Thunderpants [VHS]

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Price: $478.61   

Thunderpants [VHS] Review

The ultimate frat party or cult film - "Thunderpants" is quickly gaining steam as the new "Airplane!" or "Rocky Horror Picture Show." I was blown away by the production values and cast considering the puerile subject matter, while repeat viewings reveal the humor to be much more nuanced than just some cheap fart jokes. And although he only has a supporting role, Rupert Grint absolutely deserves top billing. His delivery is so over-the-top it's like the rest of the cast is speaking in monotone. He doesn't just deserve an Oscar, but a Nobel Prize. Best performance ever!

Note that the domestic U.S. release shows a shorter running time than the previous Canadian import, but the film is in fact complete (the import simply counted the supplemental material in the run time). This is a delightfully cheesy film, and it would be unfortunate to cut one, let alone nine, minutes from it.

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Ned Kelly [VHS]

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Price: $485.35   

Ned Kelly [VHS] Review

For most people Down Under, the name Ned Kelly elicits feelings ranging from near religious devotion and hero-worship to the most bitter, deep-seated hatred. Like many figures who have come to be regarded as popular heroes, there has been the accretion of a lot of legend to the name of Ned Kelly, which can make getting to the real man a tall order.

The movie, Ned Kelly, is based in the southern state of Victoria, (it was filmed just outside Melbourne), and follows the Kelly Gang through the unjust imprisonment of Ned Kelly (Heath Ledger) and then his mother after false accusations from a Victorian Police officer. Other injustices are committed against the Kelly's and their friends, which only increases Kelly's resolve to hit back. The film climaxes in the last stand made at Glenrowan, and the tragedy that it was.

The movie is excellently shot and uses the scenery of Victoria well to give an atmosphere and aura of colonial roughness contrasted with the well-to-do nature of the British middle and upper classes at the time. The film simply looks nice, as well as uses real historical sites. For example, the scene where Ned Kelly leaves prison is the gate to the Old Melbourne jail, (that part is now a building devoted to tertiary education). It is worth a visit, if you are ever in Melbourne, as the wing where Kelly was kept is still intact and open to the public.

The principle actors are all excellent in their roles and they bring off the Irish character of the Kellys and their friends well. Orlando Bloom is excellent as Kelly's friend, Joe Byrne. Accurately shown to be fluent in Cantonese, Bloom brings Byrne to life. Heath Ledger does an admirable job of portraying Ned Kelly in the details, bringing to light what motivated and drove Kelly, as well as the emotional struggles that Kelly might have gone through. Laurence Kinlan and Phil Barantini deserve mention as well for their parts as Dan Kelly and Steve Hart respectively, and the protrayal of their tragically short lifes and their courage at the end.

The movie is a great story, and brings a man and his friends to life. It is an excellent overview of a complex figure and it attempts to show what the real man was, and in most respects succeeds in doing so. The movie does presents one "interpretation" of the Ned Kelly story, and presents him in a very positive light. The director, Gregor Jordan, is very open and honest about this, saying that he hoped people would be encouraged to find out more and form their own opinions. The movie also takes some liberties with the facts, but these do not overly affect the plot or its value as a Kelly movie.

If you have never seen or read about Ned Kelly, then I would suggest that one read a book called Ned Kelly: A Short Life by Ian Jones, (available from Amazon). Read it before you see the movie and it will help you understand where the movie is coming from and where the movie is drawing its material from. Secondly, the book will fill in information that is either not given in the movie, or could be easily missed. This information would provide a greater understanding of why Kelly does things in the movie.

For example, the reason for the siege at Glenrowan is not terribly clear in the movie, though it is indirectly alluded to in a couple of scenes. One scene is when Kelly and Byrne are writing the Jerrilderee Letter, and Kelly warns people not to "attempt to reside" in Victoria. The second scene is when Francis Hare, (Rush), is addressing his officers and warns that the Kelly Gang have been elevated as leaders of a "movement" that threatens the very structure of the colony of Victoria. What the book reveals is that Kelly and the Gang were trying to start an uprising, and cut the rail at Gelnrowan to aid them in this. It was not just an attempt to kill as many officers as they could for no real reason. They also had supporters ready to rise in the area around the town, and there were worries after the seige ended that they would still cause trouble.

Also, the book presents a more balanced context to the movie. It is not revealed in the movie that Kelly had run with an older bushranger, (bandit), when he was in his teens and learned a lot from the older man, (such as bush craft and bushranging). It was from this older man that Kelly learned the value of a wide support base among the general population. This was helped a lot when the Kelly Gang burned a bank's mortgages, (the farmers got their loans cancelled and their farms free).

Overall, the movie is excellent, and I enjoyed it immensely. It is a touching story, and one may need to watch it in the dark to hide the tears, ;-). The story is one worth telling, and the cast and crew of this movie have told the story well. I would only recommend reading the book as well for the reasons above. Love him or hate him, it is undoubted that Ned Kelly makes a great movie and will remain in the popular imagination for generations to come.

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Daredevil

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Price: $473.34   

Daredevil Review

A marked improvement over the previous version of the film, "Daredevil" (Director's Cut) allows director and co-writer Mark Steven Johnson to adjust his film to the darker aspects he originally wanted to portray on screen. I won't be reviewing the previous edition in this review at all (since amazon.com inadvertently combines all editions into one pool this may end up under the previous theatrical DVD release), but will focus on what makes the "Director's Cut" unique and worth picking up for fans of the movie and the comic book.

Sometimes "Director's Cuts" are a mere attempt by the studio to make more money or the director to create something successful out of a disaster. That isn't the case with "Daredevil"(Director's Cut). Director Johnson originally intended to focus as much on Daredevil as he did on Matt Murdock and his career as a crusading lawyer fighting for the underdogs. The 30 minutes of additional footage adds an important subplot about the murder of a hooker which is pinned on street thug (Coolio). The fight sequence at the end between Kingpin and Daredevil is longer and more involved. Many of the fight sequences are cut with an "R" rating movie in mind (and that's what this DVD version received as its rating). Some of the love story between Elektra and Daredevil gets shortened here as well in favor of developing Murdock's character and for some truly interesting (and occasionally funny) courtroom scenes.

Johnson was required by his contract to provide a PG-13 movie and, as a result, he had to reshuffle the movie a bit cutting out much of the subplot as well as trimming down the more intense fight sequences of the film. There's also a number scenes related to character development that got lost along the way most notably the reporter that follows the Daredevil and Murdock himself. Restoring these sequences improve the film and add strength to a narrative that had a number of holes in it and was too simply resolved. Additionally, it gives more substance to Matt Murdock's character creating a much more complex person. We also see much more about Kingpin and scenes that demonstrate how dangerous he can be.

The transfer here actually looks a bit sharper and with slightly better clarity the the original DVD. Like the previous edition, this one has been transferred in the anamorphic widescreen format which translates to better image quality than a standard widescreen transfer. The sound is also top notch with nice use of the surround sound format.

This "Director's Cut" doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the previous edition (in fact it is a single disc release). The only extras are Johnson and producer Avi Arad's commentary track for this edition (which was in preparation for DVD before the movie was even released to theaters) and a 15 minute featurette on the director's intension in creating this edition. While it lacks the extras on the previous edition, it more than makes up for them with a stronger film. My only complaint is that this should have been released at the same time as the original DVD and/or in place of it with a second disc of extras. Unfortunately, Fox has participated in the old double dip.

Overall, "Daredevil" is much improved with this special edition. It's a pity it came out so long after the original (much like the "Lord of the Rings" movies). Johnson points out in the featurette that he considers "Daredevil" to still be flawed movie and while he may be right, restoring the first R rated version certainly makes this film stronger. The "Director's Cut" is far closer to Frank Miller's comic book vision of "Daredevil" than the previous edition. Fans of the movie will definitely want to pick this up.

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The Girl Next Door [VHS]

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Price: $518.67   

The Girl Next Door [VHS] Review

There is a point in "The Girl Next Door - Unrated Edition' (which I received and promptly devoured, extra's and all, in one sitting) where the movie is in danger of changing in tone and focus from American Pie to Showgirls, but luckily for the movie - and viewers - it recovers itself and ends in a definite teen comedy spirit.

I never saw this movie in the theater so I cannot comment on what has been added to this "unrated edition" but there is certainly quite a lot of nudity, but nothing involving the main actors. There are some graphic scenes at a strip club (including lap dancing) and we get shots of one of the main actors watching a porn video at home. There are some nude scenes from behind of both principal actors Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert, but as Hirsch points out on Side B of the disc (where most of the extras are located) the movie used a stand-in for those shots.

I have a word of caution regarding the list of extra's on the Amazon page. One is titled a scene specific commentary by Hirsch and Cuthbert. What we have here though is not a commentary for the whole movie from the two stars, but rather several scenes on the flip side of the disc in which the two actors both give separate commentary.

Largely (and unjustly) ignored at the box office this teen comedy starts of really well and within the first few moments had me rolling with laughter. The movie starts with a montage of sorts, we see the jocks, brains and cheerleader-types all stating, for their entry in the yearbook, what they "will always remember."

Then there is Matt (played by Hirsch) who is pondering this question. Sure, he has had a successful academic career - as illustrated by his acceptance to Georgetown - but he really hasn't done anything memorable in his senior year of high school.

That's about to change for Matt though with the arrival next door of Danielle (played by Cuthbert), who plays a breathtaking beauty house-sitting for his neighbors.

Entranced by her Matt is unable to stop himself from watching Danielle undress in the window opposite his bedroom - but he is spotted. From that moment he is on a rollercoaster ride. Danielle, amused and evidently attracted to Matt, shows him the excitement of living on the edge, from running naked through the streets to moonlight skinny dipping in his school principal's pool.

Just as everything seems to be going so well between Matt and Danielle, Matt is shocked when one of his best friends Eli (who is a connoisseur of porn movies and full of in-experienced sex advice) shows one of his porn movies - in which Danielle is the main star.

Foolishly following some of his friends advice, the two part company and moments later the movie changes tack and takes on a decidedly darker and more serious tone as Matt becomes sucked into the shadowy world of the pornographic movie industry.

What follows is both inventive and highly amusing. How will Matt afford to get into Georgetown? What will become of Danielle? These are just some of the questions in this entertaining movie that borrows heavily and liberally from a number of the John Hughes movies of the 1980s and the AMERICAN PIE movies of more recent years. The movie ends on a high note in a conclusion that is both satisfying and enjoyable.

Now onto the part that most readers of this review are more interested in - the extra's. On Side A of the disc we have an OK director's commentary from director Luke Greenfield and an at times amusing and at other times fascinating trivia track.

Then on Side B of the disc we have the aforementioned seven to eight scene specific commentaries from Hirsch and Cuthbert (Hirsch curiously has one more) and deleted and extended scenes with optional directors commentary. None of these scenes are of any particular value to anyone but completists or fans of the movie. They add nothing to the feature, but do have a curiosity factor to them. They also chose the better of the two endings also.

Of more interest is an amusing featurette in which actor Chris Marquette (who plays Eli in the movie) poses as a porn producer and lures in all too interested men (there'e a cute blonde on the bed afterall) who get decidedly less interested (for the most part) when the girl is replaced by a big burly guy.

We are also offered a stills gallery and a VERY short gag reel as well as trailers for a couple of other like-minded movies in addition to one promotional trailer for several other Fox titles. There is also a trailer for THE GIRL NEXT DOOR with the subtitle `Dirrrty,' which in reality isn't really that much of a big deal.

All in all, this is a good and entertaining movie, it seems to lose its footing half way through but successfully and engagingly returns to top form before the final credits roll. This is a definite must-buy for fans of the movie and the genre and certainly great entertainment

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To Serve Them All My Days [VHS]

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Price: $639.61   

To Serve Them All My Days [VHS] Review

To Serve Them All My Days is a BBC production originally shown on Masterpiece Theater in the early 1980s. I saw it then and admired the wonderful acting, the lovely settings, and the excellent story. I am so glad it is finally available on DVD.The story revolves around young David Powlett-Jones, a shell shocked and wounded veteran of World War I who is hired to teach history at Bamfylde School in the last days of the war. David is from a Welsh coal mining family, and he has strong socialist convictions as well as a large chip on his shoulder about the priviledged youths and men he now finds himself among. This is a subtext that runs throughout the series, but the primary story deals with David's growing self confidence and abilities. There is also a romantic subtext, with David being involved with three women, a wife who dies tragically, a brief fling with another woman, and finally a second wife who is both upper class and a Labour politician, thus combining the two disparate elements in David's life.John Duttine is wonderful as the star of the series, but there is an excellent supporting cast led hy Frank Middlemass and Alan MacNaughton. Another nice aspect is the depiction of Bamfylde School itself, giving us Americans a pretty good idea of life in a British public school. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews� Was this review helpful to you?�Yes No Report abuse | PermalinkComment�Comments (2)

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