Blow (Infinifilm Edition)

Starring:Tony Amendola, PenÃ©lope Cruz, Cliff Curtis, Johnny Depp, Dan Ferro, Kevin Gage, Bob Goldthwait, Rachel Griffiths, Jesse James, Ray Liotta, Monet Mazur, Jordi MollÃ , Max Perlich, Franka Potente, Miguel PÃ©rez, Paul Reubens, Miguel Sandoval, Ethan Suplee, Michael Tucci
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
A briskly paced hybrid of Boogie Nights and Goodfellas, Blow chronicles the three-decade rise and fall of George Jung (Johnny Depp), a normal American kid who makes a personal vow against poverty, builds a marijuana empire in the '60s, multiplies his fortune with the Colombian MedellÃn cocaine cartel, and blows it all with a series of police busts culminating in one final, long-term jail sentence. "Your dad's a loser," says this absentee father to his estranged but beloved daughter, and he's right: Blow is the story of a nice guy who made wrong choices all his life, almost single-handedly created the American cocaine trade, and got exactly what he deserved. As directed by Ted Demme, the film is vibrantly entertaining, painstakingly authentic... and utterly aimless in terms of overall purpose.

We can't sympathize with Jung's meteoric rise to wealth and the wild life, and Demme isn't suggesting that we should idolize a drug dealer. So what, exactly, is the point of Blow? Simply, it seems, to present Jung's story as the epitome of the coke-driven glory days, and to suggest, ever so subtly, that Jung isn't such a bad guy, after all. Anyone curious about his lifestyle will find this film amazing, and there's plenty of humor mixed with the constant threat of violence and paranoid anxiety. Demme has also populated the film with a fantastic supporting cast (although PenÃ©lope Cruz grows tiresome as Jung's hedonistic wife), and this is certainly a compelling look at the other side of Traffic. Still, one wishes that Blow had a more viable reason for being; like a wild party, it leaves you with a hangover and a vague feeling of regret. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Based on a true story, Blow gives us a fast-paced look at the quick rise and fall of George Jung (Johnny Depp) who became a premier importer of Colombian cocaine, in the turbulent 1970's, forever changing the face of drugs in America.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
DVD ROM exclusive web site
Documentary
Filmographies
Music Video
Outtakes
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer

Average customer rating:

Blow movie
mildly entertaining, but then just plain irritating
AMAZzzzing movie..!
A okay film
No honor among thieves... or anybody else for that matter.

Blow (Infinifilm Edition)
Starring: Tony Amendola , Penélope Cruz , Cliff Curtis , Johnny Depp , and Dan Ferro
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00003CXWV
Release Date: 2001-09-11

Amazon.com

A briskly paced hybrid of Boogie Nights and Goodfellas, Blow chronicles the three-decade rise and fall of George Jung (Johnny Depp), a normal American kid who makes a personal vow against poverty, builds a marijuana empire in the '60s, multiplies his fortune with the Colombian Medellín cocaine cartel, and blows it all with a series of police busts culminating in one final, long-term jail sentence. "Your dad's a loser," says this absentee father to his estranged but beloved daughter, and he's right: Blow is the story of a nice guy who made wrong choices all his life, almost single-handedly created the American cocaine trade, and got exactly what he deserved. As directed by Ted Demme, the film is vibrantly entertaining, painstakingly authentic... and utterly aimless in terms of overall purpose.

We can't sympathize with Jung's meteoric rise to wealth and the wild life, and Demme isn't suggesting that we should idolize a drug dealer. So what, exactly, is the point of Blow? Simply, it seems, to present Jung's story as the epitome of the coke-driven glory days, and to suggest, ever so subtly, that Jung isn't such a bad guy, after all. Anyone curious about his lifestyle will find this film amazing, and there's plenty of humor mixed with the constant threat of violence and paranoid anxiety. Demme has also populated the film with a fantastic supporting cast (although Penélope Cruz grows tiresome as Jung's hedonistic wife), and this is certainly a compelling look at the other side of Traffic. Still, one wishes that Blow had a more viable reason for being; like a wild party, it leaves you with a hangover and a vague feeling of regret. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Based on a true story, Blow gives us a fast-paced look at the quick rise and fall of George Jung (Johnny Depp) who became a premier importer of Colombian cocaine, in the turbulent 1970's, forever changing the face of drugs in America.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
DVD ROM exclusive web site
Documentary
Filmographies
Music Video
Outtakes
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

Blow movie.......2007-06-14

I did not receive this product at all, I tracked its progress and it said it was sent to me, but I never did receive, I attempted to contact Amazon about this order and there was no reply. I was very dissatisfied and felt like someone stole my money.

mildly entertaining, but then just plain irritating.......2007-06-12

I bought this the other day on a whim at a garage sale.

First off, a technical matter: where the hell is the closed captioning on this DVD? I have a hard time understanding what's being said unless I can also read someone's lips. On a 14" TV, that's not always possible. Thus, I appreciate closed captioning. I am sure deaf people do too. This is the first DVD I've seen in a long time that does not include it in the standard features, or if it does, I sure as hell couldn't find it.

Second, the movie itself: at a certain point I lost all sympathy for George Jung. You can root for a small-time pot dealer who is in cahoots with a stewardess to smuggle marijuana cross-country. Even as his greed gets the best of him, nobody's getting killed, nobody's dying of overdoses. But it's hard to have much sympathy for a character who works for a drug lord who shot a man in cold blood at the "job interview."

Jung knew firsthand the damage cocaine was doing to his friends' and wife's health. He saw with his own eyes the damage it was doing to innocent people in Columbia. He wasn't just an addict without the willpower to stop himself from doing another line. He was running the largest drug-smuggling ring in the country.

Boo hoo. He lost his daughter's trust when he didn't show up to take her to California. That trip wasn't meant to make Kristina Jung happy, it was to prove to himself that he was at heart a good dad.

This is one of those movies that irritates me precisely because it could have been excellent. I don't mean that it should have become an anti-drug screed (few things are more tiresome than those), but it could have been vastly improved by the director and screenwriter having more emotional distance from Jung. The problem is not that Jung believes the things he tells himself about himself, it is that Ted Demme does too.

Also, I have yet to see a movie with Penelope Cruz in it in which she does not completely annoy me.

AMAZzzzing movie..!.......2007-05-23

this is def one of my favorite movies!! i love it. pure genius. great and captivating movie. i know it sounds cheesey. but this movie really is great. get it!!! i was really pleased w/ the fast delivery too. THIS IS A MUST SEE and theres no doubt about it that this will become one of your top favs as well.

A okay film.......2007-04-30

not one of Jhonny Depps beast movies it was okay kinda sad that he couldn't stop dealing drugs, to be with his family. well all in all it was an okay film.

No honor among thieves... or anybody else for that matter........2007-04-23

I have to admit I passed this one by for quite a few months at Blockhead. I was intrigued by the stars, put off by the topic... until I read further into it and discovered this movie was not some drug culture self-glorification eulogy. And then I discovered it was about George Jung, the real life character who introduced Columbian cocaine so devastatingly onto the American drug scene. Rather than repeat the synopsis already presented in the Editorial Reviews, I'll just comment on the things that struck me most poignantly in the film.

1) If ever a young man was influenced by his mother's faults, George Jung was he. George had the same personality as his father--hard working, good hearted, and loyal. But the father was condemned to a life of poverty, damned by his refusal to leave a losing plumbing & heating business. "Without us, people would freeze to death!" The mother, I believe, knew in advance that the father would never be a financial success, and that is exactly why she married him. As long as he was around never earning quite enough to satisfy her, she had a crutch, her eternal 'but-for.' "But for that loser, I coulda had a nice house. But for that bum, I coulda had new drapes." This sick, symbiotic relationship did a lot of damage to young George. When he was growing up he did not have access to the pop psychology books that could have alerted him to the debilitating scripts that his parents wrote for themselves. The precise damage done to young George was in convincing him that adequate money could cure any shortcoming life might saddle him with. And that shortcoming leads me to Point 2, George's monster-wife-from-hell, Mirtha, beautifully rendered by Penelope Cruz.

2) In marrying Mirtha, George married his mother. George was the modern day equivalent of the Greek tragic hero, Oedipus. The only difference was that where Mom needed a nice brownstone to wow the neighbors, Mirtha needed a nice palace--Versailles will do--to wow the jet-set. When George stumbled, and both the Jung men were genetically programmed to stumble, Mirtha, the monster wife, was there to rub his nose in it right on cue. Did you happen to pick up on the first two times George got busted? He was ratted out by first his mom, then by Mirtha. His mom did it not because she thought he was doing something wrong, but because she had to regain her stature in the community. After all, everyone already knew about George's drug doings, so what better way to shut the neighbors up when George came home for an illicit visit than to dial 9-1-1? However, when Mirtha did it, it was out of pure meanness. She was mad and she had to take it out on George.

3) George was basically a good man in spite of his misplaced business focus, and that goodness was also his fatal flaw. George was loyal to a fault, not a good quality in an industry plagued by disloyalty. He'd been ratted out by his mother and his wife, so it stands to reason that the third time George got busted was when his closest, lifelong friends set him up with the feds. Where's the honor among thieves? Perhaps there never was any.

--Ejner Fulsang, author of "A Destiny of Fools", Aarhus Publishing, 2006

Steven Wright: When the Leaves Blow Away

Average customer rating:

product sucks
Steven Wrigtht was Aight
Stephen Wright is hilarious
Not up to his best
Very funny stuff, some classics, and updates, must have for a fan

Steven Wright: When the Leaves Blow Away
Starring: Steven Wright
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000MRA56K
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Description

Dry, wry and hilariously deadpan, Steven Wright unleashes a torrent of ironic and hysterical thought-provoking one-liners in the quirky stand-up style that has become his trademark. From Toronto's historic Elgin Theater, this Oscar-winning comedian -- #23 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-up performers of all time -- keeps an adoring audience in stitches with random observations on everything from baby monitors as a form of wiretapping to his addiction to placebos. The party continues with a Boston Comedy Club performance from the comic's early career, and Steven explores the meaning of life in his short film One Soldier, which he also wrote and directed.

Customer Reviews:

product sucks.......2007-07-02

This product sucks I was told it was like Jeff Dunham, Jeff is funny Steven not

Steven Wrigtht was Aight.......2007-06-27

I am a real fan of Steven Wright, I just felt that much of this material was very thought provoking but not as funny as I know he is capable of being.

Several great one liners to his credit. I would recommend it to true fans of his, but otherwise it gets a 3 out of 5 star rating.

Stephen Wright is hilarious.......2007-06-27

This is a comedian with a mind bending style that is both intellectually stimulating and very funny. I highly recommend When the Leaves Blow Away.

Not up to his best.......2007-06-14

Not up to what we have come to expect from Steven Wright

Very funny stuff, some classics, and updates, must have for a fan.......2007-06-03

This is a great DVD, featuring a full show of the classic comedian Stephen Wright. His classic one liners and endless rambles, with his classic emotionless delivery. I'm glad some of this is finally captured to DVD. The film "one soldier" that was at the end, written and directed by Steven is alright, but I just lost interest about 10 minutes into it, so that is why i did not give this a 5. However, the bonus featurette of 2:30 seconds of an old show in boston in 1988 is a classic bit of his routine, a fine touch to finish off this piece. Worth buying and having on hand.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

A sentimental comedy that mixes absurdity with ultra-realism
Maybe it was too deep for me
Comedic genius. Better than Rushmore.
The Life Aquatic, Freaky Zissou Styley
Boring!!!

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Bill Murray , Owen Wilson , Cate Blanchett , Anjelica Huston , and Willem Dafoe
Director: Wes Anderson
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JNLQ
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Amazon.com

In The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, director Wes Anderson takes his familiar stable of actors on a field trip to a fantasy aquarium, complete with stop-motion, candy-striped crabs and rainbow seahorses. And though Anderson does expand his horizons in terms of retro-special effects and a whimsical use of color, fans will otherwise find themselves in well-charted waters. As The Life Aquatic opens, Zissou (Bill Murray), a self-involved, Jacques Cousteau-like filmmaker, has just released a documentary depicting the death of his best friend Esteban, who was eaten by some sort of sea creature--possibly a jaguar shark. Zissou's troubles also include his waning popularity with the public, and a nemesis (Jeff Goldblum) who hogs up all the grant money. Hope arrives in the form of Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), an amiable Kentuckian who may be Zissou's son. Despite his lack of enthusiasm for fatherhood, Zissou welcomes Ned--and Ned in turn saves Zissou's new documentary (in which he seeks revenge on the jaguar shark) in more ways than one.

One of Wes Anderson's greatest achievements as a director to date has been launching the autumnal melancholy phase of Bill Murray's career, starting with Rushmore in 1998, and Murray delivers a similarly comedic yet low-key performance here. Unfortunately, Zissou is one of the few characters in this ensemble to achieve multi-dimensionality. Even co-star Wilson doesn't get to develop Ned much beyond Noble Southerner, and he ends up seeming more like a prop for illustrating Zissou's emotional development rather than his own man. The Life Aquatic probably won't be remembered as a great film, but it is still one that no Anderson (or Murray) fan can afford to miss.--Leah Weathersby

Description

Internationally famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his crew -- Team Zissou -- set sail on a expedition to hunt down the mysterious, elusive -- possibly nonexistent -- Jaguar Shark that killed Zissou's partner during the documentary filming of their latest adventure. They are joined on their voyage by a young airline co-pilot, who may or may not be Zissou's son (Owen Wilson), a beautiful journalist (Cate Blanchett) assigned to write a profile of Zissou, and his estranged wife and co-producer, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston). They face overwhelming complications including pirates, kidnapping, and bankruptcy. Oscar(R)-nominated writer-director (Best Original Screenplay, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, 2001) Wes Anderson has assembled an all-star cast that also includes Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Noah Taylor, and Bud Cort in this wildly original adventure-comedy.

Customer Reviews:

A sentimental comedy that mixes absurdity with ultra-realism.......2007-06-26

"The Life Aquatic" is a movie that revolves around two main characters, Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), and Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson). Both of these characters are likable in how off-center they are. Zissou is an aging oceanographer, with all the vices of a sailor. Plimpton is a Southern gentleman and a pilot. These two people set off along with a crew to film and destroy a giant shark.

What gives this movie such a strange feel is the mixture of realism and absurdity. Some scenes are hilarious in how ridiculous they are, while others show how brutal and fragile life can be on the ocean. At times, it can leave the viewer a bit confused on what just happened.

So thinking back on "The Life Aquatic", I can best describe it as a strange sentimental movie. It has alot of elements of humor, mixed with the peculiarities of the main characters, yet weighted with death and violence. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the ocean.

Maybe it was too deep for me.......2007-06-12

If there was humor in this film it was over my head. I found nothing in this film to be even mildly humorous let alone down right funny. I think the joke is on the people who paid money to see it. Someone who says they see the 'genius' in this film is either deluding themselves, lying or a heck of a lot more thoughtful than I am. My advice: Avoid this garbage at all costs.

Comedic genius. Better than Rushmore........2007-06-11

This movie is so funny and surprisingly there is a real story in it as well. This movie has a laugh in spite of itself, while coming off as dryly serious. Bill Murray is a master of this kind of delivery. You have to listen to the entire dialogue of this movie, alot of the jokes are subtle and you may need to use your brain. Yes the fish look stupid, beautifully done but utterly fake looking. Yes Zissou smokes pot like a chimney, but he is utterly confident in his ability to come out on top. Being the ever sarcastic wise cracker Murray is at the top of his game here. I highly recommend it.

The Life Aquatic, Freaky Zissou Styley.......2007-05-12

This is one of my favorite movies and I was glad to finally get it on DVD. The special features are nice for a fan like me, you can see how incredibly creepy Mark Mothersbaugh is and what the actor who plays Esteban had to think, along with lots of great footage of Seu Jorge playing his guitar.

A must have for fans of the movie. I understand this is one of those polarizing movies where people with good taste and a good sense of humor get it and love it, while lots of other people don't get it. If you saw it and got it, then get this; or if you are into strange, odd, dark-ish, and/or interesting comedies, then check this out.

Peace
Blessed Be

Boring!!!.......2007-05-03

I am sorry but I do like Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. But this movie is just plain bad and is very boring. I turned it off after the first hour when the movie was developing into nothing. I don't leave bad reviews like this unless they are very bad, and this one is. Rent something else, anything else besides this one.

Average customer rating:

Blow-Up
Red Sun
Dangerous Power of Images in 'Swinging London'
you might need to think
i wish they had shrunk it

Blow Up
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave , Sarah Miles , David Hemmings , John Castle (II) , and Jane Birkin
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000WN0ZK
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Amazon.com essential video

This 1966 masterpiece by Michelangelo Antonioni (The Passenger) is set in the heady atmosphere of Swinging London, and stars David Hemmings as an unsmiling fashion photographer hooked on ephemeral meaning attached to anything: art, sex, work, relationships, drugs, events. When a real mystery falls into his lap, he probes the evidence for some reliable truth, but finds it hard to reckon with. Vanessa Redgrave plays an enigmatic woman whose desperation to cover something up only seems like one more phenomenon in Hemmings's disinterested purview. This is one of the key films of the decade, and still an unsettling and lasting experience. --Tom Keogh

Description

Taking photographs of a couple making love proves deadly when the photographer enlarges the image and discovers murder. The film and pictures are stolen from his studio and the body vanishes. In this elegant balance of deciet and trickery, the photographer must question the reality of what he has actually seen.

Customer Reviews:

Blow-Up.......2007-06-27

Antonioni's existential mystery scandalized some in the 1960s with its cool, casually erotic atmosphere of sex and drugs, but still made a sizeable dent at the box office. In addition to the film's central puzzle--was there a homicide or not?--Hemmings himself is a kind of cipher, playing a detached, unsmiling artist bored with his decadent life. With its mod flavorings and occasional surrealist touches--like a pantomime tennis game--"Blow-Up" is an intriguing, unconventional thriller that makes you question the nature of reality and illusion.

Red Sun.......2007-05-22

BLOW UP (1966) was Michelangelo Antonioni's second color film, and his first in English. Interestingly it was his first film that had a male protagonist. He is considered the master of abstract cinema, and this film continues in that vein. The cinematography was presented in very abstract ways, with most shots framed oddly, blocked by beams, banisters, photographic equipment, windows, and furniture. The camera made no effort to clear these objects in order for us to see the actors. Primary reds were the dominant colors, and in London that seemed easy, passing the double-decker buses and phone booths and pubs, all painted blood red. He painted one apartment building bright blue just for the contrast.

Swinging London of the Mods in the mid-60's seemed so wonderfully dated, captured in its spectacle. Those beehive hair-dos and mini-skirts, smoking that demon joint, the beginnings of the British invasion, that hard rock sound presented in the film by the Yardbirds, the first stages of long hair on men, and the casual way nudity and promiscuity is handled; all old hat to us now, but very brazen then.

I loved the way Antonioni gave us the skewed perspective of an unnamed photographer snapping candid shots of a young couple in the park, while the director shot him doing so; an overlapping sense of three perspectives. What the movie camera saw was not exactly what was snapped by the photographer. I loved the parallel of the photographer hopping over the low fence to hide in the bushes to shoot some shots, and then later discovering in exactly the same pose and framed shot, the sniper, the killer, behind the fence in the bushes. And of course the obvious parallels of the artist's abstract paintings, just so many random dots of color, until he capped the painting with some point of view, some detail that drew it all together -and the blow ups themselves, those photos of photos, with pixels blown up so large that they too look like abstract paintings to be interpreted.

Some have argued that the park represented Nature versus the pandemonium of the city, and yet what is a park? It is just an artificial large garden planted in the middle, or on the edge of a city, and it "represents" nature. We go there and have picnics or our lattes and imagine that we are off in the forest or field. This illusionary concept is important to Antonioni. Add to this the sense of each of us remaining strangers midst the teeming masses. The photographer and the mystery lady (David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave) both remain nameless. People seem to know them, but never refer to them by their name; very existential. It has been suggested that the director gave us several plot lines that were never meant to make sense, like the antique store scenes; and yet that would be a place that a photographer might haunt. His suggestions that his agent would bid on the store, that he might be a real estate speculator is never explored. Unlike a real photographer who asks permission to shoot a subject, Hemmings always shot secretly; even in the opening scenes, where he pretended to be homeless to shoot those old men in the shelter. Then there is the issue as to what was reality. Hemmings thinks he saw a corpse in the park when he visited it again, and yet he was not carrying his ever present camera. Why not? It seems to suggest that any of us alone witnessing something has no validity. We must find another human being to collaborate our find, to verify our conclusions.

Then the director gave us the "Merry Makers", the 8-10 Mimes that traveled around in an open jalopy, panhandling and performing, providing a prologue and epilogue. Their wordless game of tennis became the most "real" thing the photographer encountered, as he accepted their non-reality. As Antonioni made the character disappear in the grassy field, it made us wonder if any of the story had happened, or was it an allegory or dream. A complex and provoking film, it never fails to tantalize, a provoke attempts to make sense out of a senseless act.

Dangerous Power of Images in 'Swinging London'.......2007-04-18

"Blow Up" (1966) by Michelangelo Antonioni - is an artful, extremely well made meditation on the manipulation of images. The theme that first Antonioni's English-language film examines is reality vs. perception. We know that seeing is believing but can we always trust ourselves with what we see? Can we explain what we see? The film is as multi-layered as it is puzzling. It is very easy to admire this film and it is difficult to love it - it stimulates the mind but it does not do much for the feelings. The characters appear and disappear mysteriously, sometimes, literally in the thin air - after a while you don't care much what happens to them.

Antonioni was able to do what his hero could not - he captured the moment in time. His evidence of the most happening place in the world of the 1960s, the "Swinging London" with its cool music, a lot of beautiful girls exquisite like rare exotic flowers, parties, night clubs, Yardbirds performance, David Hemming in his white jeans looking like blond Paul McCartney, will not be destroyed and won't disappear like the pictures of the possible murder in the film did.

you might need to think.......2007-04-17

yes, this is a slow moving movie... and god forbid, you might need to think. This is a film, not a movie. People who like art house will enjoy this, if you prefer to be spoon fed, go rent one of the mainstream films.

i wish they had shrunk it.......2007-03-30

there are few more excruciating experiences than sitting thru a work of "art". this pretentious overblown (lame pun intended) tripe from 40 years ago is almost as painful to watch as "zabriskie point"; i daresay that i wouldrather sit thru "mchales navy joins the air force" than this! why would anybody take antonioni seriously? but even more irritating than the movie itself is the commentary track by some purported antonioni "scholar". david hemmings career is non-existent nowadays, and vanessa redgrave has managed to live this down (hey, if you can survive "camelot" you can survive anything). if this was swinging london in the 60s, im glad i was in new york!

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

A sentimental comedy that mixes absurdity with ultra-realism
Maybe it was too deep for me
Comedic genius. Better than Rushmore.
The Life Aquatic, Freaky Zissou Styley
Boring!!!

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Criterion Collection
Starring: Bill Murray , Owen Wilson , Cate Blanchett , Anjelica Huston , and Willem Dafoe
Director: Wes Anderson
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0007UC8Y4
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

A sentimental comedy that mixes absurdity with ultra-realism.......2007-06-26

Maybe it was too deep for me.......2007-06-12

Comedic genius. Better than Rushmore........2007-06-11

The Life Aquatic, Freaky Zissou Styley.......2007-05-12

Boring!!!.......2007-05-03

Average customer rating:

It's Just Alright
Rare Laserdiscs-dvds Collector
1985 capsule
Still Good
Hip Hop Classic!!!

Krush Groove
Starring: Sheila E. , Joseph Simmons , Darryl McDaniels , Jason Mizell , and Mark Morales
Director: Michael Schultz
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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Breakin'
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ASIN: B00007BK2Q
Release Date: 2003-01-14

Amazon.com

Like its progenitors Beat Street and Wild Style, Krush Groove is a movie about hip-hop that in its rush to document an emergent culture ignores plot, acting, cinematography, and anything else that makes a movie watchable or worthwhile. That said, Krush Groove contains some nifty performances from hip-hop legends Run-DMC, the always hilarious Fat Boys (see Disorderlies if you can't get enough of their weighty shtick), brilliant MC Kurtis Blow, and Prince protégé Sheila E. Also look out for soon-to-be L.A. Law-yer Blair Underwood in a lead role. Performances aside, Krush Groove isn't def, it's just so-so. --Ethan Brown

Product Description

In this movie based on the life of Russel Simmons, hot young record producer/manager Russel Walker has all the hottest acts on the record label Krush Groove records. The acts include Run-DMC, Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kurtis Blow. When Run-DMC has a hit record and Russel doesn't have the money to press records he borrows money from a drug dealer/loan shark. At the same time Russel and Run are both competing for the heart of Sheila E.

System Requirements:

Running Time 95 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

It's Just Alright.......2006-10-23

This movie was alright, but not something I'd like to watch again. Once is enough. I never knew Sheila E. had starred in "Krush Groove" and it was kind of weird hearing her rap and mingling with hip-hop artist. She really looked out of place. Other than that, this movie isn't anything to write home about.

Rare Laserdiscs-dvds Collector.......2006-04-28

Krush Groove is one of My Favorite Movies,i have it on dvd,'tis a great Movie :P

1985 capsule.......2006-03-03

this film is unbelievable if you enjoy pure old school this film will fill your heart with nothing but the love you have for
music expressed in words. this film is like a two hour video of
where hip hop got it's first big break. ll cool j,rundmc.new edition.dr. jeckyll mr. hyde, kurtis blow and sheila e. and the fat boys. the only group I wish was there is whodini. other than that this film and the comentary was excellent. this film is a must have...........period.......................

Still Good .......2006-02-24

If your between the age of 25 & 30 and saw this movie years ago.
It will bring back great memories of your childhood. The cast is pretty much made up of rappers and rap groups of hip hop past. So it's worth it just to see all your favorites of yester year, before it was all about shoot em up and other nonsense

Hip Hop Classic!!!.......2005-12-13

Radio, A Love Bizzare, If I Ruled The World, All You Can Eat........you can't stop the streets and the groove with the greatest hip hop movie of all time, Krush Groove!!!!! Other than Shelia E's terrible acting, the movie was a classic and a must buy. Before the dvd release, I thought I would never see this movie again, but now, I'm sure glad I purchased it. "KRUSH GROOOOVVINNNN' BODY MOOOOOOVVVINNNN"!!!!!"

Average customer rating:

one of the best british comedies
This Movie Rocks my Socks!
Unexpected Gem of a Film
Not Bad, but Not Great either
Yet another brilliant Rickman performance.

Blow Dry
Starring: Alan Rickman , Natasha Richardson , Rachel Griffiths , Rachael Leigh Cook , and Josh Hartnett
Director: Paddy Breathnach
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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An Awfully Big Adventure
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ASIN: B00005K3OR
Release Date: 2001-08-14

Amazon.com

Despite a gifted Anglo-American cast, Blow Dry strikes an uneasy balance between sentiment and camp. It aims for the same sort of high-wire act that Strictly Ballroom and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert pulled off so effortlessly, but melodrama wins the day. The comic moments are suitably over-the-top (as expected in a film about dueling hairdressers), but rarely as amusing as intended. The relationships between barbershop owner Phil (Alan Rickman), ex-wife Shelley (Natasha Richardson), and Sandra (Rachel Griffiths), "the other woman," could be more fully developed but are affecting nonetheless.

The setting is West Yorkshire. The event that brings them together is the British National Hairdressing Championships. Phil initially resists the urge to compete as it reminds him of the success he and Shelley once enjoyed, but his son Brian (Pearl Harbor's Josh Hartnett) convinces him to give it a go.

Hartnett and Rachael Leigh Cook (She's All That), as the daughter of Phil's old nemesis, seem like peculiar casting choices for a British film, but Hartnett's accent is passable (Cook plays an American) and they don't embarrass themselves as much as supermodel Heidi Klum, who plays a tacky, two-timing hair model. The screenplay is by Simon Beaufoy of Full Monty fame. Although not up to that standard--and certainly no match for Shampoo (the greatest hairdressing movie of all time)--Blow Dry is still a good showcase for the talents of its three leads. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

Starring Rachael Leigh Cook (SHE'S ALL THAT), Josh Hartnett (PEARL HARBOR), and Alan Rickman (GALAXY QUEST) in a great ensemble cast -- the Academy Award(R)- nominated writer of THE FULL MONTY has crafted a hilarious story about the things everyone wants in life: love, happiness, and great hair! As the National Hair Championships descend upon a small town in England, the country's top stylists aren't expecting much from the local talent. But they didn't count on Phil Allen (Rickman), the retired golden boy of the competition circuit, entering the fray! Also starring Natasha Richardson (THE PARENT TRAP), Rachel Griffiths (MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING), and supermodel Heidi Klum -- laugh along as the locals dazzle the out-of-towners with some hair dos ... and don'ts.

Customer Reviews:

one of the best british comedies.......2007-05-23

I absolutely loved this movie. What hmade the movie was Alan Rickman and BillNighy. they are an absolute scream. it has comedy, drama, and fun. i would higfhly recommend this movie to anyone who likes to laugh and be entertained!!!!!!!

This Movie Rocks my Socks!.......2006-09-28

this has to be one of my favorite films. It is a touching story about what really matters in life, love, family and beating the snot out of the bad guy. The jokes are great and the story even greater. Don't miss it.

Unexpected Gem of a Film.......2006-08-07

I rented this movie without knowing anything about it other than it starred Alan Rickman and Josh Hartman. But I enjoyed it so much that I immediately purchased two copies of it, one for a friend and one for myself. The story is a little silly but the actor's performances are wonderfully low-key and humorous. This is one of my favorite British films yet.

Not Bad, but Not Great either.......2006-07-22

Blow Dry was a bit of a disappointment, considering the makeup of the cast: Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson, Bill Nighy and Josh Hartnett among others, though by no means is it a bad movie.
The British Hairdressing Championship competition is a broken family's last opportunity at reconciliation...
In short, the acting is pretty good (though nothing great), the setting is average, while the dialogues and the plot are below average.
The major setbacks are in relation to:
1) The weak plot and especially the weak dialogues, for which the writers are to blame.
2) Rachel Griffiths was not that great as Sandra. Just as bad were the actors playing the minor roles.
3) Josh Hartnett's attempt at a British accent was sad.
4) Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson, Bill Nighy and Josh Hartnett were given terrible lines. What a waste of an AMAZING cast!
It seems as though the actors/directors/producers went to England on vacation separately, while there they met up with each other at the hotel lounge over drinks, and then decided, on the spot, to make the best of their stay by doing a quick and easy film on the side for some extra cash/spending money.
Though the potential for a good movie was definitely there it fails to take off, primarily due to the writers.
In a nutshell, it's an ok movie and that's about it; no masterpiece here... Wait till they show it on TV.

Yet another brilliant Rickman performance........2006-05-07

This film has the perfect blend of drama and humor. Alan Rickman does a superb job, as he always does. This is well worth the money spent.

Average customer rating:

a very good movie,
Political Murder Mystery
Has great moments, but never capitalizes
Manipulative trash
Political intrigue in Philadelphia

Blow Out
Starring: John Travolta , Nancy Allen , John Lithgow , Dennis Franz , and Peter Boyden
Director: Brian De Palma
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Body Double (Widescreen Special Edition)

ASIN: B00005K3NV
Release Date: 2001-08-28

Amazon.com

Brian De Palma's 1981 thriller is something of a homage to Michelangelo Antonioni's masterful Blowup, though there are hints of Francis Ford Coppola's paranoia-inducing Conversation sprinkled throughout. John Travolta plays a sound-effects man who witnesses what appears to be a tragic car accident killing a presidential candidate. The audio tape he happened to be recording at that moment (adding to his collection of natural sounds), however, suggests but doesn't prove that a murderous conspiracy is afoot. Trying to tease a shred of evidence from murky doubt, Travolta's character turns to a hooker (Nancy Allen) for help and stumbles into a web of evil spun by a right-wing kook (John Lithgow). De Palma's fetishistic fascination with obscured truth in a universe ruled by chance makes Blow Out one of his most operatic films. It's also perhaps one of his most revealing about the inherent decadence of creating verisimilitude for art. Sometimes knocked for its outrageous camera technique, Blow Out contains several exciting sequences that underscore De Palma's amped-up admiration for many of Hitchcock's best moves. --Tom Keogh

Description

John Travolta (Pulp Fiction, Face/Off) stars in this riveting mystery/thriller filledwith powerful performances, intense action and an "engrossing web of suspense and intrigue" (Blockbuster Entertainment Guide). Written and directed by master filmmaker Brian De Palma (Mission: Impossible), Blow Out is a heart-stopping adventure hailed by Rolling Stone as"an American moviemaking triumph!" Jack Terri (Travolta) is a talented audio technician who makes his living by recording unique sounds for horror movies. But when he accidentally tapes an automobile crash that kills a presidential candidate and injures his young mistress, Sally (Nancy Allen), Jack is hurled into a mystery far more terrifying than any of his films! Soon he and Sally mustfight to stay alive as they uncover an explosive political conspiracy that will send shockwaves to the highest levels of government.

Customer Reviews:

a very good movie,.......2007-03-05

very good screenplay. john travolta also performed well. part of this movie is just like gene hackman's 'converstation', both guy likes to listen to voices and noises. john travolta's recording habit in the 'blow out' was also sneakily copied a part in the funky 'save the last dance 2', a black young man also likes to record the sounds of the nature, but he used that stuff to win the heart of a white girl. what i like most of 'blow out' is the sound track. it played and appeared when it's necessary to be played and very appropriately portray the mood and emotion of john travolta's, the wonderful sound track was almost perfect, unlike my recent viewing experiences of the stupid 'astronaut farmer', 'the number 23', and the most recent 'wild hogs', their sound tracks were almost non-stop and absolutely unrelated to what's going on in the movies, they just played on and on, to get a full sound track album for the market, very inappropriate, stupid and annoying. i just wish that i could delete the sound tracks of these movies. i almost lost it in the theater when these stupid non-stop sound tracks (background music) played and played, drove me nuts!
this 'blow out' was about how a mysterious serial killer, 'liberty strangler', was tracked down by a young man who also fell in love with the young woman he saved at the beginning but lost her in the last moment. wonderful sound track simply synchronized the emotions and the mood of that young man. a wonderful viewing and listening experience on both account.

Political Murder Mystery.......2007-01-31

The film shows sound technician Jack Terry while his TV is showing political news about Governor McRyan at the Bellevue-Stratford hotel in Philadelphia (site of the 1976 American Legion convention). McRyan is the likely candidate for President. This sound man goes out at night to collect sounds for special effects. A shotgun mike, which is highly directional, can pick up distant sounds. When he hears tires squeal he picks up that sound. There is a sharp noise, and the car crashes. He dives into the water to rescue the woman in the back seat. At the hospital his objective testimony is questioned. The driver in the car was the late Governor McRyan! Lawrence Henry tells Terry to forget about it. The truth about the girl must be suppressed in the national interest. [Does this remind you of a Massachusetts Senator or a New York Governor?]

We see someone break into a garage and remove the tire with a bullet hole to replace it with another tire. Sally is a make-up girl at Korvettes. A local photographer happened to be filming at night and recorded the car crash. Frames are printed in a magazine (like the Zapruder film). Terry re-photographs the frames to create a movie film from the stills. Meeting with Sally, Terry tells about his past work with a commission investigating corruption. Something went wrong. Sally was paid to go away for a few months. There is a shocking event where a woman is attacked and killed on the street. Sally visits Manny at a cheap hotel, and we learn more about Manny. Back at the sound laboratory Terry is working on the audio tape to synchronize the sound to the film. There was a flash behind a fence that connects to the sharp noise. [Does this remind you of the 1977 Select Commission to Investigate Assassinations?]

When Jack Terry visits his police friend his story is considered a "conspiracy theory". But they will investigate. A telephone conversation reveals the hidden hands used to remove McRyan from politics. Back at his sound laboratory Terry finds his tapes have all been erased! (But this is no conspiracy.) Reporter Frank Donohue visits Terry to get information about his tape of the car crash. Later Terry learns that Sally worked to set up men for blackmail in divorce cases. Sally visits Manny and learns more about the deal. Terry's phone is wiretapped, and the secret operative Burke asks Sally to meet Frank Donohue and hand over the film and tape. [Why didn't they go to Donohue's office?] Terry wires Sally to record her conversation. [We see the spacious railroad stations in Philadelphia, so much better than the Penn Central station in NY.]

Terry realizes something is wrong, and tries to follow Sally. But they take a train to someplace. He drives through City Hall in pursuit of Sally, but crashes his car. Sally seems incredibly naive and trusting given her experiences. The fireworks distract people and the noise covers up screams. Terry sees the two and runs to stop Burke [a scene that reminded me of Hitchcock's "Psycho"]. Burke is stopped, but Sally expired. There are no witnesses. Sally's dying scream is used for dubbing a cheap porno/slasher movie. [There are problems with this story. What need is there for Burke to silence witnesses whose story can't be corroborated?] Nancy Allen and Dennis Franz did an excellent job portraying their characters. John Lithgow plays the creepy political operative. John Travolta plays a sound man whose most important work is in his past. Brian de Palma's writing and direction make this his best film.

Has great moments, but never capitalizes.......2006-08-27

The dense, complicated plot of Blow Out is hard to simplify. Basically, Jack Terry (Travolta) is a sound man for a seedy film company in Philadelphia. One night, while out in nature taping for effects, Jack witnesses the car crash of a vehicle carrying the man who was probably going to be the next President of the USA. The vehicle was also carrying Sally (Nancy Allen in a well-acted but annoying role) whom Jack saves by diving into the river and pulling out of the car. When listening back to his recording of the events, Jack realizes that this was no accident, and he sets out to unravel the conspiracy surrounding the blow out.

The movie never really takes off until Burke (John Lithgow) enters the picture. Burke is an evil, brutal hit man, who is willing to stop at nothing to eliminate all witnesses. Lithgow is great, but he just isn't in the film enough to pull it all off the ground. While the movie does have some great De Palma moments (the final chase scene, the train station sequence, the examination of the video/audio tapes) it unfortuately just never captured my attention the way most De Palmas do. I was never on edge, and I never found myself truly caring about the outcome. I think that the plot of Blow Out is one of De Palma's best written screenplays, but it just didn't have enough "De Palma moments" to make me say I loved the film. I did enjoy watching it, however, and would recommend it to any fan of De Palma.

Manipulative trash.......2006-07-22

I'm disgusted by DePalma. This is trash and so is he. It is too manipulative and it is completely his fault. He stretches out these horror scenes in the most manipulative way, as we watch Travolta fight his way through crowds to save the girl. This kind of manure (self censorship) angers me. This isn't art. It's garbage. His whole purpose is to manipulate us, to extend the horror scene in the most manipulative way. Don't you see how phony it is? Don't you resent how he is playing with your emotions? You call this art? You call this talent? You call this good directing? It's trash. He stinks. If he's trying to copy Hitchcock, he's not doing it right. Why not show us Travolta swimming through sharks trying to save the girl. I got it. How about Travolta pushing kindergarten kids out of the way trying to save the girl from a four year old strangler. And stretch the scene out, make it last through the whole milk and cookies period, as Travolta keeps pushing kids out of his way and the kids are merrily eating their Oreos and the girl is getting strangled. Eeek. That's a good scream. DePalma, you stink. What other stupid tricks can you do?

Political intrigue in Philadelphia.......2006-03-16

An excellent political thriller by Brian De Palma. John Travolta plays a movie sound-effects man who inadvertently records a gunshot, tire blow-out, and a car crashing into a creek off a bridge. He saves the girl (Nancy Allen) who was in the car, but another occupant, the governor of Pennsylvania and presidential candidate, drowns. It becomes obvious that the governor was being set up for blackmail, and now those involved want it covered up by getting rid of the witnesses.

The acting is superb and De Palma really builds up the tension to a riveting climax (which, after the fact, feels like a letdown because Travolta is able to get the man behind the conspiracy (John Lithgow - who is actually a CIA agent and the perfect foil for De Palma's obsession with conspiracy theories [echoes of Chappaquiddick and Dallas]), but the truth may never be revealed because evidence has been destroyed - and Allen is killed at the end. Filmed in Philadelphia, De Palma has a great feel for the city. Everything (mostly) works here; the movie is of a whole. (Although I have a personal problem with why two innocent women are killed by Lithgow; there seems to be no apparent reason for it.) It's an excellent movie, and there is much to mull over after it's done rolling.

Average customer rating:

Incredible Pride Event.
Make it four and a half stars...
Pride Fighting Championship: Body Blow
One of the Greatest MMA Events of All Time
No Low Blows in Body Blow (no spoilers)

Pride Fighting Championships: Body Blow
Starring: Alexander Otsuka , Quentin Jackson , Kazushi Sakuraba , Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira , and Fedor Emelianenko
Manufacturer: Bci / Eclipse Music
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Pride Fighting Championship: Final Conflict 2004
Pride Fighting Championships: Bad to the Bone
Pride Fighting Championships: Critical Countdown 2004
Pride Fighting Championships: High Octane
Pride Fighting Championships: Total Elimination 2004

ASIN: B000A3XYIW
Release Date: 2005-09-20

Customer Reviews:

Incredible Pride Event........2006-09-01

This has got to be one of the best Pride events that have ever taken place. The start of Fedor/Nogueira is very memorable and shocking. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's exciting bout with Kevin "The Monster" Randleman. When has Rampage disappointed the crowd with a fight. The shocking ending to the Sakuraba/Schembri bout and the crazy bout between Steibling and Shoji, another bad decision though.

Another solid event that has me reaching out to PRIDE.

Make it four and a half stars..........2006-08-03

This DVD is worth buying for the Rampage/Randleman fight alone! It does not matter if you are a newby to the sport, or a hardcore fan... you need to have this event in your collection.

Pride Fighting Championship: Body Blow.......2006-07-31

March 16, 2003
Yokohama Arena, Japan

This was, by far, one of the best Pride Fighting events I have ever seen. It is in fact one of the best mixed martial arts shows that has ever taken place. The matchups are outstanding and the performances delivered by the fighters are amazing. From beginning to end, this is a thrilling and historic event.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura:
Nogueira is much larger than Nakamura. Nakamura, however, scores with an early takedown of Nogueira. This fight becomes a very tactical battle, as Nakamura proves to be far tougher than expected. The fight gets slightly less interesting as it wears on, but it all ends with a submission for some final excitement in the battle.

Alex Steibling vs. Akira Shoji:
There is some intense action in the 1st round. Shoji drops Steibling - Steibling regains composure and takes over to dominate and win the round. In the 2nd round, Steibling stalks Shoji. After three great rounds of action, the fight ends in a shockingly incorrect decision. Great fight! Great drama!

Carlos Newton vs. Anderson Silva:
This was the earliest fight I'd seen Anderson Silva in. I was very excited to see him go up against a talented fighter like Carlos "The Ronin" Newton. Newton takes Silva down early and controls the flow of things on the ground. He doesn't necessarily do any damage to Silva, yet he dictates the pace somewhat. The referee stands them up and Silva is yellow-carded and penalized for inactivity. Perhaps someone took the term "inactivity" as an insult because the fight ends with a crushing strike within a second of being stood up. Silva dresses up like Michael Jackson after the fight and does a dance in the ring. He is entertaining on top of being an amazing talent in mixed martial arts.

Dan Henderson vs. Shungo Ohyama:
Henderson is coming off of a stirring performance in a loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He had gained even more fans and popularity due to that fight. Here, against Ohyama, Henderson lands some good shots right away. Ohyama makes a good fight of it, however. It ends in very exciting fashion. This is an outstanding bout.

Nino Schembri vs. Kazushi Sakuraba:
Sakuraba, with his huge celebrity status in Japan, entertains the crowd on the way toward the ring. Once inside the ring, he dominates what appears to be a terribly outclassed Nino Schembri. Three knees change all that and deliver one of the biggest upsets in all of Pride fighting. The crowd doesn't even know how to reach to what they see. More great drama in an already stellar night of fights.

Next up is the co-main event!
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Kevin "The Monster" Rendleman:
I was dying to see this fight... Both of these men fight with high intensity and skill. A bout between them would no doubt include some "fireworks". There is no animosity between them, yet they must face-off to determine who will go on to fight Wanderlei Silva. I was expecting a great fight, leaning toward Jackson in terms of ability to win the fight. He's just more entertaining that Randleman, in my opinion.

The fight turns out to be high energy indeed. It stalemates for a few minutes, as neither man is able to take the other man down. During the battle for positioning and a takedown, Jackson does land some very solid knees to the mid-section of Kevin Randleman. Not to give it all away, one man drops the other and attacks to finish it with ground and pound... Awesome ending to the fight! The winner then has a confrontation in the ring after calling out Wanderlei Silva. Silva charges the ring and pushes the now top contender, claiming the belt is HIS. This will be the next great Pride fight and I can't wait to see it.

The main event of the evening...
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Emelianenko Fedor:
This is a dream-fight for Pride fighting fans. You rarely get to see two fighters who are this good go at it. These are two true warriors of the finest ilk and they are about to do battle to see who will reign over the heavyweight division. I am a HUGE UFC fan, but I must admit that for HEAVYWEIGHT fighters, you have to look to Pride for the top talent in the world. There is a huge buildup to what should be a landmark heavyweight bout...

The fight goes to the ground and Fedor is able to employ his strong ground and pound to slowly batter Nogueira as we have never seen him be battered before. Nogueira continually makes submission attempts, constantly trying to position himself for the quick win, but Fedor is always able to pull out of danger with what appears to be minimal effort. Fedor appears, in this fight, to be a force unlike we have seen before in mixed martial arts. He lands a monster shot from the top position on the ground that causes some concern for Nogueira. Nogueira reverses the position... Fedor reverses it right back to his favor. It's back and forth at points, but largely one-sided overall. It goes to a unanimous decision.

This is an excellent Pride Fighting show. The DVD includes plenty of behind-the-scenes footage in a few featurettes. This is required viewing for fans of mixed martial arts. Truly awesome.

One of the Greatest MMA Events of All Time.......2006-07-09

PRIDE or PRIDE Fighting Championships is the largest mixed martial arts organization in the world. It is based in Japan and currently promoted by Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE). Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997, promoted by Kakutougi Revolution Spirits (KRS). It is the most popular MMA organization in the world based on the number of event attendees: the PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 event had over 67,000 people in the audience. The audience record is 91,107 people on the PRIDE and K-1 co-production Shockwave/Dynamite, held in August 2002. It is considered to be the premiere MMA organization on the planet.

PRIDE 25: Body Blow is one of the greatest events PRIDE has ever held before. Playing host to 19,739 fans, this was a historic night that no MMA fan will ever forget. Here is a spoiler-free rundown of the fight card:

ANTONIO ROGERIO NOGUEIRA vs KAZUHIRO NAKAMURA - 8/10
- The younger brother of the PRIDE Heavyweight Champion, Rogerio Nogueira, takes on a Yoshida Dojo protege in Kazuhiro Nakamura. This is a pretty good fight with an impressive showing by both men.

AKIRA SHOJI vs ALEX STEIBLING - 10/10
- What a war! Neither fighter is considered great but you'd never know it by watching these two guys throw down. Just when you think one man has the victory within grasp, his opponent turns it around. Repeat this cycle for three rounds.

ANDERSON SILVA vs CARLOS NEWTON - 9/10
- A highly anticipated fight between two of the world's top fighters. The end result is a very devastating KO.

DAN HENDERSON vs SHUNGO OYAMA - 9/10
- What looks like a mismatch on paper turns out to be much more than that. On paper, Dan Henderson is the heavy favorite but Shungo Oyama doesn't back down.

ANTONIO SCHEMBRI vs KAZUSHI SAKURABA - 9/10
- The greatest fighter in MMA history, Kazushi Sakuraba, returns to the ring to face off against an upstart newcomer in Antonio Schembri. Did Sakuraba easily dispatch of his opponent as everyone expected, or did Schembri pull off an unexpected performance? You'll have to watch to find out.

QUINTON "RAMPAGE" JACKSON vs KEVIN RANDLEMAN - 8.5/10
- Two of the world's top five 205lbs fighters do battle in a #1 contender's bout for the PRIDE MW Championship. Both men have very similar styles and this results in a very entertaining fight. The post-fight aftermath is almost as good as the fight.

ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA vs FEDOR EMELIANEKO - 10/10
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the World Heavyweight Champion and the best fighter in the world, defends his title in the main event. His opponent; the unstoppable Russian cyborg known as Fedor. The ensuing encounter results in one of the greatest performances ever put forth by an MMA fighter.

Overall, a remarkable PRIDE event. This is a night that will be looked back upon 50 years from now. The DVD contains some decent bonus features including an extra fight, a photo gallery, and a few behind-the-scenes featurettes.

No Low Blows in Body Blow (no spoilers).......2006-04-30

Pride 25: Body Blow is one of the best PPVs held by Pride. It contains enough surprise knockouts to appeal to any MMA fan, casual or loyal.

The fight card is as follows (scored on a scale of 0-10):

- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Kazuhiro Kakamura (6/10)
FYI: He's the twin brother, not the champ.

- Akira Shoji vs Alex Stiebling (6/10)
It wouldn't be a Pride event without Japan's favorite underdog Shoji.

- Anderson Silva vs Carlos Newton (8/10)
Don't let this one catch you off guard.

- Dan Henderson vs Shungo Oyama (9/10)
Best-paced match of the night.

- Kazushi Sakuraba vs Antonio Shembri (7/10)
Sakuraba's personality makes an otherwise predictable fight into a comedic meltdown.

CO-MAIN EVENTS:
- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs Kevin Randleman (8/10)
The winner of this match has a minor physical encounter with Wanderlei Silva. Great match and great showdown after the fight.

- Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (7/10)
This match gets more credit than it should. Granted, it was an important championship bout, but the commentators were really exaggerating the entertainment aspect of the fight.

BONUS MATCH:
- Alexander Otsuka vs Kenichi Yamamoto (0/10)

The Special Features are nothing special. It includes a brief backstage clip before the event. The rest are stale photo galleries and biographies. The bonus match comprises of two fighters (Otsuka has lost his last 3 matches/Yamamoto has lost his last 5 matches) who're at the end of their careers.

I don't know what Pride was feeding the fighters at this PPV, but Body Blow is a knockout fan's dream come true. Special Features aside, the event is always ranked among the top 10 Pride shows. Don't let this one pass you by.

Get Ready to CRUISE: Lin & Larry Pardey - Offshore Sailing Part 1

Average customer rating:

Cruising?
I bought both and am glad I did

Get Ready to CRUISE: Lin & Larry Pardey - Offshore Sailing Part 1
Starring: Lin Pardey; Larry Pardey
Director: Roy Blow & Chris Gurr
Manufacturer: Pardey Books & Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Get Ready to CROSS OCEANS: Lin & Larry Pardey - Offshore Sailing Part 2
Sailing in Heavy Weather
Being Out There
Blue Water Odyssey
Improve Your Sailing Skills - DVD

ASIN: B000AXFSUO
Release Date: 2005-07-01

Description

Join Lin and Larry Pardey at their home base in New Zealand as they share ideas and hints to make your boat safer, easier to handle, and more enjoyable to use.

On board Taleisin-the boat that has been their home for 65,000 miles of voyaging - they demonstrate galley upgrades, table design ideas, comfortable seating arrangements, and ways to improve ventilation below deck. On deck, learn how sail and ground-tackle handling can be made easier for even the smallest crew member. Larry discusses sun protection, rain collection, and line handling. Lin provides advice on buying and storing provisions and hints for keeping you and your crew dry, warm, clean, and well rested.

Shot in The Pittwater (north of Sydney, Australia) and at Fremantle, as well as at their home base in New Zealand (where they are restoring a 110-year-old racing yacht), this DVD incorporates the best ideas from their highly praised videos, including Cruising with Lin and Larry Pardey and The Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew. The programs have been re-edited, re-mastered, and supplemented with new information from these master voyagers, who now have more than 180,000 miles under their belts - including a contrary-to-the-wind circumnavigation below the four great southern capes.

Come along and share in some of the secrets that, even after forty years afloat, make the Pardeys eager to keep cruising,"...as long as it's fun."

Customer Reviews:

Cruising?.......2006-12-06

This movie tells how to get partially ready and for that it is useful. Would have liked to see more sailing, of which I know they have done alot. It does what the title says.

I bought both and am glad I did.......2005-11-15

Lin and Larry might not have made a big budget production, but they pass on a lot of info here. I bought this and Get rEady to cross oceans. Enjoyed the sailing scenes that illustrate the ideas. Wish I knew more about where some of the scenes came from. But that is not what the DVD is about - its about outfitting ideas and there are plenty here. I particularly like the storage ideas. Second DVD had more about actually being at sea - this one is sort of the starter, Cross Oceans carries on.

Loved the pics of their 110 year old race boat in New Zealand. These folks are trying to keep sailing even though they must be in their 60's. A real inspiration.

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