The Curve

Starring:Matthew Lillard, Michael Vartan, Randall Batinkoff, Keri Russell, Tamara Craig Thomas, Anthony Griffith, Bo Dietl, Kevin Ruf, Henry Strozier, Ben Livingston, Kris McGaha, Christy Stratton, Dana Delany, Cheryl Goode, David P. Moore, Nora Pierce, Amy Raymond, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Ron Furman
Director: Dan Rosen
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Mind, Body & Soul Sessions features R&B phenom Joss Stone live in concert in 2004. Recorded at New York's Irving Plaza, the show begins with an introduction by the legendary Betty Wright, who co-produced the Brit's stunning debut, The Soul Sessions, and co-wrote several songs on the second, Mind, Body & Soul. The barefoot singer then gets down to business, performing a solid selection of material from both albums, including "Super Duper Love" from the first and "You Had Me" from the follow-up. Stone receives strong support from a tight band, distinguished by powerful drummer Caesar Griffin. As a performer, she's vivacious and her soulful voice is in fine form, but she may want to tone down the giggles in the years to come. That said, Stone is still just a teenager--as hard as that may be to believe while listening to the sophisticated recordings of this old soul. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

Additional content: Music videos for "Fell In Love With A Boy", "Super Duper Love" and "You Had Me." Mini-documentary filmed while traveling the US and Europe in 2003 & 2004. "Mind, Body & Soul" documentary video.

Customer Reviews:

What a shame!.......2007-06-08

A great performance, Joss is talented beyond her years. She has a real presence. Unfortunately with the video editing you get ZERO of that and it really distracts from the music, BIG TIME. EVERYONE I have played this for (without any prompting from me) from my 20 year old daughter, to a 60 year old friend, have similiar reactions, usually before the first song is finished. The sound quality is very good and the performance as I have already stated is really great. I set it up with the TV on so I can use the menu and then I turn off the TV and treat it like a CD. The performance and sound are so good I rate it three stars but it's a CD to me.

Joss was great!! Camera angles sucked........2006-08-05

Joss Stone has one of the most mature voices on a young person I have heard in ages! Totally an old school feel, like back in the 60's when people could actually SING. Her sultry, deep voice brings to mind a mix of --- a young Teena Marie, Mavis Staples, Janis Joplin --- and you just know she's got some skat in her like Ella Fitzgerald.

It's cool that she got to write songs with Betty Wright, Lamont Dozier and other greats. How this girl from the UK got so much soul....well, she just belongs. I love her composure on stage when she puts her full passion into a performance. And then you get to hear her giggle inbetween nearly every song. Her slow delivery on "The Chokin' Kind" was beautifully haunting. I can't wait for future projects from Joss because she can only get better. AWESOME VOICE!!

I give Joss 5 stars but I gave this DVD only 4, because as a lot of the other viewers mentioned --- the camera production totally sucked! It's like they had 60 cameras and wanted to get shots in from all of them, so the angle kept changing every few seconds. I bought the DVD to SEE JOSS. A music DVD should make you feel like you were at the concert, with "some" added effects. But they seemed to want every shot to be a special effect. Totally, totally annoying. I chose this DVD over her other ones because this included songs from 2 albums.

I did catch Joss Stone's performance on Austin City Limits. Even though it was only 30 minutes or an hour (Michael Mc Donald had the other half), it was easy to watch and an incredible performance. I hope they will release it soon. That performance was what made me look her up on a DVD.

Awful.......2006-02-24

I have never reviewed a product before but this time I have to. Joss Stone is a great singer and artist but this DVD is absolutely unviewable. The camera never stays on anything for more than 3 seconds and it is almost never on the artist the camera shakes and it is truly impossible to view. Do yourself a favor and buy the CD because the music is great but the DVD is useless.

mind, body & soul sessions..........2006-01-06

This DVD includes some great performances by Joss in concert in New York, and she sounds amazing. But I always like live performances better because there is just something very raw and amazing about them, and Joss's are just that. And she's so cute. Before almost each song she goes "I hope you like it". I really loved the performances of "Don't Know How", "Don't Cha Wanna Ride?" and "Jet Lag". The music videos for "Fell in Love with a Boy", "Super Duper Love" and "You Had Me" are included on the DVD, which is nice since I hadn't seen the videos before and I never seem to catch them on TV.

Pure Joy.......2005-09-06

Joss Stone channels the best in soul and blues with unbelievable vocal maturity and performance skill for her age. If she can keep herself healthy, we're in for many years of joyful listening.

Average customer rating:

Almost passed on this one !
An alternative way of getting a 4.0 g.p.a. in college
Decent film
DANGEROUS CURVES
Woefully underrated gem.

The Curve
Starring: Matthew Lillard , Michael Vartan , Randall Batinkoff , Keri Russell , and Tamara Craig Thomas
Director: Dan Rosen
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305375577
Release Date: 1999-04-20

Amazon.com

You might have heard people say they'd kill to get into Harvard. Well, here's a film that takes it literally. There's a legendary rule at many universities, so the film posits, that if your roommate commits suicide you can take a 4.0 GPA for the semester. Tim (Matthew Lillard of Scream fame, in yet another of his patented psycho roles) plans with his roommate Chris (Michael Vartan) to kill a third roommate Rand (Randall Batinkoff) so they can collect their 4.0s and get Chris a Harvard M.B.A. As Chris says, "Either it's a Harvard M.B.A. or you're flipping burgers." No elevated thinker, Chris. Rand is a cruel jerk to his Sandy Dennis-like girlfriend, Natalie (Tamara Craig Thomas), so it's hard to miss him when he's gone. But that sentiment applies equally to nearly every other character in the picture, including Chris's girlfriend Emma (Keri Russell), who seems to be the most sympathetic of the group. That's the movie's strength; you think you know everyone but you don't. And that's also its greatest weakness; you need to know and like these people for the film to work. If you can stomach these people (in which case counseling might be in order), the exceedingly twisty-turny plot will keep you entertained to the last amazing revelation. Otherwise, you might want to keep searching for a thriller that gives its people an inner life worth viewing. The Curve was snatched from Sundance for a distribution deal by Trimark, but wound up in this direct-to-video release instead. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews:

Almost passed on this one !.......2007-01-02

When I first started watching this movie (I'm over 70) I thought "oh,just another kid's movie. I don't need this". Well, fortunately I didn't switch the dial and continued to watch. Further and further I was drawn into this, could be real, senerio.

What a mystery, twists and turns...not to mention the great acting. This is a lost leader. Pick up a copy and enjoy the suspense and good acting!

An alternative way of getting a 4.0 g.p.a. in college.......2005-07-29

At the beginning of this 1998 film we hear a comedian explaining how colleges have a policy that if your roommate commits suicide, you get a 4.0 for the semester. This is a relatively simple idea, even if it is a complete fabrication, but it has nothing to do with a "curve" in the academic sense. I always curve my exams, which means that I take the highest score, compute the difference between the raw score and 100%, and add those points to the exams of everybody who took the exam. That means I can write hard exams and the curve will establish the relative position of everybody in the class to each other. If there is a bad question, then the curve takes it out (although students always want me to give them a point for the bad question even though that then reduces the curve accordingly). A curve is great. But this movie has nothing to do with such a curve. The policy of granting students a 4.0 because their roommate commits suicide has nothing to do with a curve. In fact, although I am not absolutely sure, I do not think the word "curve" is uttered by anybody in this movie.

However, "The Curve" is going to make you think of the academic environment, right after you think about a breaking pitch to complement a fast ball for a baseball pitcher, so at least it is leaning in the right direction as a movie title. But then I discovered that when it was released this movie was called "Dead Man's Curve." Now, that was writer-director Dan Rosen's name for the aforementioned policy, which sort of makes sense, but of course the problem with "Dead Man's Curve" as a title is that a lot of people will be thinking about the old Jan & Dean song of the same title (altogether now: "Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"), and instead of academia they will be entertaining ideas of a drag race between a Stingray and a shiny new Jag late one night in L.A. Anyhow, the good news is that despite the inadequacy of both of its titles, the movie formerly known as "Dead Man's Curve" is a rather entertaining exploration of the twisted logic of college students.

Tim (Matthew Lillard) and Chris (Michael Vartan) are offered the 4.0 after the apparent suicide of their roommate Rand (Randall Batinkoff). The suicide is "apparent" because Rand's body has presumably been washed out to sea after a fatal fall from a cliff, and it is not really a "suicide" since Tim and Chris helped Rand along. But, hey, grades are important, especially if you want to get into a post-graduate program at Harvard, where one "B" can seal your fate. Complicating the chances of Tim and Chris getting away with murder are Rand's girlfriend Natalie (Tamara Craig Thomas), who does not believe he was suicidal, a pair of detectives (Anthony Griffith and Bo Dietl), who never run out of questions, and the campus shrink Dr. Ashley (Dana Delany), who looks like she must be smart enough to figure out that something else is going on. More importantly, Tim keeps suggesting to the police that Chris knows more than he is saying about what happened to Rand, and Emma (Keri Russell), Chris's girlfriend, cannot believe he would actually take the guaranteed 4.0 just because they are offering it to him.

This is one of those films where the story starts twisting and just keeps twisting until most viewers will give up trying to figure out what is really going on. I had fun because while I knew not to take everything at face value (a cardinal rule in such films but even more so when the corpse has gone missing) I just went along for the ride and did not bother trying to catch up with the story let alone waste brain cells trying to get ahead. Besides, you recognize most of the main cast members, and what I liked about the ending was not so much as who won but rather who lost, which appeases by primitive sense of justice. "The Curve" is a roller coaster thriller with no other real aspiration beyond keeping you guessing until the end, and in that regard it delivers enough to make it an above average entry in a genre bloated with the corpses of so many less than stellar direct to video offerings.

Decent film.......2005-02-05

Put all of the "this plot has been done before" thoughts aside, and this is a pretty decent movie. Actually, I thought it was more surprising and more believable that some of the other teen/colleage age horror/murder films. It had me wondering right up until the end if my assumption of what was really going on was right. I think it is definitely worth checking out.

DANGEROUS CURVES.......2004-08-15

Without rehasing the plot which can be found in the other good reviews, THE CURVE is a disturbing film and mainly because the bad guys seem to have no moral foundation at all. Matthew Lillard in a devilishly demonic performance, finds it easy to just roll Randall Batinkoff off the cliff. As the movie progresses, his deliciously psychotic character does everything he can to be obnoxious, manipulative and heartless. Rarely has a character seemed so heartless and malicious as his buddy, Randall Batinkoff. He treats his girlfriend so badly you want him to be dead. Keri Russell becomes a chameleon, one never knows what to expect from this girl. And Michael Vartan as the focal "hero," Chris, seems to be innocently oblivious to the deadly mechanisms Lillard is orchestrating. Add Dana Delany as a psychiatrist trapped by her knowledge of how these vicious minds are working and you have a cast of unusually non-empathic characters.
What makes it work though are the several unexpected twists that come in the movie. Subtle hints are given throughout the film, but they still pack a wallop at the end.
THE CURVE is a sophisticated and tidy little thriller that should have received a little more notice, but it is a Hitchcockian tribute well done.

Woefully underrated gem........2003-01-14

The Curve (Dan Rosen, 1998)

It is the painful reality of the American moviegoer that in any year more than one film is released on the same subject, the better film will never fail to either be completely eclipsed, publicity-wise, by the worse film (the good, but nothing great, The Lost Boys overshadowing one of the best modern American films, Near Dark), or the better film will simply not be widely released. Such was the case in 1998 with the horrifically bad Dead Man on Campus and its clever companion The Curve. The latter debuted at the Sundance Film Festival eight months before the release of the former, then disappeared until a video release almost eighteen months later. More's the pity for those who subjected themselves to the MTV-Films-produced monstrosity that was Dead Man on Campus.

Both films center around the same idea-the urban legend that if a collegiate's roommate commits suicide, that collegiate will be granted a 4.0 grade point average for the semester. (Both were, in fact, inspired by the same event-a monologue on a standup comedy show on MTV, which is presented in voiceover at the beginning of The Curve.) Dead Man on Campus played the idea for laughs. The Curve, on the other hand, took the idea and turned it into one of the most intriguing pieces to come out of the new film noir movement.

The film centers around five college seniors. Rand (Randall Batinkoff, of Christy fame), Tim (Matthew "Shaggy" Lillard), and Chris (Michael Vartan, most recently seen in One Hour Photo) are roommates; Rand and Chris are also dating roommates Natalie (Tamara Craig Thomas of Odyssey 5) and Emma (Keri Russell, back when she still had great hair). Chris and Tim's grades have both dropped over the semester, and Tim suggests the inevitable: the two of them conspire to kill Rand, whom no one's fond of anyway, and make it look like a suicide. The plot twists, turns, and hairpins from there, becoming that rarest of film birds, an impossibly complex maze that remains easy to follow until the last few minutes (and a few moments of reflection after the movie is over will put everything into place that happens during the climax and denoument).

Many of the reviews I could drum up about the obscure little gem focused on the performance of Matthew Lillard as the borderline psychotic Tim, but to me it was Vartan who truly stood out in this high-powered cast (which also includes such B-level stalwarts as Dana Delany and Henry Strozier). Rare is the role that requires an actor to play the kind of apathetic confusion one often finds in bad slasher films; here we get a chance to see that done right, it's actually workable. Chris, likeably confused throughout, is the perfect foil to Lillard's manic Tim, and the two create an atmosphere of friendship concealing a barely suppressed violence towards one another that gives the film an electricity it needed to stay on track throughout.

Customer Reviews:

Canadian Carpenters & a Zulu Child.......2007-03-10

The Film Movement DVD "A Simple Curve" is set in the Kootenays region of Canada, perhaps around the Arrow Lakes. The gorgeous mountain and water scenery is breathtaking. Kris Lemche who was in "Final Destination 3" & "The Last Casino" (2004) plays the lead, Caleb. Caleb is 27 years old and lives with his father. They are in the process of getting over the death of their mother/wife who died of an extended illness. Lemche's excellent performance anchors the film, as his character anchors the family in the story. Michael Hogan who has a long film career with over 20 features including "The Peanut Butter Solution," "Cowboys Don't Cry," & "Solitaire" for which he won a Genie Award -- Canada's Oscar -- for Best Supporting Actor plays the father Jim. Jim is an old hippie who likes to skinny dip au natural and is a master carpenter. However, the carpentry business he and his son have established is not doing well as cheaper products made of particleboard supplant more expensive real wood products. Matt Craven comes along as Matt. Craven is a recognizable face and has played in films like "Blue Steel" (1990), "A Few Good Men" (1992) & "Crimson Tide" (1995). His character is Matt, a contractor who tries to promote a lodge on the lake that would throw a lot of business toward Caleb & Jim and keep them solvent. There is a friction between Matt & Jim. We learn that both shared the affections of Jim's wife before they were married, to the point that Caleb could be either one's son. This revelation occurs as the lodge deal falls through. Caleb tells both of his fathers to F off & departs on a nomadic adventure. Meanwhile, two young hippies played by Pascale Hutton & Sarah Lind (Erika) have moved in. In a night of mistaken passion, Caleb repeats his father's pattern by sleeping with Erika. They have a daughter; and the father wonders if he or Caleb is the biological father.

The film starts out a bit slowly and has kind of an open ending to it as Caleb returns to the valley. I'm sure this is intended to impress one as being artistic, leaving suggestion as to what could occur. It strikes me more as half-baked. Themes of grief and adjustment resonate; although it took me about 3 sittings to watch the DVD. I was glad I'd seen it, but my life would have been complete without it too. Some of the scenes are cute like Caleb sitting on the open-air outhouse looking at the mountains as his father wants to have a serious chat. There are some sweet father-son moments as Caleb throws a surprise birthday party for Jim.

The film won the Nantucket Film Festival, Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival & Two Leo Awards as well as being an official selection of both the Toronto & Vancouver International Film Festivals.

The short film "Lucky" by director Avie Luthra is quite moving. From South Africa and the United Kingdom, it follows the story of a young boy named Lucky who heads to the city of Durban when his mother dies of AIDS. His uncle appears ill prepared to assume the guardianship of a young boy, kicking him out in the middle of the night so he can entertain a local girl. An Indian woman who lives several apartments down is a racist and apparently hates Zulus. Without friends, Lucky brings her water to try to befriend her. He also wants to listen to a cassette tape his mother left for him. The Indian woman hits him in the face with a broom, causing bruises. Eventually, the Indian woman feeds the boy and allows him to sleep on her sofa. The film is a positive one, speaking to the need for human understanding over racial stereotyping. The short won the Best Short Film Award at the Aspen Film Festival. The brilliance of the 18-minute short earns this DVD another star. :) Enjoy!

Average customer rating:

Entertaining, succesful on a taboo theme of power broker dealing
Carmine Giovinazzo & Monet Mazur: Modern day Bonnie & Clyde
Fun Ride
Fun Ride
Criminally Stupid

The Learning Curve
Starring: Carmine Giovinazzo , Norbert Weisser , Monet Mazur , Tim Ransom , and Rod Roesser
Director: Eric Schwab
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Fallen Arches (1998)
Big Shot - Confessions of a Campus Bookie
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Players

ASIN: B000060MUY
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Amazon.com

Sleek and stylish, The Learning Curve follows two young lovers named Georgia (Monet Mazur) and Paul (Carmine Giovinazzo) who quickly discover they have a mutual taste for recklessness, cheap fast food, and petty larceny. But when a scam goes awry, they're at the mercy of a ruthless and criminal record executive. Paul starts to work for the exec and, to Georgia's dismay, is soon seduced by drugs and money. The Learning Curve starts out slightly implausible but is consistently surprising; as it goes along, the story grows more clichéd, yet the script, direction, and performances are smart enough that the movie maintains its stylish momentum. By the end, The Learning Curve is just short of preposterous, yet--much like the Hong Kong action movies that surely influenced the director--the movie remains so fully committed to the high-pitched emotions of its melodramatic plot that it becomes not only engaging but even moving. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Two aimless twentysomethings are launched into a fiery tryst of love, lustand crimein this stylish thriller that conjures memories of Bonnie and Clyde (The Courier News). Starring Carmine Giovinazzo (Black Hawk Down), Monet Mazur (40 Days and 40 Nights), Vincent Ventresca ('the Invisible Man ), Jack Laufer (Lost in Yonkers), Majandra Delfino ( Roswell ) and Steven Bauer (Traffic), this 'taut thriller (The Star) is charged with sizzling love scenes, unrelenting suspense and a final chase scene [that] will grab the viewer's throat (The Courier News)! Paul (Giovinazzo) and Georgia (Mazur) are lovers, soul mates and partners in crime.But when this duplicitous duo tries to dupe the wrong man (Ventresca), they are ensnared in a worldmore dangerous than they could ever have imagined. Seduced into working for him on dangerous jobs beyond their small-time capability, Paul and Georgia suddenly have everything they ve ever wanted andeven more to lose.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining, succesful on a taboo theme of power broker dealing.......2007-06-24

THE LEARNING CURVE (2001) is a surprise success considering its
lack of big box office stars. Let this not deter anyone from
renting this DVD, as it packs plenty of entertainment and then
some.

The story will often appeal on the visual and intellectual aspects,
although there is a fair bit of action, too.

The cast does a splendid and convincing job over the entire 90
mins, comprising Monet Mazur as the bored daughter of a richman
(reminiscent of Darryl Hanna), Vincent Ventresca (somewhat of a
Kyle MacLachlan clone), Carmine Giovinazzo as the street smart guy
and Steve Bauer as the "tough enforcer" of the organization.
Mazur's role is that of a woman who is effective, efficient, fast,
confident, experienced in engaging and seducing men of all kinds,
and them playing them for their wealth, for the illusion of
romance and or of a personal relationship.

The visual aspects are excellent, although the release is not a
wide-screen. There's plenty of exciting, energetic moments,
including race car dare-devil behavior on the highway, near the
edges of a cliff, and more bringing an upbeat, positive feeling in
the early minutes.

The soundtrack is talented and tasteful, as are the visuals, in
capturing a variety of moods (melancholy, joy, ecstasy,
irresponsability, remorse, recklessness, etc) on screen, such as in
the darker outdoor night or indoor club scenes.

Skillfully, the move wastes no time in showing the evolution of
Mazur and Giovinazzo, from 2 youngsters ridding themselves of their
boredom by running small-time con jobs, grifts by setting up their
marks for the scores, that drives their libidos in an ever
increasing crescendo. Nothing is off their limits, from insurance
claims for a simulated accident, to sex entrapment, arson, etc.

This continues until their talent brings them to the big leagues,
to the attention of Ventresca who's a bigger player, wishing to
leverage their talent for his major real estate deal.

The developer plans to convert a run down and neglected part of the
city into a new project, that many oppose, including the municipal
politicans and some small stores.

The solution lies in power-brokering a deal with the right people,
using the right tactics, including blackmail over sex, offering
gifts and success of the right kind to the right people, including
cash.

For those familiar with sustainable development, use and misuse of
new eminent domain laws to override the 5th Amendment of the US
Constitution, stating "private property shall not be taken for
public use, without just compensation", the payoffs and
powerbrokering occurring sound realistic.

The action, chases, gun fire fights are good enough to shake the
audience's socks off.

A funny quip: " I sure you're too young for a lot of things, but I
bet that sure doesn't stop you! It's the grease that keeps the
gears going."

The moral lesson is present, as Mazur makes the choice of resisting
a pure role of prostitute in the deal, limiting herself to her
hitherto comfortable role of fleecer. Some personal feelings also
surface, questioning her mind also about what is right and wrong.

An intriguing question is left with the audience, in terms of
Mazur's prolonged anguish ... is the reaction of the character
real, when she had scored so many marks on so many cons, for so
long a time, with contemptible tactics and no remorse all that time?

Carmine Giovinazzo & Monet Mazur: Modern day Bonnie & Clyde.......2007-03-09

I loved this movie. Carmine & Monet as lovers turned modern day con-artists, get bribed into working for a music exec. & end up in trouble with the FBI. I originally bought this film because I'm a Carmine Giovinazzo fan, & I ended up loving it.

Fun Ride.......2003-07-25

I LOVED this film and found it thoroughly enjoyable. It drew me in and kept me watching. To see these characters go through the changes they go through was truly amazing to me. Monet Mazur was wonderful as well as geogeous and Carmine Giovinazzo did a great job along with Vincent Ventresca who plays his character to the edge. I thought the film was well cast, the acting was superb, the locations were amazing and the story original. Just sit back and enjoy the ride because this one is worth the trip. I give it thumbs up. If you can't enjoy this film you're looking waaay to deep. Relax and enjoy.

Fun Ride.......2003-07-25

Criminally Stupid.......2003-03-01

Stupid criminals hook up with stupid record exec who thinks he can use them to further his evil plans to create a mallýer ýentertainment centerý by ousting a nice old guy from his variety store. Due to a bribe sting, some very stupid FBI agents instigate a shoot out in a crowed club, causing the death of untold innocent bystanders. Iýve learned one thing from all of this: The FBI REALLY HATES SHOPPING MALLS.

Product Description

Public high school is a private hell for the teachers and weaker students at Donner High. A beautiful, young teacher is molested at gunpoint. Other students are beaten and intimidated. Finally, a new substitute, Mr. Walmsley, a former Medal of Honor winner and animal trainer, decides to teach the bullies a lesson they'll never forget. A shocking substitute tot he three-ring circus of the classroom, Walmsley's savage "reform school" becomes a house of horrors where students only survive... if they learn.

System Requirements:

Running Time 44 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Guilty pleasure.......2006-11-28

I really enjoyed this movie because it deals with bullys in a very different way. I bet it got some snickers from some of the teachers that watched this movie. I highly recommend this movie to anyone that has dealt with bullys in thier life.

One of those unexpected pleasures.......2005-10-09

I just happened onto this little independent film, and must tell you - was pleasently surprised. I really didn't know what to expect from this film, but as I was watching it I soon realized that my eyes were glued to the screen for the full 108 minutes that it ran. I know that many of the other reviewers have stated excellent observations, however, I would just like to add my endorsement. Check this one out. Rent it, buy it . . . you won't be dissapointed. As I was watching; it did remind me of another picture I saw years ago titled "Class of '84." These two films would make a great double-bill!

I've seen all 3 versions of this film.......2004-12-11

And this is the weakest. This film began some years ago as Detention, a black black-comedy with lots of gritty raw footage. A movie that grabbed you by the lapels and shook you, it precluded all mealy-mouthed hem-hawing about good and evil. But that same year, another film with the same name was released, and this Detention got lost. Andy recut it, chopped about 30 minutes, gave it a new name, and offered Very Special Ed, a brilliant, scathing, frightening movie that worked in every direction. I had thought the original unimprovable. I was wrong.

But now he has recut it again, and it is diminished by the newest rearrangements. Some scenes were (I think) reshot, and they seem curiously without energy, as if everyone felt they had done this once already. The forcefulness is lost, and the new ending, while similar to the previous versions, again, comes out a bit tepid.

A wonderful film is in here, this just isn't it. Still pretty good, with some flashes that are so good they shake you (e.g. the now shortened assembly scene where the teachers are learning just how many times they are supposed to look at a student) but overall, a notch below its previous lives.

One wishes it success, but the disappointment of seeing something wonderful reduced, for whatever reasons, is saddening.

Loved this movie --.......2003-10-24

This is one of those movies that I wish I had the opportunity to assist with the script. I would have had that substitute teacher ripping the throats out of some those smart mouth high schoolers! lol

Besides the fact that I was mesmerized by the good looks of the leading man, (The substitute teacher) the movie was really good. It kept my attention til the end. Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half. A real gem. A must for my DVD collection.

Learning Curve Gets Down to Business!.......2003-10-07

Some times we just have to cut to the chase and get down to business. "Learning Curve" does just that - writer/director Andy Anderson has a particular take on life and it vividly shows in this film. "Curve" is not a movie you see every day. The market forces would never create a story like this as it should be - this is where independent filmmaking shines. So, a high school teacher can't teach his students - they just don't want to learn (not that they CAN'T learn!)...I've been witness to situations similar to this in my high school days. I was put in low-level applied classes with all the goof-offs and Dopeheads and Metal Heads: all who didn't want to learn a thing. Needless to say I wasn't one of them, I did want to learn, but spending three years with these types of students left me with a sour after taste in my mouth in regards to the public school system...So, now comes "Learning Curve" and with this teacher's method of teaching, I applaude with great glee. Learning through imprisonment and electric shock cuts through the B.S. and gets right to the heart of the matter. And what's more, IT WORKED! They did begin to learn! Overall, Mr. Anderson has crafted a film that's part satire, part reality and part shocking. This is his second feature film and I hope that I won't have to wait years and years to see his next effort on the big screen!

Stuart Little (The Animated Series) - Fun Around Every Curve

Average customer rating:

Stuart Little (The Animated Series) - Fun Around Every Curve
Starring: Hugh Laurie , André Sogliuzzo , Myles Jeffrey , Kevin Schon , and Jennifer Hale
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Animation | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

Stuart Little (The Animated Series) - All Revved Up!
Go Diego Go! - The Iguana Sing Along
Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure
The Painted Veil
Freedom Writers (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000NQRV58
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Product Description

Everyone's favorite Little guy returns in three fun-filled adventures. Whether he's exploring the great outdoors, skate boarding with his brother George or in pursuit of Taco Tuesday, Stuart Little brings his trademark heart and humor to three stories sure to delight the whole family. These entertaining tales have captured the charm of the E.B. White classic while communicating postive messages about individuality, exploration and fair play.

Average customer rating:

Peter's Story
Could have been
Another tragic love story... (yawn)
Being gay in college in the South in the 1960s
Oh, Brother!

Eden's Curve
Starring: Samuel A. Levine , Martha Chukinas , Mathew Walker , Ray Hammack , and Stephen Daniels
Director: Anne Misawa
Manufacturer: Water Bearer Films, Inc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Eating Out
Dante's Cove
Poster Boy
Third Man Out
The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green

ASIN: B0002IQJ5U
Release Date: 2004-09-07

Customer Reviews:

Peter's Story.......2007-04-23

"Eden's Curve"

Peter's Story

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

"Eden's Curve" (WaterBearer) is the story of Peter (Sam Levine), an eighteen year old boy who is on a journey of self discovery while studying at an all male university in the South. His roommate, Joe and his roommate's girlfriend, Bess help him to learn more about himself and as he learns his values become crushed by those who love him. He also learns that he cannot do anything without relying on the strength of strangers and the decisions that he makes as he begins to discover himself will affect him his entire life.
The beautiful style of the film remains in the memory long after the movie is over. The movie itself is based on true happenings at a backwoods Virginia University in the early 1970's and beautifully conveys both the time and the spirit. The framework of the action is a bisexual ménage-a-trois and the coming-of-age of a young college student. Yet there are other themes as well--identity, commitment, and the extent of romanticism. Sam Levine plays the boy who is the paragon of innocence--a blank page that is waiting to be written upon.
The film concentrates on the beautiful landscape of Virginia and the subjects of longing and desire come across as narration as opposed to characterization.
We watch as Peter's tender love becomes jealousy and rage and the ethereal quality of the movie contributes heavily to the overall quality. What we get is a refreshing view of what mainstream America gets from the people who live there and not the standard representation of [...] life. We see life with all of its challenges and its ups and downs. All of this presented as one youth enters adulthood. Imagination, imagery, and reflection play heavy roles in this film and they hit us hard and raise our spirits simultaneously.
I have heard it said that this is a depressing film; that there is no compassion, no thoughtful revelation and no redemption. I disagree with this completely but then I suppose the way one lives influences the interpretation of what I consider a beautiful film. The believability of the cast enhances the quality of the film. For someone to discredit a film like this is a grave injustice. Because one has to think and feel the movie makes it that much more realistic and personal. The emotion is touching and it sets the tone in the opening and never lets go. The story is totally believable. Everything about the film is done with the utmost taste; especially the nudity and the issues that are dealt with by the characters are real and genuine. The rawness of the photography matches the storyline and the story is certainly sad but exceptionally honest. The atmosphere of an earlier time is completely captured and the sexual and substance exploration was not decadent but beautifully handled. What especially stood out to me was the totally non-stereotypical approach to [...] life. It is natural and it dealt with difficult issues with the utmost of reverence.

Could have been.......2005-10-26

Movie has potential but does not deliver. All the ingriedients are there but the sum total is far less than ithe piecies. I would not recommend thsi as a new purchase to anyone. Okay for rental but definetly not a keeper.

Another tragic love story... (yawn).......2005-06-07

This is another in a long line of tragic gay love stories. These movies always involve some impossibly beautiful young man and his painful awakening to the real world. It's not a very good movie but it's not a very bad movie, it's just kind of there. Another this is don't expect too much character development or plot. The story, such as it is, move forward very slowly and without any real sense of urgency. As far as it being based on the true story of a friend, it's just a bit too much of a cliche for me to really believe.

On major problem is the sound quality of the film. I had the volume turned up all the way and still was hearing mumbling and hiss. I love independent films but smaller producers need to remember sound is important. If your audience can't hear the actors, they get bored very quickly.

Being gay in college in the South in the 1960s.......2005-05-29

In summary, a bisexual love triangle just as good as the French film "The Dreamers," less insane, and in English. If your decision comes down to that one versus this one, choose this one.

At first this sounded like a gay fantasy, similar to the ones you read on Nifty, but then I concluded it was probably based upon a true story, and indeed there is an acknowledgement at the end to that effect. There is little nudity compared to mainstream films, but ironically plenty of sex taking place, with the filming of such acts being discreet and abbreviated.

I liked this low-budget indie film better than other low-budget indie klunkers such as "Primer" that have sneaked their way into the video store.

The acting is good, the script terse but effective. The characters are not heroic, whether for good or evil, though the smack-injecting, witty castoff of the villain shows a faint glimmer of nobility. A moody, melancholy film about painful memories of being gay in college in the 1960s South. No new ground being broken here, no unforgettable characters or scenes, and no important new ideas, but an entertaining film nonetheless, and fairly well-done.

At twenty-seven bucks, this seems rather over-priced, like the majority of gay-oriented films, no matter where you buy them. Gay films seem to run 4x to 5x what mainstream films cost, but perhaps you can find a used copy, or simply buy new, share with friends, and then sell used, like many people do. These things sell rather easily online, so if you do buy-then-sell, you can probably come out just paying ten bucks or so.

Oh, Brother!.......2005-05-09

This is a movie we are told is "Based on the events in the life of friend". This friend lead a boring, talky life. Certainly not worth making a movie about. A southern boy goes away to a college with apparently 10 students, one small frat house, one teacher and a president. He averages a three way with girl and a guy about every 20 movie-minutes in grainy slow motion. He falls for the male teacher. They sleep together. Teacher looses position and boy is sent home. Boy realizes he loves teach and races back but, wouldn't you know it, he gets there a minute too late as teach has drowned himself. The End.

Maximum Ball Movement: The Curve & Screw

Average customer rating:

Maximum Ball Movement: The Curve & Screw
Starring: Ernie Parker
Director: Maven Productions
Manufacturer: Maven Sports Videos
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Learning the Fundamentals of the Killer Rise
Mastering the Drop
Increasing Speed: Troubleshooting Tips and Drills for Increasing Pitching Velocity
Change Up
Power Pitching: Plyometrics and Drills

ASIN: B000067FMG
Release Date: 2002-05-31

Description

Maximum Ball Movement: The Curve & Screw With Ernie Parker

Without a doubt he is one of the premiere pitching coaches of our time. In the last 30 years Coach Ernie Parker has guided his pitching students, capturing nine ASA National Championships in the process. He has helped mold 29 students for success at the Division I level, including DeeDee Weiman of UCLA, Carrie Dolan of Arizona, and the unprecedented three-time Honda Broderick Award winner and Olympic gold medalist Lisa Fernandez. The only thing which precedes his success is his reputation for creating students with rock-solid fundamentals, dynamic ball movement and control.

Coach Parker frequently tours the United States conducting seminars and clinics for major teams and universities. And internationally he has shared his knowledge of pitching with students and coaches in Italy, Spain, Holland and China.

Product Description

A substitute school teacher decides to teach class in his own special way.

Customer Reviews:

Slightly fresh slant on a standard B movie theme.......2005-02-25

A typical B-rate movie that does show a few flashes of originality. Basically, a substitute teacher at the "high school from Hell" decides to take matters into his own hands. He ends up kidnapping a group of 7 of the worst students and locks them in steel cages in rural Texas. In the midst of nudity, deprivation and electric shock disipline, they finally accept that they must learn or die! The characters, although grossly exaggerated, are really despicable enough to make the mistreatment at the hands of their captor almost enjoyable. From Bob Sage in Las Vegas

Average customer rating:

Tequila Body Shots/The Curve
Starring: Fright Flicks
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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