6/03/2012

Mother Love (1989) Review

Mother Love (1989)
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Maybe I am romanticizing this Mystery (or was it Masterpiece Theatre) presentation, but a lot of other people still talk about it. IN FACT, a dear friend of mine was talking about Mother Love and remembering Diana Rigg's wonderfully chilling performance. I want a copy for me, but I really want to get him a copy. If you ever saw I Claudius and shuddered at Livila's knack for poisoning people's bodies, you will enjoy Mother Love. If you marveled at Nancy Marchand's noteworthy performance in the first season of the Sopranos at Toni's mother, you will enjoy Mother Love. What showers were to Psycho, marzipan is to Mother Love. It is an interesting thriller and psychological profile. The rest of the cast and the whole production is worthy of Rigg's main character. The world deserves to get goosebumps from watching this miniseries from BBC or Thames or whoever made this happen.

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6/02/2012

Celine Dion - CBS Special Review

Celine Dion - CBS Special
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If it is, Celine fans are in for a treat! The CBS special captures the Celine we know and love, performing many songs from "A New Day Has Come" while mixing in some fan favorites ("Beauty and the Beast" feat. Brian McKnight!)as well. She sang a movie medley of "Because you loved me", "My Heart Will Go On", and "Beauty and the Beast", and a few covers- "At Last" and "Nature Boy". Celine ended the special with a beautiful version of "Nature Boy"- which included photos of Rene-Charles, Celine and Rene together as a family. I was lucky enough to attend the taping of her CBS special, and I can't wait to see Celine on DVD... She's back and better than ever!

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Me and Orson Welles (2009) Review

Me and Orson Welles (2009)
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Orson Welles was a genius in many, many areas. He was an incredible actor, a brilliant director and a showman of the first order. He was also, from many accounts, a major jerk; obsessive and controlling, manipulative and unpleasant. Someone who at least as nasty to his friends as to his enemies. He was, to lift a quote from a certain movie, not a brutal man, but a man who did brutal things.
All these elements of his considerable personality are on display in Richard Linkletter's newest film, Me and Orson Welles. The movie tells the story of a seventeen-year-old boy named Richard (though he's mostly referred to as "Junior"). He's played by Zac Efron (looking sexier than ever), in his finest role to date, which isn't saying a lot.
Richard is a reasonably naive boy who winds up meeting Welles as the great man is preparing for his 1937 stage production of Julius Caesar, a ground-breaking presentation that moved the story into modern times, dressing the cast in fascist uniforms and casting an obvious Jew as the poet Cinna. Richard ends up in the play as a servant to Welles' Brutus, a role which requires him to learn to play the ukulele after claiming he already knew how.
Richard meets all the famous players of the Mercury Theatre, most notably Joseph Cotton, Norman Lloyd and George Coulouris. He also meets, and falls in love with, the beautiful Sonja Jones (Claire Danes). Like Richard, she's a fictional character, and also like Richard, she's far less interesting than the real characters around them.
The movie is completely stolen by Christian McKay's performance as Welles. It is as letter-perfect as any I've ever seen. He has the look, he has the voice and he has the attitude of Welles, playing him as a man who never bothered to merely speak when he could instead declaim. He simply is Welles, warts and all. Expect his performance to get a Best Supporting Actor nomination, and probable win, at the next Oscars.
This is probably the best movie I've seen this year, with Up in the Air as a very close second. The movie captures the spirit of the theatre and the character of Welles like no movie I've ever seen before. I cannot possibly praise it enough. It might be hard to find in your area (it's considered something of an art film), but if you can track it down, it's well worth seeing.

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Tenko: The Complete Classic Drama Series Review

Tenko: The Complete Classic Drama Series
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I was enthralled when the original series of Tenko came on PBS, I never missed an episode and had some on tape. I want them to make this series for playing on DVD's compatible with those in the U.S. and also at a price that is not outrageous, such as the prices that can be obtained for the Monty Python entire series and for the World at War. I would truly love to see this series again, why are they making it so difficult?

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6/01/2012

Thin Lizzy: Live & Dangerous Review

Thin Lizzy: Live and Dangerous
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If you have the cd (or vinyl of course!) of L&D, or if you saw them live on this tour in 1978 then do not buy this DVD under any circumstances. This has been not been approved by the band and you can see why. It is advertised as the "Live & Dangerous" DVD - but there is just one major flaw - it contains no music or footage from Live & Dangerous !!!! If you are expecting to see a film of a concert this is not it. It is a critical review (exactly the same rubbish as on the "Thin Lizzy - Inside" DVD)by a group of people who constantly interrupt every song (ONLY 1 MINUTE of each song shown - and only 6 songs reviewed !) featured while they talk about chord changes and whether all the singing/playing was 'live' which wears thin after a very short time. Shocking to think someone actually planned this whole thing and got paid to do it. An absolute insult to Phil's memory.


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All-Star Bluegrass Celebration Review

All-Star Bluegrass Celebration
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The high octane of bluegrass music in a live show has been captured in the "All Star Bluegrass Celebration" produced by legendary Austin City Limits architect Terry Lickona. Available on CD or DVD, the intensity of this genre is seized in this documentation of a show featuring some of the greatest performers in the business. The many moods of bluegrass range from the hard-core traditional to quick-paced contemporary, enchanting gospel to powerful mountain sounds.
Recorded on January 16, 2002 at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium for a PBS broadcast, the All-Star Bluegrass Celebration was a very popular fund-raising special. There is one primary tradeoff to the energy of a live show, and that is the audience applause which can be downright noisy and annoying, especially when it's rendered over a hot break or vocals.
The DVD version contains three bonus tracks. The show was hosted by Ricky Skaggs, and the CD begins with Kentucky Thunder's fiery rendition of the traditional "Shady Grove." A project like this always offers some interesting pairings that bring illustrious guests onto the bluegrass stage. More often associated with country music but clearly having strong bluegrass foundations, stars like Vince Gill , Travis Tritt, Patty Loveless,
and Bruce Hornsby also make appearances. Unfortunately, the set's flow has some problems. For example, following the Del McCoury Band's "Get Down on Your Knees and Pray" with a drum-heavy rendition of Earl Scruggs' "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is like jumping from a warm bed into a freezing cold lake. While the crowd appreciates the sheer energy of the breakdown with electric guitar, electric bass, and drums, it seems rather odd to transition right back to Patty Loveless' more acoustic rendition of "Daniel Prayed." Later in the set, after Ralph Stanley and Ricky Skaggs play straight-ahead bluegrass, Bruce Hornsby builds his compelling case for bluegrass piano on "Darlin' Corey." Of course, Nickel Creek's "Seven Wonders" pushes the bluegrass envelope even further. The all star finale jam it up on Earl Scruggs' "Lonesome Reuben" and a fitting tribute to the father of bluegrass with Bill Monroe's "Rawhide."
There are no liner notes that try to define bluegrass. It's obvious that producer Terry Likona has chosen to let the music do that for us, and the sideboards are large. With its strongly mainstream commercial sound, the All-Star Bluegrass Celebration raised a great amount of funding for PBS. Projects like this also give us a broad sampling of bluegrass for all tastes. From the sounds of the noisy audience, they clearly loved it. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)


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Jewel: The Essential Live Songbook (2007) Review

Jewel: The Essential Live Songbook (2007)
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I have been a jewel fan from the beginning but still haven't been able to make any of her live shows. After watching this DVD, it makes me even more motivated to see her live. I love the acoustic performance and I think this is where Jewel really shines. It beats listening to her CDs hands down. She has such a great singing voice, she doesn't need all the background noise. Just her singing playing her guitar is what separates her from so many artists. Both DVD's were good but I enjoyed the Rialto Theater performance more, and when she sang Violet Eyes, it brought me to tears. That is the first time I have ever heard that song. I'm glad I bought this DVD and it will be one I plan to listen to regularly.

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