wit, whimsy and a glance at life as it once was and how many long for it to be again.

One wonders if there were any local kids who viewed the film this weekend that will be given the life-changing aspirations that moved the characters in the movie as it did in real life with Cameron Watson when he chose to strive for his dreams. The circle would truly be complete if the enchanted cycle were to begin again.

Average customer rating:

A Strong Mom Trying to Do Right by her Kids
Ear plugs and blindfolds . . .
Excellent! Need I Say More?
Good Service
Job Very Well Done!!!

A Home of our Own
Starring: Kathy Bates , Tony Campisi , Miles Feulner , Michael Flynn , and Edward Furlong
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000059TGA
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Description

Life for a single mother with six kids, no job and no place to live might be enough to break almostanyone's spirit. But for a proud and resiliant woman like Frances Lacey, it's both a challenge she embraces and a battle she refuses to lose. Starring OscarÂ(r) winner* Kathy Bates (Fried Green Tomatoes) and featuring Edward Furlong (Terminator 2) and "a supporting cast of fine young actors" ("Entertainment Today"), this "radiant [and] inspirational" (The Hollywood Reporter) film is a "touching, involving experience" (Los Angeles Times) that proves home really is where the heart is! Independent, strong-willed Frances Lacey (Bates) is determined to turn hard times into prosperity. Fed up with her supervisor's harassment, her oldest son's (Furlong)increasing delinquency and all of Los Angeles, she packs her kids into a rundown Plymouth and headseast. To some, Frances may look like a woman bound for nowhere but this is one tough lady who's definitely got a destinationthe American dream! *1990: Actress, Misery

Customer Reviews:

A Strong Mom Trying to Do Right by her Kids.......2006-09-30

"The less you have, the more it hurts when you lose it."

In this independent film Frances Lacey is a widow trying to survive in the man's world of the 1960s. With three boys and three girls, ranging in age from four to fifteen, her task is even harder. Shayne, the eldest, has become the man of the house, albeit begrudgingly. When he talks out of turn he dutifully gets his father's belt and takes his punishment while Lynn, Faye, Murray, Annie and Craig look on.

Frances is a strong persuasive woman who stands up for herself and her children. After being fired from a Los Angeles potato chip factory for standing up to sexual harassment Frances decides, without discussion, to find something better. She sells whatever she can and packs everything else, along with the kids, into their rusty old Plymouth and starts driving.

They end up in rural Idaho sitting in the car outside a dilapidated half built frame house. It's love at first sight for Frances. In exchange for what Frances calls slave labour she makes an exchange with the owner and neighbour, Mr. Moon, for the property and house. He agrees hesitantly and totally unaware of the changes that are going to occur in his life.

For a regular income she talks the local bowling alley owner into hiring her even though she has no experience. She's willing to work and willing to learn. She passes her good work ethics onto her children who also work to earn money to help finish the house. Their only real home since their father died.

A Home of Our Own is an adult film with adult content and narrated by Shayne who looks back to when he was 15 years old. He calls his mother "one of a kind" and she certainly is. Kathy Bates, not surprisingly gives an excellent performance of a distraught woman looking to provide a secure home for her offspring. She doesn't claim to be a perfect woman and she quickly learns from her mistakes but it isn't until a tragedy occurs that she learns she can't control everything, the value of community and that it's ok to ask for help. Edward Furlong plays Shayne and is believable as the loyal son wanting to be the man of the house but torn with the fact he's still a child.

I couldn't find out who the narrator was but he really gives a Wonder Years feel to the film. I highly recommend watching this character driven film. Reviewed by M. E. Wood.

Ear plugs and blindfolds . . . .......2006-07-14

. . . are in order if you intend to watch this movie with your kids. My last review on it didn't seem to be much appreciated, so I'll site some of the specific reasons why I hate it. Mrs. Lasy constantly refers to her late husband as a #*&%$ Irish Catholic @#*&% - right in front of her kids. How is that supposed to make them feel? It is so dishonoring (and prejudiced). One of her little boys, in particular, needs his mouth washed out with soap. "Are you gonna sqeeze her b**bies?" he askes his brother, as he is getting ready for a date. C'mon. How gross is that? I can't believe that the average rating for this movie is almost five stars.

Excellent! Need I Say More?.......2006-02-24

Not very often do you see a movie listed where all but 2 people give it 5 stars. If 6 stars were possible on Amazon's rating scheme, I would have given them to this movie.
That fool that gave this movie only 1 star, and compared it to Anacondas obviously did not watch the movie. Just goes to show you that no matter how perfect something is, there is always one idiot who wants to tear it down.

Good Service.......2006-02-17

As always Amazon came through by sending another good quality DVD. I would recommend Amazon highly. Haven't got a bad DVD yet.

Job Very Well Done!!!.......2005-11-28

This movie production goes to show you that you don't need a budget of 100 million dollars to create a brilliant film. You only need good writing and good acting to create a rare treat like this movie. Kathy Bates RULES!!!

In Our Own Hands - The Hidden Story of the Jewish Brigade in World War II

Average customer rating:

WOW!!

In Our Own Hands - The Hidden Story of the Jewish Brigade in World War II
Starring: Peter Thomas (VI) , Mike Nussbaum , Nicholas Rudall , Josef Goebbels , and Avram Silberstein
Director: Chuck Olin
Manufacturer: CustomFlix
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000BCGN4Y
Release Date: 2006-07-13

Product Description

The final weeks of World War II. His Majesty's Jewish Brigade - the only all-Jewish fighting unit in the war - goes into combat against the hated Nazis...and comes away victorious. It is after the war, though, that the real story of the Brigade begins. Amidst the chaos of post-war Europe, and under the noses of the occupying Allied armies, the young Jewish soldiers mastermind one clandestine operation after the next: forming secret vengeance squads to assassinate Nazi officers in hiding...engineering the rescue and illegal movement of Holocaust survivors to Palestine. Later, in 1948, Brigade veterans help organize and lead the fledgling Israel Defense Forces in their new country's War of Independence. From the trenches of Northern Italy to the refugee camps of war-torn Europe, In our Own Hands unravels the thrilling tale of young Jewish soldiers who carried the weight of a people on their shoulders. NTSC Format Reviews: "Two thumbs up!" Siskel & Ebert "IN OUR OWN HANDS contains remarkable testimony and great stories...it is occasionally chilling and altogether a revelation." New York Newsday "It may be the most exciting story to come out of the last years of the Holocaust and World War II." Chicago Jewish News "As someone who portrayed a fictional Jewish Brigade officer in the movie Exodus, I am delighted to learn that the real and dramatic story of the Brigade is now at last being told in full." Paul Newman Actor "I wanted you to know how impressed I was with the video on the Jewish Brigade in World War II...Congratulations on a great idea and first-rate presentation. It's a story that has to be told." Hal Bruno Director Political Coverage, ABC News "You have caught an episode in world Jewish history at the last possible moment, and you have given us all a precious gift." Arnold Jacob Wolf Rabbi K.A.M.-Isaiah Israel Congregation, Chicago

Customer Reviews:

WOW!!.......2005-09-29

A unique piece of history which shows a story I had never heard of. This is a MUST for any Jew, hostory buff, or anyone who wants to see the a real story of the human spirit at its best!!

Average customer rating:

Good movie
family centered feature
wonderful film
A Must See for the Kids!!
A Touching Family Movie!! Leigh Lombardi Rules!!

On Our Own
Starring: Leigh Lombardi , Sam Hennings , Scott Warner , Amy Allred , and Tom Dayton
Director: Lyman Dayton
Manufacturer: Bonneville Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001UOD3E
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Description

In a desperate attempt to keep his family together, Mitch learns the hard way that accountability is an essential part of real courage. The scream of an ambulance signals that life had changed forever for the Robbins children. With their mother's death, they face a future that is uncertain at best. Long since abandoned by their father, one thing appears certain: They are bound for four different foster homes. When Mitch convinces his younger siblings that running away is their only chance of staying together, they begin an improbable journey to find Uncle Jack, in hopes he can help them. Hungry, out of cash and with welfare officials hot on their trail, they have little chance- until they find a friend in Peggy, a vacationing teacher. Their problems appear to be solved - but the plot takes another twist. A fun ride for the entire family, "On Our Own" is also a movie with a message: That the end doesn't always justify the means.

Customer Reviews:

Good movie.......2007-06-13

I always like this movie, and recommend to anyone that hasn't seen it.

family centered feature.......2007-02-04

In this film, you will discover the joys of teaching children good values and not to give up. Finding themselves without a mother, the family of children are given many choices to make. Do they live in a state run home for children or do they look for their uncle Jack? The journey takes them over several states until they find their uncle Jack who takes the kids as his own. Thus making it clear that family does come first. Good clean family fun!!!!

wonderful film.......2006-06-14

This was a wonderful film. Four children are presented with a problem to solve. Their mother has died and they are on their way to four separate foster homes. They run away together in search of their uncle. As kids will, they make nmany wrong choices. However, they are not left without consequences. I really enjoyed the movie with its charming story. It's a good film for discussing with children how the right choice is not always the obvious choice, and that all actions have consequences.

A Must See for the Kids!!.......2004-09-12

I have four children ages 4, 5, 7, and 11. All of them LOVE this movie. It is the most-watched movie in our home. The plot is deep enough to be enjoyed by young and old alike. If you have children, you won't regret your purchase.

A Touching Family Movie!! Leigh Lombardi Rules!!.......2004-05-08

Leigh Lombardi rules in this touching family movie about four children set on their own after their mother's death facing separation by foster care They then escape, encountering adventure and danger ending in a delightful,heartfelt conclusion.It's a must see starring Leigh Lombardi,Scott Warner,Amy Alfred,Tom Dayton,Stephanie Kramer,Mike Wuergler and Donre Sampson with wonderful music scores by the Osmond Boys!!

Charlie Rose with Richard Berke & Ronald Brownstein; E.J. Dionne; Bill Moyers (September 8, 2000)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Richard Berke & Ronald Brownstein; E.J. Dionne; Bill Moyers (September 8, 2000)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

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Description

Richard Berke of The New York Times and Ronald Brownstein of The Los Angeles Times discuss the virtual dead heat between Vice President Al Gore and Governor of Texas George W. Bush in the presidential race after Bush's lead has evaporated. Then, E.J. Dionne of the Brookings Institute on the same topic. Finally, broadcast journalist Bill Moyers talks about improving end of life care in America, the subject of his new PBS series, On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying.

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