Reviews Written By: A32QD896PA5VX1provided by Amazon.com |
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 | The Jury | |
 | "Nondescript -- Save Your Money" | 2009-04-18 |
| A story about a trial and jury deliberations. Stronger focus on jurors than others of its genre. Reasonable character development. Nothing in any category that stands out. For other British TV/cinema products that you will remember much longer than this one, see reviews I and others have written. | ||
 | The Pretender - The Complete First Season | |
| "One of the better American TV shows" | 2006-11-12 |
| What's neat about this show is that it shows the difference that can be made in the lives of others when someone corrects an injustice. That is unusual on American TV. The acting and variegated nature of the stories in the various chapters also work well. However, there is a theme that repeats itself ad infinitum of the main character fleeing his captors, doing good, then fleeing again, which becomes a bit much. For 4+ star shows, please see my reviews of selected other American and British TV series. Cheers! | ||
 | Enemy at the Door - Series 1 | |
 | "Masterful execution of an objectionably flawed concept" | 2006-11-06 |
| The acting, character development, period settings and costumes and so on are fully up to English television standards. But the Nazi occupation scenarios have been terribly toned down to make them commercially marketable. Numerous scholastic works and even the better theater all point to Nazi behavior as brutal, bestial and sociopathic, hardly reflective of the diplomacy and even gallantry seen from those in this series. The distortion may be objectionable to those of us who have studied the period, and may be enormously offensive to those who had to live through it or know others who did. There is a long list of more authentic and appropriate representations of that era -- choose any of them over this. | ||
 | The Protectors - Season One | |
| "Fun surface entertainment...then, immediately and completely forgettable" | 2006-11-01 |
| This wins honors for doing as much with a 30-minute segment as any retro chic secret agent thriller can. But while fast action, variegated plots and European settings are all to its credit, its improbability and inability to develop depth of any kind relegates it to something recommended primarily for aficionados of Man from UNCLE or of Robert Vaughn. Others seeking spy or crime thrillers might look to other items I have reviewed, either American or British. | ||
 | Combat:Season 3 Operation 1 | |
 | "A bona fide win for the American media" | 2006-09-27 |
| Combat does for WWII drama what "Have Gun Will Travel" does for westerns: It elevates them to a new and much more gratifying level. Each story has a distinctive plot, convincing acting and lessons that are imparted indirectly and subtly which is how thoughtful audiences like to be approached. Season 1 was superb, and the follow-ons are very worthwhile. The black and white picture effectively conveys the stark realism and grit of war. So much of the quality TV drama comes from foreign media that it is a particular pleasure to score this win for America's own ABC. | ||
 | To Serve Them All My Days (Miniseries) | |
| "Another BBC production up to its usual high standards" | 2004-06-13 |
| Deep character development, the hallmark of other excellent BBC productions, is very much in evidence here, as we accompany a schoolteacher through the eras of his career. The boys school where he teaches becomes the forum for exploring human nature and English history in the inter-war era of the 20th century. Dialogue is credible, compelling and poignant. Acting never deviates from high standards. If you like BBC and other British style dramas, seriously consider this one. | ||
 | Campion - The Complete First Season | |
| "An unhappy exception to the rule for BBC" | 2004-06-09 |
| "BBC" on the label has always seemed to be a mark of excellence for entertainment. Deep character development, sophisticated dialogue, novel but realistic plots, much better than average acting, and so on, have nearly always justified the price of admission. I found Campion to be an exception, however, on nearly every count. To the extent that the acting is good, it does not and cannot compensate for weaknesses elsewhere. My copy is going to the public library to sell to raise funds rather than to catalog for public circulation. For real private investigator/police entertainment with a British flair, try Foyle's War and A Touch of Frost, both of which I have reviewed. Cheers. | ||
 | Peter Gunn, Set 2 | |
| "Not the most classic of classic TV" | 2004-06-06 |
| Novel plots, zany characters and Blake Edwards' superb jazz sound track distinguish this series. But all told they do not compensate for its lack of other outstanding features nor make it the best of its genre. Those who love classic TV and/or private investigator/police drama have many other better choices available. | ||
 | High and Low - Criterion Collection | |
| "Delivers the excellence we expect from Kurasawa" | 2004-06-06 |
| Those from high and low positions in modern industrial Japanese society clash in this drama. While I don't easily commit to watch a long subtitled movie, this one kept my eyes glued to the screen through an effective suspense that grabs early and never lets go. The main story line comprises related subplots that are realistic and gripping without overwhelming. The acting is consistently excellent in portraying a full gamut of human emotions and difficult situations. Select this when you're ready for real entertainment from masters of their craft. | ||
 | Have Gun Will Travel - The Complete First Season | |
| "Timeless themes in a Western setting" | 2004-05-27 |
| If you believe that classics are the same timeless but critical themes, said in a new way, Have Gun is for you. Gene Roddenberry's cutting edge script puts love and hate, man's inhumanity to man, revenge and its aftermath, racism, pride and shame, etc., into taut 25-minute episodic packages that will keep your eyes on the screen and off of your watch. This is remarkable, considering the series is well over 40 years old. Adding to the pleasure is an excellent DVD transfer. You won't mind that it's black and white - in some respects this only enhances the drama. 36 episodes for this price makes it one of the best DVD deals I've found. | ||
 | Changi | |
| "A standout gem for WW II aficionados" | 2004-05-17 |
| It is a pleasure to have occasion to rave about quality of acting. In this Australian WW II gem, the actors' portrayal of the full gamut of human emotion associated with the POW experience, and with the contrast of that experience with their lives before and after, is exact, convincing at every turn, and alone makes Changi worth buying. Add to that a compelling story line, constant underlying tension, brilliantly effective use of flashback to make subtle but profound points, and the multifarious talents of the cast, and the result is a real winner. Instinct tells me that this is a bit overdramatized -- that a real POW experience, with the aura of death and threat, would not necessarily be so effectively countervailed by hijinx and camaraderie as is portrayed here. On the other hand, this Japanese/Australian conflict has been too often ignored by "mainstream" WW II movies in the U.S. And it is delightful to see that this Australian-produced item is guided by a sophisticated vision of concept and audience more similar to British productions than to the dumbed-down American media of late. | ||
 | The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media that Love Them | |
| "With these new faces of The Beast, can u tell what it means" | 2004-05-15 |
| (...) The authors, Amy Goodman and her brother David, are not only well positioned to cover those faces of The Beast relevant to the media, but are profiles in courage in their risking their careers and even their lives to cover the story in any number of the world's most dangerous places. The examples they provide of how the media, particularly (though not exclusively) in North America, has been penetrated, taken over, castrated and/or silenced completely, surrounding the U.S.-based military-industrial complex's deadly misdeeds, go beyond what I have read in other respected sources such as Moore, Baer, Chomsky and the NY Times. The damage done to innocent individuals, and the distrust and hatred of America that this fuels, are as grievous at every turn as they are manaically denied and ignored by those who command The Beast. Buy and read this book because it will help you draw your own conclusions about the parallels between 2000-2004 and the 1930's in Europe. Also do so because it supports people who have expended much more than young people should have to to try to bring precious truths to the rest of us. If mankind makes it to 2050, it will be because we paid serious attention to these serious writings in time. If mankind does not, it will be because we lulled ourselves into believing that a promise of security and gas selling at half the rate paid by other developed nations were reason to downplay The Beast's early warnings. | ||
 | Mother Love Bone - Stardog Champion | |
| "Grunge fans -- your collection needs this one" | 2004-05-10 |
| This is typical early Grunge style, by artists who didn't know at the time that they were the precursor to Pearl Jam. It's an underrated CD. If you enjoy early Grunge, or want a complete Grunge collection, this one is worth a serious look (listen.) Talent so often comes across so much more effectively before it becomes neck deep in commercialization. | ||
 | The Second Coming | |
| "Left nothing but fog in my brain and a hole in my wallet" | 2004-05-08 |
| I'm a great fan of apocolyptic and futuristic drama -- everything from 1984, to Twilight Zone, to Mad Max -- and I know when the message is profound and communicated effectively, and when it's not. In this instance, a couple of special effects scenes that convince the world the second messiah has come, combined with a bit of dialogue about mankind's need to clean up our act lest the end come, adds up to nothing memorable except frustration and disappointed expectations. Those behind this item may have had something to say, but it got lost along the way and left only a highly idiosyncratic story line and dialogue which is likely better understood by the writer than by anyone else. I know many different kinds of critical thinking people, but can think of few of them who wouldn't be well advised to avoid this one. | ||
 | A Touch of Frost - Season 1 | |
| "3 3/4 stars for thoroughly enjoyable British police drama" | 2004-05-08 |
| This is similar in vein to the better American police television dramas. A detective is confronted with several cases that intertwine, along with clues that at first tend to mislead, but later, when better interpreted, bring loose ends together. The acting, character development, pace and story development hold attention most of the time. If you enjoy detective dramas with a British twist, add this one to your list. | ||
 | Never Again : The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism | |
| "The canary is singing -- and the rest of us need to hear it" | 2003-12-29 |
| Foxman's thesis is (among others) that anti-Semitism is the canary in the coal mine. When societies tilt away from prosperity and democratic, egalitarian ideals, and toward instability, chaos and its consequent suffering, a scapegoat seems always to be needed -- so the hostility or even hatred toward Jews that resides latent in the human heart all too often comes to the fore. That canary, says Foxman, is now singing, louder in recent years than previously in the past couple of generations, and definitely loud enough that the unthinkable once again must be discussed. Anti-semitic signals are worldwide and resident in the least suspected of places. Foxman pieces them together into a pattern that cannot be ignored. He reasonably convincingly induces the causes, which seem to be the same, in era after era of history. He has the astuteness to tread lightly in sensitive areas in which he seems to know that his points need to be precisely articulated into order to generate understanding rather than misunderstanding. But he also hammars on points that need it, and that score telling blows in favor of his thesis. While the organization of the book and its points, and its trajectory, are adequate rather than perfect, Foxman has performed a public service in both making data available that is hard to find in conventional media, and reasoning from that data to social changes with disturbing aspects. This book is a must read for those who want to stay on top of current events, and who want to know the many-splendored truths of the world around us. | ||
 | Soundgarden - Louder Than Love | |
| "Don't overlook this one" | 2003-12-20 |
| For those fans of Soundgarden and of Grunge, particularly early Grunge -- It's tempting to believe that Soundgarden's commercial success started with Badmotorfinger, so previous CD's are only for wild acid rock aficionados. But this CD is an exception. It preceded Badmotorfinger but has sufficient great cuts to make it worth pursuing. See #1, #2, #5, #7, #10, #11. | ||
 | Santana - The Best of Santana, Vol. 2 | |
| "Not every cut a winner, but enough winners to sell the CD" | 2003-11-29 |
| This is a real "best of" CD, which presents the most memorable cuts from Santana's earliest CD's. His brilliance shines now as ever...and long may it wave. The earlier cuts are more convincing than the later ones, and the lack of remastering is annoying, as surely work of this caliber deserves the better presentation. Die hard fans, or those wanting to explore Santana, will do well to give this CD a hard look (listen.) | ||
![Alice In Chains - Nothing Safe: The Best Of The Box [ENHANCED CD]](product_images/176000/176296_thumb.jpg) | Alice In Chains - Nothing Safe: The Best Of The Box [ENHANCED CD] | |
 | "The real "best of" Alice in Chains" | 2003-11-29 |
| So often, "best of" CD's fall far short of that claim. And the (formerly released) "best of" Alice in Chains is no exception. This collection is, for my money, the real "best of" for this group. If you're other than a die hard fan who would want to own their whole collection, buy this compilation and forget or sell the rest. Every cut is a winner. Together, they portray the breadth and depth of this group's styles, lyrics and originality. I regularly rotate my Cd's, but it will be a long time before I'm ready to part with this one. | ||
 | Mildred Pierce | |
| "On my list of the 100 best of all time" | 2003-10-18 |
| This well-paced, exceptionally acted, taut, moving drama, casted a line into my living room and pulled me in, never to release me until the last frame. Everything of human triumph and tragedy, the essence of the life experience, comes out here, very believably. Joan Crawford was a bit before my time, but I will never forget her now. America's artistic tapestry is the richer for having her acting woven into it. Watch this movie some evening when you damned well deserve the best the silver screen has to offer (and when distractions will be minimal.) | ||
 | Dude, Where's My Country | |
| "Bull's-eye!!!!! A Stiff Dose of Sanity in an Insane Time" | 2003-10-14 |
| This essay is worth every pfennig, as it accomplishes what our censored, dumbed-down news media has repeatedly failed to do: It explains, in very readable, well-researched prose, how the 911 horror has been misused by political and corporate leaders to camouflage the recent unraveling of decades of social and economic progress for America, not to mention its world respect; and how most Americans are decent, progressive people who DO NOT support the highly destructive acts perpetrated in their name. While Moore's quips and jibes at times toe over the line into polemics, his sharp, practical thinking, common sense and common decency, and stiff dose of sanity in an insane time more than compensate. I found this book to document what I already suspected regarding the facts of America's recent destructive course. I found it also to reassure me that I and my contacts in the US have not suddenly turned villainous, though might be faulted for our apparent tolerance of leaders who have. Please consider buying this book to show support for its views, then donate it to the local public library so others can share, as I just did. | ||
| Dude, Where's My Country | |
| "AN URGENT CALL TO SANE THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS" | 2003-10-12 |
| This essay is worth every pfennig, as it accomplishes what our censored, dumbed-down news media has repeatedly failed to do: It explains, in very readable, well-researched prose, how the 911 horror has been misused by political and corporate leaders to camouflage the recent unraveling of decades of social and economic progress for America, not to mention its world respect; and how most Americans are decent, progressive people who DO NOT support the highly destructive acts perpetrated in their name. While Moore's quips and jibes at times toe over the line into polemics, his sharp, practical thinking, common sense and common decency, and stiff dose of sanity in an insane time more than compensate. I found this book to document what I already suspected regarding the facts of America's recent destructive course. I found it also to reassure me that I and my contacts in the US have not suddenly turned villainous, though might be faulted for our apparent tolerance of leaders who have. Please consider buying this book to show support for its views, then donate it to the local public library so others can share, as I just did. | ||
 | Dinner at Eight | |
| "Another gem from Hollywood's classic era" | 2003-10-12 |
| This movie engaged me from the beginning, casting its line right to my easy chair and reeling me into its all too believable world of human triumph and tragedy. It is an example of what can happen when strong acting, strong writing and strong direction are brought together by people who DO NOT aim for the lowest common denominator, but rather, for the sophisticated audience who reacts warmly only to quality performance and credible story line. I also appreciated the structure and pacing, where subplots are introduced and then intertwined, and just the right time is taken to develop characters and story before changing the focus, so I could follow it. See this for an evening of real entertainment. The only problem is, it will spoil you for any of the dumbed-down crapola that Hollywood has released in recent years. | ||
 | Virus X : Tracking the New Killer Plagues | |
| "3 1/2 *'s for a well-told tale with missing pieces" | 2003-10-10 |
| The author presents an enjoyable, well-researched account of the emergence, identification and handling of killer viruses. He provides an explanation of viruses as biological entities and goes on to contrast their destructive potential with the faltering infrastructure that even the affluent nations have to deal with them. Needed is a more precise targeting of text to the generalist audience; his biological treatises can be a bit much. Also needed is more extrapolation on what the viruses' killer potential might mean for mankind and potential remedies or alleviatives -- which is what the book advertises itself as addressing. | ||
 | I'm No Angel | |
| "A knockout in its time -- and still packs a wallop" | 2003-10-10 |
| Decades before the women's movement was to gain momentum in this country, Mae West, with her inimitable combination of feminine wiles and macho, and a keen wit thrown into the mix, began her own revolution by standing all previous conceptions about women and their societal roles on their ear. Her substantial talent in singing, acting and one-liners give her the wherewithal to have the whole act succeed where many others' attempts would not. The result is great entertainment, a hallmark in the history of American cinema, and an impression on the audience that we were all better off for this woman having graced our culture. | ||
 | I'm No Angel | |
| "A knockout in its time -- and still packs a wallop" | 2003-10-10 |
| Decades before the women's movement was to gain momentum in this country, Mae West, with her inimitable combination of feminine wiles and macho, and a keen wit thrown into the mix, began her own revolution by standing all previous conceptions about women and their societal roles on their ear. Her substantial talent in singing, acting and one-liners give her the wherewithal to have the whole act succeed where many others' attempts would not. The result is great entertainment, a hallmark in the history of American cinema, and an impression on the audience that we were all better off for this woman having graced our culture. | ||
 | Two Tars | |
| "Pure silly slapstick -- an acquired taste" | 2003-10-09 |
| The 3 star rating is mostly out of respect for Laurel and Hardy as pioneers of the medium, not to mention their multiple talents and charm such as I have rarely seen on the silver screen. But this item is purely a matter of taste. If yours runs to silent slapstick, this is as good a purchase as any. Otherwise, try the Laurel and Hardy talkies such as "Flying Deuces", or the Chaplin or Mae West movies. | ||
 | Big Business | |
| "Pure silly slapstick -- an acquired taste" | 2003-10-09 |
| The 3 star rating is mostly out of respect for Laurel and Hardy as pioneers of the medium, not to mention their multiple talents and charm such as I have rarely seen on the silver screen. But this item is purely a matter of taste. If yours runs to silent slapstick, this is as good a purchase as any. Otherwise, try the Laurel and Hardy talkies such as "Flying Deuces", or the Chaplin or Mae West movies. | ||
 | Possessed | |
| "A reminder of how good the silver screen can be" | 2003-10-06 |
| I had to sit and really watch this one, as its quality will tolerate no less. And as I did so, it became a pleasure. A sophisticated story, superb acting, plots and subplots, use of flashback, and believable settings -- all combined to take me along with the characters and keep me focused on the events as they developed. I never knew Joan Crawford or her career before now, but I know when I'm in the presence of brilliant, polished performance, and can easily and enjoyably contrast it with the dumbed down crapola that Hollywood has repeatedly dished out in recent years. See this film as a treat when you're in the mood for real entertainment. | ||
 | The Demon in the Freezer | |
| "The end of the world may be a virus, not a bomb" | 2003-10-06 |
| Smallpox -- another piece of the highly complex 21st century puzzle that must be understood and put into place. In this highly readable account, Preston explains that smallpox is a particularly deadly killer that HAS NOT been eradicated, HAS been experimented with as a biowarfare agent, and MAY HAVE GREATER POTENTIAL TO WIPE OUT MANKIND than any atom-based bomb yet invented. This book is a highly palatable and enjoyable way to get the facts along with several surprises on the topic that will keep you thinking after you have turned the last page. | ||
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